A trial date has been set for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man accused of masterminding the September 11 terror attacks, more than a quarter of a century after nearly 3,000 people were killed.
A US military judge has ruled that Mohammed will stand trial on June 5, 2028, at Guantanamo Bay.
Prosecutors had sought to begin proceedings in 2027, but the judge determined that would be too soon given the number of outstanding legal issues still to be resolved.
Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and has been held at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay since 2006.
He has previously claimed responsibility for planning the operation that resulted in four passenger aircraft being hijacked on September 11, 2001.
Two aircraft were flown into the World Trade Centre towers in New York, another struck the Pentagon, while a fourth, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Plea agreement previously overturned
Mohammed had previously entered into a plea agreement under which he would admit guilt in return for avoiding the death penalty.
That agreement was subsequently overturned following a legal battle over the circumstances in which it had been approved.
The case has been repeatedly delayed over the years, including by disputes surrounding the admissibility of evidence and the treatment of defendants while in US custody.
The 2028 trial is also expected to involve three men accused of assisting with the September 11 plot: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
Judge Lt Col Michael A Schrama said the longer timetable would provide the court with time to deal with outstanding disputes, including arguments over what evidence can be presented at trial.
Mohammed, a US-educated engineer, was captured alongside al-Hawsawi during an operation in Pakistan in 2003.
The Guantanamo Bay detention facility opened in 2002 as part of the United States’ response to the September 11 attacks and subsequent military operations.
Around 15 detainees remain at the facility, a fraction of the hundreds who have been held there since it opened.
The scheduled 2028 proceedings would represent a major development in one of the longest-running terrorism prosecutions arising from the September 11 attacks.
