U.S. military judge throws out Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's FBI confessions; trial set for June 5, 2028 at Guantanamo Bay

A U.S. military judge has ruled that confessions made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, to FBI agents are inadmissible. The ruling, issued on August 28, 2026, comes just before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.¹³

The trial date for Mohammed and three other accused plotters has been set for June 5, 2028, at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mohammed, also known as “KSM,” was captured in March 2003 in Pakistan and was considered one of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants.²

The judge, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama, concluded that Mohammed's statements to the FBI were inadmissible due to an “unbroken continuation of the CIA's psychological conditioning and severe coercion.” He noted that the prosecution failed to prove that the statements were voluntarily given, and that FBI agents did not inform Mohammed of his right to remain silent or consult a lawyer.

Prosecutors have already excluded statements made by Mohammed after his capture when he was held by the CIA and subjected to brutal treatment, including waterboarding. The ruling allows for an appeal by prosecutors, while Mohammed's trial has faced multiple delays, including the withdrawal of a plea deal that would have removed the death penalty from consideration following protests from victims' relatives.