Suspected ‘9/11 hijacker’ launched from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia

A Saudi prisoner on the Guantanamo Bay detention centre who was suspected of attempting to affix the 9/11 hijackers has been despatched again to his residence nation for therapy for psychological sickness, the Department of Defense mentioned.

Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani was flown again to Saudi Arabia, to a therapy facility, from the US base in Cuba after a evaluate board together with army and intelligence officers concluded he may very well be safely launched after 20 years in custody.

His legal professionals say the 46-year-old prisoner has suffered from psychological sickness, together with schizophrenia, since childhood. The US dropped plans to strive him after a Bush administration authorized official concluded he had been tortured at Guantanamo.

With his launch, there at the moment are 38 prisoners left on the detention centre. He is the second launched beneath President Joe Biden, who has mentioned he intends to shut the power.

“The United States appreciates the willingness of Saudi Arabia and other partners to support ongoing US efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing of the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the Department of Defense mentioned in an announcement Monday saying the repatriation of al-Qahtani.

However, solely about half the lads held there have been cleared for launch, and no choice has been made about what to do with the remaining, together with those that nonetheless face trial by army fee.

The Defense Department notified Congress of its intention to switch al-Qahtani in February, prompting outrage from some Republicans.

In August 2001, al-Qahtani was turned away from the US on the Orlando airport by immigration officers who have been suspicious of his journey. The lead September 11 hijacker, Mohammed Atta, was going to choose him up to participate within the plot, in line with beforehand launched paperwork.

US forces later captured him in Afghanistan and despatched him to Guantanamo, the place he was subjected to brutal interrogations that the Pentagon authorized official in command of battle crimes commissions mentioned amounted to torture.

That therapy included beatings, publicity to excessive temperatures and noise, sleep deprivation and prolonged solitary confinement. An FBI official in 2002 noticed al-Qahtani chatting with non-existent individuals, listening to voices and crouching in a nook of his cell whereas masking himself with a sheet for hours at a time.