9/11 accused Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to face trial in 2028

Advertisement

USA: The much-anticipated trial of the suspected September 11 planner, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is set to start in June 2028, more than two decades after the attacks, it has been announced by officials.

The judge for the case of accused mastermind behind 9/11, US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama set 5 June 2028 as the commencement date for the trial of Mohammed and his three co-defendants before the military commission, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The other accused involved in the trial alongside Mohammed are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.

All four defendants are facing charges related to their involvement in designing and executing the September 11 attacks on 3,000 people.

More pretrial evidence and legal issues remain unsettled, and the presiding judge said January 2027 was too early to start the trial.

Advertisement

Mohammed, taken in Pakistan in 2003, arrived at Guantanamo years later and has remained among the four defendants at the prison while awaiting resolution of the military commission charges.

Uncertainty still looms for the four men after a June plea agreement with Mohammed and two co-defendants, offering guilty pleas and life sentences rather than the death penalty, was revoked under appeal after US court ruling.

A new trial date will start with the impanelment of a military commission trial board.

After the selection of the trial board, opening statements are typically followed by the introduction of evidence and then a sentencing phase.

These events could see additional delays should the current outstanding legal challenges remain.

Also Read: Over 150 Dead, Hundreds Missing In Nepal-Tibet Border Flash Floods

Advertisement