9/11 mastermind KSM finally gets a trial date in 2028 — 27 years after the attacks: US media

A military court will try the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks starting in June 2028, multiple US media outlets reported Wednesday citing a judge's ruling.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) was considered one of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants before he was captured in March 2003 in Pakistan.

He was imprisoned in secret CIA facilities for three years before arriving at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2006.

WASHINGTON — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is scheduled to finally face trial at the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on June 5, 2028 — nearly 27 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Military Judge Lt. Col. Michael Schrama set the date on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, rejecting prosecutors' request to begin the trial in January 2027. The ruling represents the latest attempt to move one of the longest-running and most contentious terrorism cases in U.S. history toward a courtroom showdown.

But the date does not guarantee that the trial will actually begin as scheduled. Major pretrial disputes remain, including battles over evidence, classified information and statements obtained during years of CIA detention and harsh interrogation.

Who is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?

Mohammed, widely known as KSM, is accused by the United States of being the principal architect of the 9/11 plot.

US authorities allege that he developed the idea of using hijacked commercial aircraft as weapons and worked with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to turn the concept into an operational plan.

A 2011 Justice Department indictment described Mohammed as the operational leader of the Sept. 11 plot and alleged that he had proposed to bin Laden in 1999 using airplanes as missiles against buildings.

The attacks ultimately involved four hijacked commercial airliners. Two crashed into New York's World Trade Center, one struck the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought the hijackers.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed.

From capture to Guantanamo

Mohammed was captured by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence officers in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on March 1, 2003.

He was then transferred into the CIA's secret detention network, where he spent roughly three and a half years in clandestine facilities outside the United States.

According to declassified investigations, he was subjected to the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" program, including 183 instances of waterboarding and prolonged sleep deprivation. Those interrogation practices have become central to the legal battle over whether statements made by Mohammed and other defendants can be used at trial.

In September 2006, then-President George W. Bush announced that Mohammed and other high-value detainees had been transferred from CIA custody to the Defense Department and Guantánamo Bay.

The case has been delayed for years

The 9/11 prosecution has repeatedly stalled because of disputes over the military-commission system, classified evidence, defense access, changes in judges and, most significantly, allegations that CIA torture contaminated the defendants' confessions.

Key timeline

• Sept. 11, 2001: Four hijacked aircraft are used in attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.

• March 1, 2003: Mohammed is captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

• 2003–2006: He is held in the CIA's secret detention program and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques.

• Sept. 2006: Mohammed is transferred to Guantánamo Bay.

• 2008: Military prosecutors formally charge Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators.

• 2009: The Obama administration announces plans to prosecute the five defendants in federal court in New York, but congressional restrictions prevent the transfer from going ahead.

• 2011: The case is returned to the military-commission system.

• May 2012: Mohammed and his co-defendants are arraigned at Guantánamo.

• 2019–2024: Pretrial litigation continues, particularly over torture, classified evidence and the admissibility of statements.

• July 2024: Mohammed and two co-defendants agree to plead guilty in exchange for life imprisonment rather than face a potential death sentence.

• August 2024: Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attempts to revoke the plea agreement, triggering another round of litigation.

• 2025: A federal appeals court rules that Austin had the authority to reject the plea agreement, effectively putting the case back on the trial track.

• 2026: Pretrial litigation continues, with military-commission filings still being made throughout the year.

• Aug. 26, 2026: Judge Schrama rejects the government's proposed January 2027 trial date and sets June 5, 2028, for the start of the trial.

Four defendants face the Guantánamo trial

Mohammed will not be tried alone.

The case also involves three alleged co-conspirators:

• Walid bin Attash

• Ammar al-Baluchi, Mohammed's nephew

• Mustafa al-Hawsawi

A fourth original defendant, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial after suffering severe psychological problems associated with his detention and alleged torture.

The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Mohammed and the other defendants facing trial.

Why the trial could still be years away

The biggest obstacle is not simply scheduling.

Defense lawyers have argued that years of CIA detention and coercive interrogation make some evidence unreliable or legally inadmissible. Mohammed's alleged confessions are particularly sensitive because they came after extensive CIA interrogation.

The government, meanwhile, continues to seek admission of evidence under the military commissions' rules. Military commission filings as recently as July 2026 show that disputes over hearsay, classified material, discovery and trial procedures remain active.

The result is an extraordinary legal paradox: the United States captured the alleged architect of 9/11 in 2003, but almost 23 years later the case is still in the "pretrial" stage.

A trial almost 27 years after 9/11

If Judge Schrama's schedule holds, opening arguments would begin on June 5, 2028, more than 26 years and eight months after the attacks.

For families of the victims, the date offers a possible path toward accountability — but after repeated abandoned trial dates and legal reversals, there is little guarantee that the proceedings will reach a verdict on schedule.

The case has become a symbol of the extraordinary legal consequences of the post-9/11 "war on terror": a prosecution involving the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil, secret CIA prisons, allegations of torture, classified evidence, military commissions and a defendant who has spent more than two decades in US custody without a final verdict.