25 Years After 9/11: The Ongoing Quest for Justice in the Guantánamo 9/11 Trials
Twenty‑five years after the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, the alleged masterminds still have not faced a trial. A military judge at Guantánamo Bay has now ordered jury selection for the trial of four accused plotters, setting a potential start date of June 5, 2028 – a date that remains contingent on a series of procedural milestones.
The Four Defendants Set to Face Trial
Four men are slated to stand trial together: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, widely known as KSM, Walid bin Attash, Ammar al‑Baluchi (also called Ali Abdul Aziz Ali), and Mustafa al‑Hawsawi. Prosecutors have charged them with conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, terrorism and hijacking, and they face the death penalty. A fifth defendant, Ramzi bin al‑Shibh, was removed from the case after a military judge ruled him mentally unfit to stand trial.
War Criminals on the Stand
Michael Lebowitz, a former Justice Department national security attorney and combat veteran who spent a decade prosecuting the 9/11 case, offers a rare perspective. He notes that the Bush administration chose military commissions rather than the federal court system, creating a hybrid legal framework that has seen judges and staff rotate frequently. The current judge, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, is the fifth to oversee the case since the 2012 arraignment, which lasted 13 hours – the longest in American history.
Why the Manhattan Plan Was Abandoned
In 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder announced that KSM and four co‑defendants would be tried in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, arguing that civilian courts could handle major terrorism cases fairly. That plan collapsed after the 2010 trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, whose acquittals on most charges sparked a political firestorm and led Congress to restrict the transfer of Guantánamo detainees to the United States for trial. As a result, the 9/11 case returned to the military‑commission system at Guantánamo.
Guantánamo: A ‘Traveling Circus’ of Logistics
Lebowitz describes the Guantánamo litigation as a “traveling circus.” To hold a hearing, the entire court system – judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, witnesses, court staff and victim family members – must charter a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to the remote naval base. Personnel turnover every six months to a year adds further complications, such as repeatedly litigating basic issues like bail eligibility and attorney access.
Litigating Torture and Coercive Interrogation
Before KSM ever arrived at Guantánamo, he spent years in secret CIA custody under a program that included waterboarding and other coercive techniques. Prosecutors have sought to introduce statements he made after that detention, but the defense argues that any subsequent testimony is tainted by the earlier abuse. A 2024 plea agreement that would have spared KSM and two co‑defendants the possibility of execution was abandoned, keeping the case on a path toward trial. In August, a military judge ruled that statements KSM gave to the FBI in 2007 were not voluntary and therefore inadmissible, forcing prosecutors to rely on documentary and communications evidence linking the defendants to the plot.
Will the 2028 Trial Finally Move Forward?
While the judge has ordered jury selection and set the trial for June 5, 2028, the date is not guaranteed. The schedule depends on parties meeting deadlines and completing a series of rulings – potentially 90 in total – before the trial can proceed. Families of the victims have expressed both hope and skepticism. Gordon Felt, brother of Flight 93 passenger Edward Felt and leader of the Families of Flight 93, said he believes the prosecution has enough evidence to secure a conviction without the contested 2007 statements, but he remains doubtful that the trial will actually begin as planned.
“A lot of the families were elderly and hoped to see a court of law officially determine KSM’s guilt before they die,” Lebowitz recalled. “They’ve set dates before; there are many rulings that must be made, so I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Felt also emphasized that justice is a process of presenting facts, even though his brother was taken from his family. He supports seeking the death penalty, noting that the 2,977 victims of 9/11 and the hundreds who later died from related illnesses and military losses underscore the need for accountability.
After 25 years, the goal is no longer simply to mark a calendar date but to bring the case into a courtroom and reach a verdict. As the procedural clock ticks toward 2028, the nation watches to see whether the long‑awaited trial will finally deliver the justice that the victims’ families have sought for decades.
Jaala Brown contributed to this report.
News, Law, Society, History, Government, People, 9/11 Trials, Guantanamo Bay, Military Commissions, Terrorism
