A military judge has established June 5, 2028, as the trial date for four detainees held at Guantánamo Bay in connection with the September 11 attacks. Judge Lt Col Michael Schrama issued the order on Wednesday, marking a significant development in what legal experts characterize as one of the most complex capital cases in the U.S. judicial system.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the attack. The other three defendants are Walid bin Attash, alleged to have operated a training camp in Afghanistan; Ammar al-Baluchi, accused of helping fund the operation and enrolling hijackers in flight school; and Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, charged with supplying cash, credit cards, and clothing for those involved in the plot. The four men face the death penalty. A fifth defendant, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, was found mentally incompetent to stand trial due to post-traumatic stress disorder and is being handled separately.
The case has been delayed by years of pretrial legal conflicts and disputes over admissible evidence. A central controversy involves confessions obtained after the men were held in CIA prisons where the U.S. military employed interrogation methods described by critics as torture and abuse. The prosecution has also invoked national security privilege to restrict access to certain information by defense attorneys, raising fairness concerns according to the New York Times.
Schrama denied a prosecution request to begin the trial earlier, ruling that a realistic timeline must account for the resolution of pretrial motions. The judge described the trial schedule as depending on procedural deadlines he termed “the overarching scaffolding.” Schrama is the fifth military judge assigned to the case since the military commission arraigned the defendants in 2012.
The trial date comes amid ongoing legal battles. Three of the defendants have petitioned the Supreme Court seeking to overturn a 2024 decision by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd J Austin III blocking a plea agreement that would have allowed them to serve life sentences rather than face capital trial. Victims’ families have opposed such agreements, with 9/11 Families United leader Terry Strada previously stating support for the death penalty as appropriate punishment.
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