'Open sore': Families face agonizing wait as 9/11 mastermind's trial pushed nearly 27 years after attacks

Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, families of victims are facing the possibility that the accused plotters may never see a verdict, as the trial for alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three co-defendants is tentatively scheduled for June 2028, nearly 27 years after the attacks. Legal obstacles, including a recent ruling barring prosecutors from using statements Mohammed made to FBI agents due to coercive treatment in U.S. custody, underscore the prolonged nature of the case and its impact on victims’ families. The prosecution has been significantly delayed by years of litigation over evidence, collapsed plea agreements, judicial changes, and unresolved pretrial motions, prolonging the trauma for those who lost loved ones.

• The trial for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three co-defendants is tentatively scheduled for June 5, 2028, almost 27 years after the attacks.
• A recent ruling by a military judge barred prosecutors from using statements Mohammed made to FBI agents in 2007, citing coercive treatment in U.S. custody.
• The case has faced numerous delays due to litigation over evidence obtained after torture, a collapsed plea agreement, changes in military judges, and unresolved pretrial motions.
• Victims’ families describe the prolonged wait for justice as an ‘open sore’ and a source of continued trauma.
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other defendants have been held for years without trial, with one defendant, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, found mentally incompetent.
• Past attempts to prosecute defendants in federal court were abandoned due to security and logistical concerns.
• The prolonged legal process has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars without a verdict.