Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of being the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, is set to face trial before a US military commission nearly 25 years after the attacks.
US Air Force Judge Lt. Col. Michael A. Sharrama ruled on Wednesday that Mohammed and three co-defendants will go on trial beginning June 5, 2028. Prosecutors had sought to begin the trial in 2027, but the judge said additional time was needed to present evidence and resolve outstanding legal issues.
Mohammed had previously agreed to a plea deal under which he would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, avoiding the possibility of the death penalty. However, the agreement was opposed by former US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and was later overturned by a federal appeals court, leaving Mohammed facing a potential death sentence if convicted.
Mohammed, an engineer who studied in the United States, has previously claimed that he was responsible for planning the 9/11 operation from start to finish. He is accused of presenting the plan to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who approved the operation.
Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and has been held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since September 2006.
The three co-defendants facing trial alongside him are Walid bin Attash, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
The September 11 attacks involved the hijacking of four commercial aircraft. Two planes were flown into New York’s World Trade Center, while another struck the Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks.
More than two decades after Guantanamo Bay opened, 15 detainees remain at the facility, including Mohammed and his co-defendants.
COMMENTS