Long-delayed 9/11 mastermind trial pushed back to 2028

The long-delayed trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has been scheduled to begin in June 2028, more than 25 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, BBC reports.

US Air Force Judge Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama ruled that the trial of Mohammed and three alleged accomplices will begin on June 5, 2028. The judge said prosecutors’ proposed 2027 start date was too soon and that additional time was needed to resolve outstanding legal issues, including disputes over what evidence can be presented.

The three co-defendants are Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

Mohammed has previously claimed that he planned the 9/11 operation “from A-to-Z.” US prosecutors accuse him of developing the idea of training pilots to crash commercial airliners into buildings and presenting the plan to Osama bin Laden, the former leader of Al-Qaeda.

Mohammed, a US-educated engineer, was captured alongside al-Hawsawi in Pakistan in March 2003 and has been held at Guantanamo Bay since September 2006.

The case has been delayed for years amid disputes over evidence and the legality of statements obtained from detainees subjected to CIA interrogation and torture.

A plea agreement reached after two years of negotiations would have allowed Mohammed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence without the possibility of parole, avoiding a death-penalty trial. However, then-Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin moved to revoke the agreement after it was signed by an official appointed by him. A federal appeals court later rejected the plea deal.

The September 11 attacks involved 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers who seized four passenger planes. Two crashed into New York’s World Trade Center, one struck the Pentagon in Virginia, and another crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control.

About 3,000 people were killed in the attacks. The US military prison at Guantanamo Bay opened six months later and still holds about 15 detainees.

By Vafa Guliyeva