Call for investigation into the torture of Guantánamo detainee Mohamed al-Qahtani
Mohamed al-Qahtani has been held in Guantánamo since February 2002, after being taken into custody on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in December 2001. For about six months from August 2002 he was held in total isolation and subjected to sleep deprivation, loud music, bright lights, hooding, intimidation by dogs, stress positions, various forms of humiliation and 20-hour interrogation sessions.
On 11 February 2008 the Pentagon announced charges against Mohamed al-Qahtani which carry the death penalty. However, on 13 May 2008, Susan Crawford, convening authority for the military commissions at Guantánamo, announced that the charges against him had been dismissed, later explaining this was because he had been tortured in US custody.
Neither this acknowledgement of torture, nor the detail of its authorization contained in a US Senate Armed Services Committee report released in April 2009, has been accompanied by any announcement of a criminal investigation into his treatment. Mohammed al-Qahtani is still in indefinite detention in Guantánamo.
On 11 February 2008 the Pentagon announced charges against Mohamed al-Qahtani which carry the death penalty. However, on 13 May 2008, Susan Crawford, convening authority for the military commissions at Guantánamo, announced that the charges against him had been dismissed, later explaining this was because he had been tortured in US custody.
Neither this acknowledgement of torture, nor the detail of its authorization contained in a US Senate Armed Services Committee report released in April 2009, has been accompanied by any announcement of a criminal investigation into his treatment. Mohammed al-Qahtani is still in indefinite detention in Guantánamo.