US drops charges against Saudi in Sept. 11 attacks
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
AP
The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was alleged to have been the so-called “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said Monday.
Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent.
But in reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against al-Qahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, the Saudi’s military lawyer.
Crawford dismissed the charges Friday without prejudice, meaning they can be filed again later, but the defense only learned about it Monday, Broyles told The Associated Press.
The attorney said he could not comment on the reasons for the dismissal until discussing the case with lawyers for the other five defendants. Officials previously said al-Qahtani had been subjected to a harsh interrogation authorized by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, confirmed the case was proceeding against the five defendants and that their arraignment will be within 30 days of the charges being served at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Gordon declined further comment since the Office of Military Commissions had not yet released the formal announcement about the legal developments.
The five defendants include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the terrorist attacks in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people, and Ramzi Binalshibh, who is said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and al-Qaida leaders. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for all of them.
Their trial is the first capital case thus far before the military tribunals at Guantanamo, where the U.S. holds about 270 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The military has said it plans to prosecute about 80 prisoners in the first U.S. military war crimes tribunals since World War II.
Authorities have said they plan to broadcast the trials to military bases in the United States so relatives of the victims of the attacks can see the proceedings.
Critics of the tribunals have faulted a rule that allows judges to decide whether to allow evidence that may have been obtained with “coercion.” U.S. authorities have acknowledged that Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding by CIA interrogators and that al-Qahtani was treated harshly at Guantanamo.
Al-Qahtani in October 2006 recanted a confession he said he made after he was tortured and humiliated at Guantanamo.
The alleged torture, which he detailed in a written statement, included being beaten, restrained for long periods in uncomfortable positions, threatened with dogs, exposed to loud music and freezing temperatures and stripped nude in front of female personnel.
The U.S. has alleged that al-Qahtani, who military records show is about 28, barely missed becoming the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11, 2001. The Saudi was denied entry into the country by immigration agents at the airport in Orlando, Florida.
At the time, he had more than US$2,400 in cash, no return plane ticket and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was waiting for him, the military has said.
Separately Monday, Gordon said the Pentagon has not decided whether to appeal a ruling that ousted a top legal official from a detainee case scheduled to become the first to go to trial at Guantanamo Bay.
In a ruling last week, a military judge at Guantanamo found that Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, the legal adviser for the tribunals, lacks neutrality and should not participate in the case against a Yemeni who is a former driver for Osama bin Laden. His trial is set for June 2.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
OH well good I feel so much safer now…..NOT!
At the time, he had more than US$2,400 in cash, no return plane ticket and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was waiting for him, the military has said.
Oh. Okay. Let him go… What the hell?!?
These people never get it. I wonder if he will return to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq? Which one will he be captured in next? I would hope he would be summarily shot, not taken prisoner.
Liberals never understand anything.
This man helped plan this–he should be in prison.
He’s what we call an “accessory” to the crime.
It was murder and he helped.
But some pantywaste judge let him go.
Great. just what we need. Another towel headed heathen running amuck.
Well Chrissie, as a revered ex-terrorist he is now free to attend classes under the distinguished ex-terrorist and professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago or to study law under that distinguished professor’s wife and ex-terrorist the distinguished professor at Northwestern University of Law. The ACLU needs every lawyer with a terrorist background it can get, Mohammed al-Qahtani is tailor made for them. Professor’s Ayres and Ayres can provide that vital service, with the blessings of the American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild. With super citizenship, unencumbered and unlike the rest of us “orphans in our own homes” as is nationally demonstrated on a daily basis, Mohammed al-Qahtani will not need any visa or other documents of citizenship to attend and he will automatically ascend to the front of the line in any category. Free room and board undoubtedly to be provided by the citizens of Dearborn and his Islamic religious needs to be ensured by Obama and provided by the Trinity United Church.
Bob, me too, I hope they do shoot him the next time. It isn’t worth it to take him prisoner and watch him go free again.
Lynn I agree, this is nuts. This guy was with the very people that attacked and they let him go. sheesh amazing!
Jack that really is about it and how things go for the bad guys and the good guys are told we are stupid, unfair to those in prison, etc. grrrr
Let us not forget, Il Presidente is in Saudi Arabia, fanning the sultans with an ostrich plume, cajoling them to increase oil production to overcome the effects of his weak dollar. It seems his religious humility and cheek-turning has no limits, even where it involves Wahabbist murderers and tyrants. Who knows what the current price is for the release of a terrorist?
Rhod you put it exactly what he is about. All of that is so true!!!
I have a post about a vote today I am going to put up where they voted down drilling in Alaska.sheesh I never saw so many trying so hard to be soooo stupid.
“I never saw so many trying so hard to be soooo stupid.”
WT, you said it perfectly. Unfortunately, we all suffer as there are now more of them than us.
Les, yes we sure are outnumbered.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer called it right in 1964:
“Island of misfit toys…”
~AA11~ ~UF175~ ~AA77~ ~UF93~
— 2,996 slaughtered in 3 states within 3 hours on 9-11-01 – INFIDELS 2008?