A Guantanamo judge set Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial for June 5, 2028, but lawyers for both sides say the 9/11 case may still never reach a verdict after two decades of delays.
An August ruling barred prosecutors from using Mohammed's 2007 FBI confession, finding it was tainted by CIA torture after his 2003 capture — including 183 waterboarding sessions cited in a Senate report.
The U.S. government chose not to appeal that evidentiary setback, calculating that another fight could push any trial even further back; a 2024 plea deal that would have avoided a death-penalty trial also collapsed last year.
A 2009 plan to try Mohammed in federal court in Manhattan was abandoned after political and security backlash, leaving the military commissions system that critics say has produced endless litigation and no clear path to resolution.
For some 9/11 families, the unresolved case still matters 25 years later: they want a trial, but some also oppose any outcome that removes the death penalty and leaves open the possibility of a future prisoner swap.
As we mark 25 years since 9/11, will the revoked plea deals ultimately derail the long-awaited 2028 Guantánamo trial?
Can the military commission system overcome its own bureaucratic hurdles to finally deliver a verdict before the end of the decade?
How did past coercive interrogations inadvertently create a decades-long legal nightmare that continues to delay justice for the masterminds?
9/11 on Trial: Why the Guantánamo Prosecution Remains Stalled After 27 Years
Overview
The 9/11 prosecution has faced a 27-year delay, rooted in the CIA’s use of torture on suspects after their capture. This torture tainted later FBI 'clean-team' confessions, leading a military judge to rule them inadmissible and weakening the government’s case. The military commission system, lacking constitutional safeguards and a right to a speedy trial, has allowed endless pretrial disputes and delays. As a result, victims’ families remain frustrated and divided, while legal experts doubt the scheduled June 2028 trial will happen. The U.S. government’s choice to bypass federal courts for an ad hoc system has damaged its moral authority and set a troubling global precedent.