A U.S. military tribunal has scheduled the trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged architect of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to begin on June 5, 2028, nearly 27 years after the plot devastated the nation.
​In an 11-page scheduling order issued Wednesday, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama, the presiding military judge, set the summer 2028 date at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Judge Schrama explicitly rejected the prosecution’s request to begin proceedings in January 2027, ruling that extra time is required to resolve extensive pretrial evidentiary motions, procedural disputes, and compliance issues before seating a jury.
​Mohammed will stand trial alongside three alleged co-conspirators; Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
​All four defendants face capital charges for their alleged roles in coordinating the hijackings that resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
​Under the timeline detailed in Judge Schrama’s order, jury selection,comprising an empaneled board of U.S. military service members will launch on June 5, 2028. Opening statements are scheduled to begin 30 calendar days following panel empanelment, after which prosecutors will present their primary case.
​The order follows years of profound legal friction, including prolonged litigation over evidence obtained through enhanced interrogation techniques and waterboarding during the defendants’ early CIA custody.
Most recently, a federal appeals court vacated a proposed plea bargain negotiated by Pentagon officials that would have spared the defendants the death penalty in exchange for life sentences without parole, forcing the case back into full trial preparation.
​While military prosecutors maintain that they are prepared to seek the death penalty, legal experts caution that the June 2028 date remains contingent on meeting strict interlocutory deadlines and could face further pushback depending on unresolved pre-trial rulings.
