25 years after 9/11, its accused mastermind still hasn’t faced trial — and may never
As America marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the man accused of masterminding the plot remains behind bars at Guantanamo Bay — without ever having faced trial.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has spent two decades at the U.S. military detention center in Cuba, and despite a judge recently setting a June 5, 2028 trial date, some lawyers believe the case may never reach a verdict.
At the heart of the extraordinary delay is Mohammed’s treatment after his 2003 capture in Pakistan. He was held for more than three years in secret prisons and subjected to torture in CIA custody, including 183 instances of waterboarding, according to a U.S. Senate report.
The consequences continue to complicate the government’s case.
In August, a military judge ruled that prosecutors could not use an alleged confession Mohammed made to the FBI in 2007, finding the statements were tainted by the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used against him.
The government declined to appeal, in part because doing so risked delaying the case even further.
“It’s all contaminated by politics and the lack of accountability on torture,” said Joshua Dratel, an attorney who helped ensure Mohammed received legal representation.
Mohammed, accused of developing and directing the 9/11 plot as an al-Qaida leader, was transferred to Guantanamo Bay on Sept. 5, 2006.
For families of the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, the wait for a resolution has now lasted a quarter-century.
Terry Strada, whose husband, Tom, was killed at the World Trade Center, said families still want to see Mohammed brought to justice.
“We very much want to see this come to an end at some point. We do want to see justice served. It’s just as important as 25 years ago,” said Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United.
Strada said she would rather see Mohammed remain imprisoned indefinitely at Guantanamo than support an agreement that removed the possibility of the death penalty.
A plea deal that would have spared Mohammed a possible execution in exchange for life imprisonment began unraveling shortly after it was announced in 2024 and collapsed for good last year.
Strada said she fears that without a death sentence, a future administration could potentially seek to exchange Mohammed for Americans imprisoned overseas.
