US to release would-be 9/11 hijacker for mental health treatment

by mcardinal

Lauren Moye, FISM NEWS

 

U.S. security officials have recommended the release of a suspected 9/11 terrorist on the grounds of mental health treatment needs. The detainee, Mohammed al-Qahtani, was suspected of being the intended 20th hijacker during the September 2001 attacks.

On Feb. 4, the periodic review board issued their final determination that the “detention of [al-Qahtani] is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States.”

The board, composed of U.S. security officials from multiple agencies, also stated “the detainee presents some level of threat in light of his past activities and associations. However, the Board found that considering the standard it must apply and the following factors and conditions of the transfer, the detainee is eligible for transfer and the threat the detainee presents can be adequately mitigated.”

Al-Qahtani was one of the first prisoners sent to Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. military base housed in Cuba, in 2002. He tried to enter the U.S. in August 2001 but was denied entry at the time. The leader of the 9/11 attacks, Mohammed Atta, was waiting to pick Al-Qahtani up on that day.

Al-Qahtani was later captured in Saudi Arabia in December 2001. He has been detained without trial since then.

It’s been alleged that al-Qahtani has mental health issues like schizophrenia. On these grounds, the review board recommended transfer to al-Qahtani’s native country for participation in a counseling program that includes a “robust treatment plan.” They also recommended monitoring and travel restrictions for the detainee.

The news garnered some critique from Republican lawmakers. “Letting a 9/11 hijacker walk free is an appalling capitulation to the far-left,” Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) stated, noting that Al-Qaeda terrorists killed 3000 people on that day.

Kevin McCarthy (R-Cal.) and Ryan Tully, a professional staff member for the House Committee on Armed Services, both retweeted Roger’s statement.

Many of Guantonomo’s detainees were released under President Barrack Obama. The prison still contains 39 prisoners, five of which were also approved for release in late January. In the case of al-Qahtani, however, the question of release is more complicated.

In 2007, Pentagon official Susan Crawford was given the authority to decide which detainees should be sent to trial. The following year, she told the Washington Post, “We tortured Qahtani. His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case.”

Crawford’s public admission was the first acknowledgment of torture made by a U.S. official regarding the treatment of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Her admission complicated the ability to try al-Qahtani, despite also stating at the time, “The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent.”

However, even Crawford was hesitant to release al-Qahtani, making it clear that the issue at hand was tainted evidence: “He’s a muscle hijacker. . . . He’s a very dangerous man. What do you do with him now if you don’t charge him and try him? I would be hesitant to say, ‘Let him go.’”

Ultimately, Crawford said that then-President Barrack Obama would have to make the decision. Al-Qahtani has been detained for 20 years since his December 2001 capture in Afghanistan.

Ten detainees still in the prison are awaiting trial. One of these men, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is accused of masterminding the 9/11 attacks.

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