9/11 Families Fear Further Delays As Guantanamo Trial Nears

According to the BBC, relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks fear more delays in the long-running Guantanamo Bay case against alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, even after a military judge set a trial date for June 2028. Tom Resta, whose brother John and sister-in-law Sylvia were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, said he has attended pre-trial hearings four times and worries some family members may not live to see a verdict. Mohammed, who has been held at the U.S. naval base in southeastern Cuba for 20 years without conviction, faces charges including conspiracy and murder, with 2,976 victims listed on the charge sheet. Last month, the judge threw out confessions Mohammed made to FBI agents at Guantanamo after ruling that his treatment by the CIA amounted to extraordinary physical and mental abuse and that the statements were not voluntary. Legal disputes over a separate plea deal for Mohammed and two co-defendants are still continuing.