Trial for accused mastermind of 9/11 attacks set for June 2028

Trial for accused mastermind of 9/11 attacks set for June 2028.

Key points

• He is accused of orchestrating the plot to fly hijacked passenger jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon.
• Schrama rejected the prosecutors' proposal to open the trial in January 2027, saying that would leave too little time for the "resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions".
• The order gives both sides opportunities to argue those motions and rebut one another, and for prosecutors to reopen their case.
• Last month, a US appeals court refused to allow Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty under agreements that would have spared them the death penalty.

Trial for accused mastermind of 9/11 attacks set for June 2028. Reuters Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 12: 38pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

In practice, a US Air Force judge on Wednesday ordered Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and three co-defendants to go on trial before a military tribunal in June 2028.

Notably, the trial-scheduling order entered by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama marked the latest milestone in a military prosecution beset by two decades of legal deadlock surrounding the four detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Last month, a US appeals court refused to allow Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty under agreements that would have spared them the death penalty. The appellate decision reversed decisions of a military judge and the US Court of Military Commission Review in backing of the plea agreement.

Meanwhile, the agreement had been offered last year and accepted by the official who oversees the Pentagon's Guantanamo war court, only to be revoked last August by then-Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin against the backdrop of criticism of the agreement from Republican lawmakers.

Under Schrama's 11-page order, Mohammed and three co-defendants Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin 'Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali will stand trial starting on June 5, 2028.

Meanwhile, the proceedings open with the selection of a panel consisting entirely of service members who will act as the jury to hear the case according to rules of military justice.

After which the defendants may file motions for findings of not guilty, opening statements will commence 30 calendar days after the panel is seated, followed by presentation of the prosecution's evidence.

Notably, the order gives both sides opportunities to argue those motions and rebut one another, and for prosecutors to reopen their case. The defence presents its principal evidence starting 60 calendar days after the prosecution concludes its case. The trial ends with a sentencing phase.

Mohammed remains the most well-known inmate at the Guantanamo detention facility. It was set up in 2002 by then-US president George W. Bush to house foreign militant suspects after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

He is accused of orchestrating the plot to fly hijacked passenger jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon. The 9/11 attacks killed almost 3, 000 residents.

In short, trial for accused mastermind of 9/11 attacks set for June 2028 is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.