Particle.news
Download on the App Store
22 ARTICLES
·
1h ago

Judge Sets June 5, 2028 Trial for Alleged 9/11 Mastermind

It creates time to resolve fights over interrogation-derived evidence, suppression appeals, logistical milestones that could keep the case from starting as planned.

FILE- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Saturday March 1, 2003.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is shown in this file photograph during his arrest on March 1, 2003. Accused September 11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is likely to be executed after being tried and convicted, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on January 31, 2010. The Obama administration has begun looking for places other than the heart of New York City to prosecute Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators in the face of fierce criticism tied to security and costs. REUTERS/Courtesy U.S.News & World Report/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)
Collage of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, a portrait of Osama bin Laden, and people wearing masks in the aftermath.

Overview

  • A military judge on Wednesday set a tentative start date of June 5, 2028 for the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three co-defendants at Guantánamo Bay.
  • The date is conditional on meeting a sequence of pretrial deadlines and milestones and the judge warned the schedule could slip if key disputes are not resolved.
  • The four defendants are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (Ammar al-Baluchi) and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, all charged in the Sept. 11, 2001 plot.
  • Central legal obstacles include suppression motions over confessions tied to alleged CIA interrogation and a federal appeals court decision that voided a prior plea deal, reopening the prospect of capital prosecutions.
  • Families of victims are seeking answers after two decades of delays, and the next steps to watch are rulings on the torture-related suppression claims and pending appeals that could change whether or when the case goes to trial.