A U.S. military judge has scheduled Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three other defendants for trial on June 5, 2028, over the Sept. 11 attacks. The proceedings face another major complication after the judge excluded Mohammed’s alleged 2007 FBI confession, ruling that his statements were tainted by earlier treatment in U.S. custody.

Mohammed, accused of developing and directing the attacks as an al-Qaida leader, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay on Sept. 5, 2006, after more than three years in secret prisons in other countries. A U.S. Senate report documented extended torture in CIA custody, including 183 waterboarding sessions.

The late-August evidentiary ruling was a setback for prosecutors, but the U.S. government decided not to appeal, partly because an appeal could further delay a possible trial. Some lawyers nevertheless predict the case will never reach trial, arguing that legal issues arising from Mohammed’s torture cannot be resolved. Joshua Dratel, an attorney who helped ensure Mohammed had proper legal representation, said politics and the absence of accountability for torture had contaminated the case.

Earlier attempts to resolve the prosecution have also failed. A proposal to hold a civilian trial in New York City was abandoned years ago after opposition centered on security concerns. A plea agreement announced in 2024 would have kept Mohammed imprisoned for life while removing the possibility of execution, but it began unraveling soon afterward and ended in 2025.

Relatives of people killed in the attacks continue to seek a conclusion. Terry Strada, whose husband, Tom, died at the World Trade Center and who serves as national chair of 9/11 Families United, said families still hope a trial will happen and justice will be served. She also said she would prefer Mohammed remain imprisoned indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay rather than support an outcome that eliminated the death penalty.

Strada said execution would prevent a future U.S. administration from potentially exchanging Mohammed for Americans imprisoned elsewhere. Her position underscores the continuing dispute over capital punishment as the military case proceeds toward a trial date set nearly 22 years after Mohammed arrived at Guantanamo Bay.