The families of 2,977 people killed on September 11, 2001 have attended 25 memorial ceremonies. They have waited 25 years for the trials of the people responsible for planning the attacks. The trials are currently scheduled for 2028 — 27 years after the attacks. ONYX covers the specific reasons for this delay at the accountability level it requires.
THE DEFENDANTS AND THE CHARGES
Five men are being tried by a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for their roles in the September 11 attacks:
▸ Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM): self-described mastermind of the attacks; captured in Pakistan in 2003; charged with murder in violation of the laws of war, destruction of property, hijacking, terrorism, and related charges
▸ Walid bin Attash: alleged to have selected and trained some of the hijackers; charged with similar offenses
▸ Ramzi bin al-Shibh: alleged coordinator for the Hamburg cell that included Mohamed Atta
▸ Ammar al-Baluchi (Ali Abdul Aziz Ali): KSM’s nephew; alleged to have transferred funds to the hijackers
▸ Mustafa al-Hawsawi: alleged to have provided financial and logistical support
THE TORTURE EVIDENCE PROBLEM
The primary reason the trials have taken 25 years is evidence obtained through torture. KSM and the other defendants were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques — including waterboarding — during CIA detention before being transferred to Guantanamo in 2006. The specific legal problem:
▸ Evidence obtained through torture is generally inadmissible in US criminal courts and military commissions
▸ Statements made after torture may be inadmissible if they were influenced by the coercive treatment
▸ The government’s legal theory requires drawing a line between tortured statements and later voluntary statements — establishing when the coercive effects ended
▸ Defense attorneys have spent years in pre-trial hearings establishing the specific conditions of their clients’ CIA detention and the specific interrogation techniques used
THE STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS
Beyond the evidence question, the military commission system has faced structural challenges:
▸ Constitutional challenges: the initial military commission framework was struck down in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006); Congress created a new framework that has itself been repeatedly challenged
▸ Judge and defense counsel turnover: the proceedings have had multiple judges and multiple defense counsel changes; each change resets portions of the legal argument
▸ Classification: significant evidence is classified; the defense’s access to classified evidence and the procedures for handling it have been contested
▸ COVID-19: the pandemic halted proceedings for more than two years
THE FAMILIES
The families of those killed have had varying positions on the Guantanamo proceedings: some support the death penalty for the defendants; some oppose it; some want life sentences; some want civilian trials; some have called for guilty pleas that would provide information about the attacks in exchange for sparing the defendants’ lives. Twenty-five years of waiting for justice has produced a diversity of positions among people who share the same loss.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been at Guantanamo for 19 years. The trial is scheduled for 2028. The families who read his name in any accounting of September 11 have been waiting 25 years. The specific legal reasons for the delay are documented. The specific human cost of those legal reasons is also documented.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
▸ 2028 trial date — whether it holds or is delayed again
▸ Pre-trial motions — the remaining legal disputes that could affect the 2028 date
▸ Potential plea agreements — whether the government and defendants reach agreements that could resolve the cases before trial
▸ Family participation — whether families are permitted to observe proceedings
| CONFIDENCE: HIGH | Five defendants and charges, KSM waterboarding CIA detention, Hamdan v Rumsfeld, 2028 scheduled trial date, torture evidence inadmissibility, structural delays from established legal record. |
SOURCES
▸ Established legal record and confirmed reporting — Guantanamo 9/11 trials 25 years accountability, September 11, 2026
