The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and three other terrorists held on Guantánamo Bay will finally stand trial in 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday. The ruling from Lt. Col. Michael Schrama came just two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the world-altering Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the head plotter, and three of his alleged co-conspirators have been held at the Cuba military base since 2006 in the long-delayed case.
Government prosecutors requested a January 2027 trial date, but the judge rejected that bid and set it for June 5, 2028, citing a slew of pre-trial rulings the court needs to make before the proceedings start. The case of Mohammed, believed to be either 61 or 62 years old, and his alleged partners-in-crime –Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Ammar al-Baluchi — has been notoriously delayed for decades amid a series of legal squabbles, including over whether confessions obtained via torture are admissible in court.
