Lawyer: suspect at Guantanamo attempted suicide
By BEN FOX
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The alleged “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks tried to kill himself at Guantanamo last month, his lawyer disclosed Tuesday, saying the Saudi prisoner was distraught over a possible death sentence for charges later dropped by the Pentagon.
Mohammed al-Qahtani cut himself at least three times and had to be hospitalized at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba, attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez said.
Al-Qahtani made the suicide attempt after learning military prosecutors filed capital charges against him and five other Guantanamo prisoners for their alleged roles in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“I cannot accept this injustice,” the lawyer quoted him as saying. “If I have to stay in this jail, I want to put an end to this suffering.”
Gutierrez, a lawyer with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, said she met with al-Qahtani in late April and learned he had attempted suicide weeks earlier. She could not disclose it until her notes had been reviewed and cleared by U.S. authorities under security rules for attorneys.
“He felt the Saudi government has thoroughly abandoned him and as if he is surrounded by people - the U.S. military - who want to kill him,” she said. “He has lost all hope.”
Authorities have alleged that al-Qahtani barely missed out on taking part in the Sept. 11 attacks because a U.S. immigration agent denied him entry when he arrived at the airport in Orlando, Florida.
But last week, the Pentagon dropped charges against the Saudi. Military officials did not disclose a reason why and said the charges could be filed again later.
Murder and war crimes charges are still pending against the five others, including the suspected mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. They face a June 5 arraignment at Guantanamo.
Gutierrez and al-Qahtani’s Pentagon-appointed defense lawyer, Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, have suggested that harsh interrogation tactics used on the detainee could have influenced the decision not to charge him.
Al-Qahtani, who the military says is about 28, admitted to his role in the attacks but recanted in October 2006, saying he confessed after he had been tortured and humiliated at Guantanamo.
The alleged torture, which he detailed in a written statement, included being beaten, restrained for long periond to requests for comment about the alleged suicide attempt.
The military holds about 270 men at Guantanamo on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban and plans to prosecute about 80 in the first U.S. war crimes trials since World War II
May 20th, 2008 | Category: Detainee Abuse, Guantanamo, Kangaroo Kourt, Lies of the U.S. Administration, Mental Health, Military Commission, Military Tribunal, Suicide Attempt, Torture, URGENT Health Issue, URGENT Mental Health Issues, human rights, religious abuse, war crimes, waterboarding
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