I confessed under torture: Saudi Gitmo inmateA Saudi Guantanamo prisoner -- the so-called "20th hijacker" -- said he confessed to knowing about the September 11 attacks after being abused and humiliated by U.S. prison guards at the Guantanamo Bay camp.Muhammad al-Qahtani, 28, said he was beaten, restrained in uncomfortable positions for extended periods, threatened with dogs, and exposed to extreme noise and freezing temperatures. He also said he was forced to remove all his clothes and stand naked in front of female American wardens.
A 2005 U.S. military investigation confirmed that Qahtani was also forced to wear women's underwear, kept in solitary confinement for 160 days, and interrogated for 18-20 hours a day on 48 of 54 days. But the investigation led by Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt concluded that Qahtani's treatment was not torture because he was not deprived of food, drink or medical attention and sustained no physical injuries.The Saudi prisoner said his confessions were extracted under duress, at his first appearance before a military panel at Guantanamo Bay, nearly five years after he was detained. "I am a businessman and a peaceful person. I have nothing to do with fighting or terrorism," Qahtani said, according to Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat.A U.S. officer at the hearing said Qahtani admitted that he went to Afghanistan in 2001, where he received terrorist training, met with Osama Bin Laden, and agreed to take part in a "martyr mission" for al-Qaeda. Qahtani is one of the most notorious prisoners at Guatanamo, the notorious prison camp in Cuba where the U.S. is holding some 340 terror suspects.Many of the men were captured in Afghanistan in the U.S.-led war to oust the Taliban after the September 11 attacks. The U.S. transferred 16 Saudi detainees to Riyadh on Thursday, bringing to 93 the number of Saudis handed over to the kingdom, while 37 remain incarcerated.About 800 detainees have passed through Guantanamo Bay since it opened. Of the hundreds still being held, only about 10 men have been charged.
A 2005 U.S. military investigation confirmed that Qahtani was also forced to wear women's underwear, kept in solitary confinement for 160 days, and interrogated for 18-20 hours a day on 48 of 54 days. But the investigation led by Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt concluded that Qahtani's treatment was not torture because he was not deprived of food, drink or medical attention and sustained no physical injuries.The Saudi prisoner said his confessions were extracted under duress, at his first appearance before a military panel at Guantanamo Bay, nearly five years after he was detained. "I am a businessman and a peaceful person. I have nothing to do with fighting or terrorism," Qahtani said, according to Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat.A U.S. officer at the hearing said Qahtani admitted that he went to Afghanistan in 2001, where he received terrorist training, met with Osama Bin Laden, and agreed to take part in a "martyr mission" for al-Qaeda. Qahtani is one of the most notorious prisoners at Guatanamo, the notorious prison camp in Cuba where the U.S. is holding some 340 terror suspects.Many of the men were captured in Afghanistan in the U.S.-led war to oust the Taliban after the September 11 attacks. The U.S. transferred 16 Saudi detainees to Riyadh on Thursday, bringing to 93 the number of Saudis handed over to the kingdom, while 37 remain incarcerated.About 800 detainees have passed through Guantanamo Bay since it opened. Of the hundreds still being held, only about 10 men have been charged.
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