The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and three other terrorists held on Guantánamo Bay will finally stand trial in 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday.
The ruling from Lt. Col. Michael Schrama came just two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the world-altering Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the head plotter, and three of his alleged co-conspirators have been held at the Cuba military base since 2003 in the long-delayed case.
Government prosecutors requested a January 2027 trial date, but the judge rejected that bid and set it for June 5, 2028, citing a slew of pre-trial rulings the court needs to make before the proceedings start.
The case of Mohammed, believed to be either 61 or 62 years old, and his alleged partners-in-crime — Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Ammar al-Baluchi — has been notoriously delayed for decades amid a series of legal squabbles, including over whether confessions obtained via torture are admissible in court.
Past trial dates have come and gone several times, and Schrama is the fifth judge to oversee the case.
Victims’ families have been outraged that they’ve yet to see justice done, with some relatives telling The Post Wednesday they hope the latest trial date will stand.
“We have been asking for a trial date for 20 years. Hopefully, this time it is for real,” said retired NYPD officer Jim Smith, whose wife Moira Smith died responding to the attacks.
“It’s all going to depend on the judge. We’ve been through so many, some good, but mostly officers who wanted nothing to do with this case,” Smith said. “Someone has to man up and take charge.”
Retired police officer Kathy Vigiano, wife of Det. Joseph Vigiano, who also died on 9/11, questioned why she and other families still needed to wait another two years for potential closure.
“We have waited 25 years. Why do we have to wait another two years?” she said. “How much time do you need for pre-trial? Why can’t they start the trial now? It is time for the victims to get justice now!”
She also wondered if the current judge would still be on the case when the trial date rolls around, and “if not, what happens?”The case nearly came to a close in 2024 when
Mohammed, bin Attash and al-Hawsawi agreed to a stunning plea deal with the Biden administration in which they planned to admit their roles in the attacks in order to be spared the death penalty and instead serve life sentences behind bars, court records show.
Some victims’ families supported the plea deal as a way to finally end the case and avoid Mohammed and his fellow terrorists dying in custody before their trial date — but many others were dismayed, insisting that only death would be an appropriate punishment for the perpetrators of the heinous attacks.
Amid the public outcry, Biden administration officials abruptly changed course and attempted to cancel the plea deal, leading to years more of litigation without a trial. A US appeals court in June 2025 officially rejected the deal, and Mohammed’s lawyers have said they plan to ask the US Supreme Court to intervene.
Attorneys for Mohammed did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
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