Saudi Mohammed al-Qahtani had been one of the first prisoners transferred to this military prison in January 2002. A judge of the army had recognized that he had been tortured.
Le Monde with AFP
The US authorities have recommended the release of a detainee from the Guantanamo Military Prison, suspected of attempted to participate in the attacks of 11-September, according to documents published on Friday, February 4th.
The detention of Saudi Mohammed al-Qahtani is “more necessary” to protect the security of the United States of a “serious threat”, according to the Guantanamo revision board, which advocates the repatriate in Saudi Arabia .
He had been accused of being the … air pirate, which should have participated in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Commission has declared it “eligible for a transfer” and recommended its participation in “a rehabilitation program” in a center for the reintegration of the former jihadists in Saudi Arabia.
This organ said it took into account “the very poor mental health of the inmate”, the “family support of which he could have”, and the “quality” of the care he would receive in his country. Safety measures, including travel monitoring and restrictions, have also been recommended.
Sleep isolation and deprivation
Mohammed al-Qahtani had been one of the first prisoners transferred to Guantanamo in January 2002. The tortures imposed on him were widely documented. In particular, it had been subjected to an extended isolation regime, with sleep deprivations or humiliations related to its religion.
“We had tortured Qahtani,” said Susan Crawford, awarded the military judge who presided over the exceptional courts of Guantanamo. Ms. Crawford stated that it was “for this reason” that she did not refer that case before the exceptional justice created for the inmates of the military prison.
Mohammed al-Qahtani had arrived at Orlando airport, Florida, on August 4, 2001, but his behavior had attracted the attention of an immigrant officer who thought he wanted illegally install in the United States. His entrance had been denied, and he had been returned to Dubai.
The survey of the attacks of 11-September, who had been nearly 3,000 dead, had ended up catching up: he had been captured in Afghanistan in December 2001.
Last month, the United States has already approved the release of five detainees. Ten others, including the presumed brain of 2001 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, says “KSM”, are waiting for judgment by a military commission.
The sadly famous detention center was open just twenty years, as part of “war against terrorism”.