Two Guantanamo military commission cases face different schedules: the Sept. 11 trial is set for 2028, while al-Nashiri’s USS Cole case has an unresolved trial-date motion.
A Just Security podcast published Wednesday features journalist Carol Rosenberg with co-hosts Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman, discussing Rosenberg’s reporting on upcoming Guantanamo trials.
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is charged in a case tied to the Oct. 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured dozens of crew members, according to a military commission appellate filing. The Office of Military Commissions (OMC) docket lists a defense request to continue al-Nashiri’s trial date, an amended motion filed Oct. 17 and a government response submitted Oct. 21. The OMC’s Oct. 26 update shows no ruling on the motion.
An OMC spokesman told The Associated Press (AP) on Oct. 22 that the trial had been rescheduled to start Oct. 26. That start date is unverified by the public docket, which does not confirm that proceedings began.
By contrast, Military Judge Michael A. Schrama set the Sept. 11 case for trial on the merits on June 5, 2028, in an Aug. 26 order. He denied prosecutors’ request for a Jan. 11, 2027, start, saying the case needed time to resolve evidence and compliance disputes, including challenges to statements documented in FBI memoranda. Among the five accused named in the order are Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi and Ramzi bin al Shibh.
In an Aug. 28 ruling, Schrama suppressed statements Mohammad made to federal agents at Guantanamo from Jan. 12 to 16, 2007. He concluded that the government had not met its burden to prove the statements were voluntary.
The OMC says panel members are commissioned military officers on active duty, and their work is comparable to that of civilian jurors. EconoTimes previously covered the dispute over al-Nashiri’s fitness to stand trial. The Sept. 11 trial is scheduled for June 5, 2028.
