9/11 families face new delay as trial for alleged mastermind is set for 2028

Families of 9/11 victims are facing another long delay in the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three codefendants. A military judge has set a tentative trial date of June 5, 2028, nearly 27 years after the attacks, while unresolved legal disputes continue to slow the proceedings at Guantánamo Bay. The case has been tied up for years by arguments over evidence, including whether statements Mohammed made to FBI agents in 2007 can be used at trial. A recent ruling excluded those statements because of the coercive treatment he experienced in U.S. custody, and prosecutors chose not to appeal in order to avoid jeopardizing the current schedule. For relatives and first responders, the delays have deepened the pain of an event that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. The prosecution has also been affected by changes in judges, the coronavirus pandemic, and a collapsed plea agreement, leaving the case without a final verdict more than two decades later.