A Saudi prisoner on the Guantanamo Bay detention middle who was suspected of making an attempt to hitch the 9/11 hijackers has been despatched again to his dwelling nation for therapy for psychological sickness, the Department of Defense stated.
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 navy and intelligence officers concluded he could possibly be safely launched after 20 years in custody.
His attorneys say the 46-year-old prisoner has suffered from psychological sickness, together with schizophrenia, since childhood. The US dropped plans to attempt 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 stated he intends to shut the ability.
“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 stated in a press release 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 remainder, together with those that nonetheless face trial by navy 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 select him up to participate within the plot, based on 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 answerable for warfare crimes commissions stated 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 folks, listening to voices and crouching in a nook of his cell whereas masking himself with a sheet for hours at a time.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
