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Trial Date Set for 9-11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed · GNN Daily Breaking News

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  Speaker 1: After more than a quarter century of delays, the United
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  Speaker 1: States has set a trial date for the accused mastermind
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  Speaker 1: of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with proceedings scheduled
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  Speaker 1: to begin in June 2028 at Guantanamo Bay. The defendant,
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  Speaker 1: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, along with four co-defendants, faces charges of terrorism, hijacking,
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  Speaker 1: and nearly 3,000 counts of murder for orchestrating the deadliest
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  Speaker 1: attack on American soil. The announcement marks a turning point
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  Speaker 1: in one of the longest and most complex legal sagas
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  Speaker 1: in U.S. history. Since their capture in the early 2000s,
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  Speaker 1: the defendants have been held at Guantanamo with pretrial hearings
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  Speaker 1: bogged down by disputes over classified evidence, the admissibility of
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  Speaker 1: confessions obtained under CIA interrogation, and the legitimacy of the
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  Speaker 1: military commission system itself. Prosecutors argue that Mohammed was the
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  Speaker 1: architect of the plot, working with al-Qaeda operatives to plan
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  Speaker 1: and execute the hijackings that destroyed the World Trade Center,
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  Speaker 1: damaged the Pentagon, and claimed thousands of lives. The trial
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  Speaker 1: is expected to last months, with testimony from survivors, families
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  Speaker 1: of victims, and intelligence officials. Defense attorneys have long challenged
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  Speaker 1: the fairness of the proceedings. citing torture allegations and procedural irregularities.
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  Speaker 1: Human rights groups have criticized the military commissions as inadequate
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  Speaker 1: compared to civilian courts, warning that the trial may not
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  Speaker 1: deliver the closure families have sought for decades. The Pentagon
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  Speaker 1: insists that the June 2028 date reflects a renewed commitment
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  Speaker 1: to justice. Officials say the timeline allows for final resolution
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  Speaker 1: of evidentiary disputes and ensures that the trial will proceed
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  Speaker 1: without further postponements. For the families of 9-11 victims, the
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  Speaker 1: announcement is bittersweet. Many have waited decades for accountability, while
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  Speaker 1: others fear the process will reopen painful wounds. Advocacy groups
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  Speaker 1: stress that the trial must balance transparency with security, given
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  Speaker 1: the sensitive intelligence involved. Internationally, the case underscores the enduring
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  Speaker 1: legacy of 9-11. Al-Qaeda, the group Mohammed served, remains weakened
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  Speaker 1: but active, while its offshoots continue to pose threats worldwide.
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  Speaker 1: The trial is expected to highlight both the devastation of
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  Speaker 1: the attacks and the broader struggle against violent extremism. If convicted,
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  Speaker 1: Mohammed and his co-defendants could face the death penalty, though
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  Speaker 1: appeals would likely extend the process for years. Still, the
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  Speaker 1: June 2020 trial date represents the closest the U.S. has
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  Speaker 1: come to delivering a verdict in a case that has
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  Speaker 1: defined an era of national security policy.