By Hammad Kahlun,
Scandinavian News Agency
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, CUBA A military judge has KSM 9/11 Trial June 2028 as the trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man who has claimed responsibility for planning the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The ruling, issued Wednesday, pushes proceedings against him to nearly a quarter-century after the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Mohammed, widely known by the initials KSM 9/11 Trial, was captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 2003 during a joint U.S.-Pakistani operation.
He has been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006, when he was transferred there along with several other high-value detainees.
He faces KSM 9/11 Trial before a military commission, a separate legal system set up specifically to try terrorism suspects held at the base.
Why the Case Has Spanned More Than Two Decades
According to the military commission’s record, the case has been repeatedly delayed by pretrial motions, disputes over the admissibility of statements obtained through what U.S. officials have called “enhanced interrogation techniques” methods widely reported to have included waterboarding while Mohammed was in CIA custody before his transfer to Guantánamo.
Defense attorneys have long argued that evidence connected to that treatment should be excluded from KSM 9/11 Trial, a dispute that has consumed years of legal argument.
The military commission system itself, created after the KSM 9/11 Trial attacks to prosecute detainees outside the ordinary federal court process, has also faced logistical and procedural hurdles, including judge reassignments, security-clearance issues for classified evidence, and challenges tied to the remote location of the court at Guantánamo.
Key Facts
- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in 2003.
- He has been detained at Guantánamo Bay since 2006.
- A military judge set June 2028 as the KSM 9/11 Trial date this week.
- The case has been delayed for years by disputes over interrogation evidence and commission logistics.
- Mohammed is being tried before a military commission, not a civilian federal court.
- KSM 9/11 Trial
FAQs:
What is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed accused of?
He is the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks and faces charges before a U.S. military commission connected to the plot.
Why has the trial taken so long to schedule?
Pretrial disputes over evidence obtained through interrogation methods used while he was in CIA custody, along with logistical challenges specific to the military commission system, have repeatedly delayed proceedings.
Where is the trial being held?
Proceedings are conducted through the military commission system based at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where Mohammed has been held since 2006.
Is June 2028 a confirmed final date?
It is the date set by the military judge as of this ruling. Military commission trial dates at Guantánamo have been postponed before, so the schedule could still change.
Is Mohammed on trial alone?
No. He faces trial alongside co-defendants also held at Guantánamo in connection with the September 11 attacks.
What the June 2028 Date Means
Setting a firm trial date does not guarantee the case will proceed on schedule. Military commission cases at Guantánamo have seen trial dates set and later postponed multiple times over the past two decades.
Legal observers who follow the commission’s proceedings caution that further pretrial motions, appeals, or health-related delays involving the defendants could still push the date back.
Mohammed is being tried alongside several co-defendants also held at Guantánamo in connection with the September 11 plot.
Family members of victims, some of whom have attended prior hearings, have expressed a mix of hope that a trial date brings closure and skepticism given the case’s long history of delay.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial
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