Mohammed al-Qahtani

Mohammed al-Qahtani
Born	1979 (age 31–32) Dalam, Saudi Arabia
Detained at	Guantanamo
ISN	63
Charge(s)	Charged February 2008, after six years of extrajudicial detention -- was subjected to torture in 2002; charges dropped in May 2008; habeas case reinstated.
Status	Still held in Guantanamo

Mohammed Mana Ahmed al-Qahtani (Arabic: محمد مانع أحمد القحطاني‎) (also transliterated as al-Kahtani) is a Saudi citizen who is currently detained in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Qahtani allegedly tried to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks as a "muscle hijacker". Mustafa al-Hawsawi, one of the alleged organizers of the September 11 attacks, referred to Qahtani in intercepted telephone calls as "the last one" to "complete the group".^{[citation needed]} Mohammed al-Qahtani was refused entry due to suspicions that he was attempting to immigrate.

In 2008 the Bush administration admitted that it had tortured Qahtani. In an interview with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, Susan Crawford said that the US government had so systematically abused Qahtani through isolation, sleep deprivation, forced nudity and exposure to cold that he was in a "life-threatening condition."^[1][2][3] Gitanjali Gutierrez, who works for the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents many of Guantanamo's inmates, said she thought Qahtani's torture constituted a war crime.^[4][5]

Since January 2002, Qahtani has been detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Early life

Mohammed al-Qahtani was born in 1979 in Dalam, Saudi Arabia. He is a Saudi national from a large Bedouin family. His father served as a police officer for 28 years. His mother remained at home to raise her thirteen children. He has eight brothers and four sisters, who range in age from 42 – 14 years of age. According to family members, his favorite class in school was art. He has no criminal record and no record of any violence.

Denied entry by US immigration

On August 3, 2001, Qahtani flew into Orlando, Florida, from Dubai. He was questioned by officials dubious he could support himself with only $2,800 cash to his name, and suspicious that he intended to become an illegal immigrant as he was using a one-way ticket.^[6] He was sent back to Dubai, and subsequently returned to Pakistan.

Second capture, transfer to Guantanamo

Captured in the Battle of Tora Bora, Qahtani was sent to the United States Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He continued giving a false name, and insisting he had been in the area solely pursuing an interest in falconry.^[6]

After ten months, U.S. authorities took a fingerprint sample and discovered that he was the same person who had tried to enter the United States just before the September 11th attacks. Seizing the airport surveillance tapes, the FBI claimed they were able to identify the car of Mohamed Atta at the airport, ostensibly waiting to pick up Qahtani.^[6]

He was interrogated.^[7] After details of his status were leaked, the US Department of Defense issued a press release stating that Qahtani had admitted:

• He had been sent to the US by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the lead architect of the 9/11 attack;
• That he had met Osama Bin Laden on several occasions;
• That he had received terrorist training at two al-Qaeda camps;
• That he had been in contact with many senior al-Qaeda leaders.

Another military account stated that Qahtani was identified as someone who had previously been turned away due to visa problems -— by fingerprints, "taken in Southwest Asia".^[8]

Shortly after September 26, 2002, a Gulfstream jet carrying David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, John A. Rizzo, William Haynes II, two Justice Department lawyers, Alice S. Fisher and Patrick F. Philbin, and the Office of Legal Counsel's Jack Goldsmith flew to Camp Delta to view Qahtani, then to Charleston, South Carolina to view Jose Padilla, and finally to Norfolk, Virginia to view Yaser Esam Hamdi.^[6]

Documented abuses while in Guantanamo

At Guantánamo, Qahtani was subjected to a regime of aggressive interrogation techniques, known as the “First Special Interrogation Plan” that were authorized by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and implemented under the supervision and guidance of Secretary Rumsfeld and the commander of Guantánamo, Major General Geoffrey Miller.^[9]

In November 2006, senior investigators with the Defense Department's Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF) told msnbc.com that military prosecutors said Qahtani would be "unprosecutable" because he was tortured during interrogation.^[10]

Susan J. Crawford, a senior Pentagon official, stated on January 14, 2009 that "his treatment met the legal definition of torture...The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive". As convening authority of military commissions, Crawford is responsible for overseeing Guantanamo practices.^[11]

Interrogation log

On March 3, 2006, Time magazine published the secret log of 49 days of 20-hour-per-day interrogation.^[12][13] The log described how Qahtani was forcibly administered intravenous fluids, and drugs, and was forcibly given enemas, in order to keep his body functioning well enough for the interrogations to go on.

The log, titled SECRET ORCON INTERROGATION LOG DETAINEE 063, offers a daily, detailed view of the interrogation techniques used to obtain confession from him from November 23, 2002, to January 11, 2003. These include the following:

• Restraint on a swivel chair for long periods
• Deprivation of sleep for long periods
• Loud music and white noise played to prevent the detainee from sleeping
• Various humiliations, such as training the detainee to act as a dog and forcing him to watch puppet shows depicting sexual acts between him and Osama bin Laden at his mock birthday party
• Lowering the temperature in the room, then throwing water to the detainee's face
• Forcing the detainee to pray to Osama Bin Laden
• Various interrogation techniques described as "pride & ego down", "circumstantial evidence", "fear-up", or "Al Qaeda falling apart"
• Threats of extraordinary rendition to countries that torture
• Threats made against his family, including female members
• Strip searches
• Body searches
• Forced nudity, including in the presence of female personnel
• Forced to submit to an enema
• Prohibiting detainee from praying for prolonged times and during Ramadan
• Threatening to desecrate the Koran in front of him
• Forced to pick up trash with his hands cuffed while being called "a pig"
• Placed in prolonged stress positions
• Placed in tight restraints for many months or days and nights
• Beatings
• Exposure to low temperatures for prolonged times
• Forcible administration of IVs by medical staff during interrogation, which were described by Qahtani as "repetitive stabs" each day

At no point during the interrogation log does Qahtani explicitly admit to being a member of al-Qaeda, although his stated reasons for travelling to the United States and Afghanistan - what the US interrogators refer to as his cover story - appear inconsistent. Furthermore, the entry for January 1, 2003 relates how Qahtani blames Osama bin Laden for deceiving the 19 9/11 hijackers ("his friends"):

2A0780 asked how one man, Bin Laden, convince [sic] 19 young men to kill themselves, (detainee was starting to fade he was going in and out of sleep.) The question was repeated, detainee stated that they were tricked, that he distorted the picture if [sic] front of them, 2A0780 asked detainee if this made him mad, detainee stated yes, (detainee did not realize that 2A780 [sic] had not started putting detainee into the picture) 2A0780 asked detainee if he was mad that his friends had been tricked, detainee said yes. 2A0780 asked detainee if his friends knew about the plan, detainee said no, 2A0780 asked if detainee knew about the plan, detainee stated that he didn't know. 2A0780 asked detainee if it made him mad that he killed his friends, detainee stated yes. 2A0780 asked detainee if he was glad that he didn’t die on the plane, detainee stated yes. 2A0780 asked detainee if his parents were happy that he didn’t die detainee stated yes. 2A0780 stated "he killed your friends" detainee stated yes.^[14]

When asked about his greatest sins in his life, Qahtani responded that he had not taken care of his parents properly, had not finished school and had not been able to repay $20,000 he had borrowed from his aunt.

Recantation

On March 3, 2006, Qahtani's lawyer was allowed to reveal that her client had recanted the accusations he had levelled against his fellow detainees.^[15] He had told his lawyer that he was forced to falsely confess, and name names, in order to get his "extended interrogation" to end. He had accused 30 other detainees of being former bodyguards of Osama bin Laden.

Post interrogation conditions of incarceration

On September 6, 2006, President Bush announced that 14 detainees who had been held in previously secret overseas CIA interrogation centres, and subjected to torture techniques, like waterboarding and mock executions, had been sent to Guantanamo. The Washington Post reports that the new inmates will be held in conditions similar to those imposed on Qahtani, including isolation and 24 hours of continuous light.^[16]

Charged before a military commission

The New York Times reported on February 9, 2008 that the Office of Military Commissions was close to laying charges against six of the more high value detainees, including Qahtani.^[17]

He was charged on February 11, 2008 with war crimes and murder, and faced the death penalty if convicted.^[17]

Gitanjali Gutierrez, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), will be representing Qahtani against the war crime and murder charges. Attorneys at CCR denounce the systematic use of torture as well as challenge the validity of the military commission and the use of evidence obtained via torture in his death penalty case. In a recent press release, CCR claimed that “the military commissions at Guantanamo allow secret evidence, hearsay evidence, and evidence obtained through torture. They are unlawful, unconstitutional, and a perversion of justice.” ^[18]

Charges dropped

On May 11, 2008 the charges against Mohamed were dropped.^[19][20] Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that it was possible for the charges to be re-instated, at a later date, because they had been dropped "without prejudice". The reasons for the dismissal were not made public.

New charges announced

On November 18, 2008, Chief Prosecutor Lawrence Morris announced that he was filing new charges against Qahtani.^[21] When announcing the new charges Morris stated that the new charges were based on “independent and reliable evidence”. He stated:

“His conduct is significant enough that he falls into the category of people who ought to be held accountable by being brought to trial.”

Crawford orders charges dropped due to torture

Susan Crawford, the senior official in charge of the Office of Military Commissions has the final authority over whether charges were laid. On January 14, 2009 Crawford ruled that charges could not be laid against Qahtani because the interrogation techniques he was subjected to in Guantanamo rose to the level of torture.^[22] Bryan Whitman, a DoD spokesman, claimed the techniques were legal, at the time they were applied.

Qahtani's habeas case reinstated

Mohammed al-Qahtani's habeas corpus case was reinstated in July 2008 after the Supreme Court ruled on Boumediene v. Bush and al-Odah v. United States, stating that Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional right to habeas corpus.^[23]

References

1. ^ Woodward, Bob (January 14, 2009). "Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011303372.html. 
2. ^ http://www.truth-out.org/1006095
3. ^ http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/01/20/bush-era-ends-with-guantanamo-trial-chiefs-torture-confession/
4. ^ MacAskill, Ewen; Dodd, Vikram (January 15, 2009). "Bush administration: 'We tortured Qahtani'". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/15/guantanamo-bush-administration-torture-qahtani. 
5. ^ "It is called torture, Mr. President". CBC News. January 16, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/01/15/f-rfa-macdonald.html. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Mayer, Jane, "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals", 2008. p. 140
7. ^ U.S. Said to Overstate Value of Guantánamo Detainees, New York Times, June 21, 2004
8. ^ Donna Miles (2004-11-12). "Biometrics help to identify potential foes". The Morning Calm. http://imcom.korea.army.mil/imakoroweb/sites/local/news/MCW-PDF/2004/Vol3Issue6Nov12_2004.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-26. ^{[dead link]} mirror
9. ^ "Interrogation Log Detainee 063" (PDF). Center for Constitutional Rights. 2002-11-23. http://ccrjustice.org/files/Publication_AlQahtaniLog.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
10. ^ "Can the ‘20th hijacker’ of Sept. 11 stand trial? Aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo may prevent his prosecution". October 24 2006. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15361462/. Retrieved 2006-11-05. 
11. ^ Woodward, Bob (January 14, 2009). "Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011303372.html. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 
12. ^ Interrogation log, US Department of Defense, November 23, 2002 through January 11, 2003
13. ^ Steven Miles (2007). "Medical Ethics and the Interrogation of Guantanamo 063". The American Journal of Bioethics. http://bioethics.net/journal/j_articles.php?aid=1140. Retrieved 2009-03-25. 
14. ^ Ibid. page 72. Reviewed on 2008-02-20.
15. ^ Exclusive: "20th Hijacker" Claims That Torture Made Him Lie, Time, March 3, 2006
16. ^ Guantanamo More Strict, Detainees Say: Defense Attorneys Relate Clients' 'Despair', Washington Post, September 8, 2006
17. ^ ^{a b} "A Guantanamo Trial". New York Times. February 9, 2008. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/09/washington/gitmoFull.gif. Retrieved 2008-02-10. "Mohammed al-Qahtani, (captured) December 2001, believed by US officials to have been the planned 20th hijacker. A month before the attacks, he flew to Orlando but was denied entry." 
18. ^ "CCR challenges validity of military commissions and use of torture evidence in new death penalty cases". Center for Constitutional Rights. 2008-02-11. http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/ccr-challenges-validity-military-comissions-and-use-torture-evidence-new-dea. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
19. ^ "Key 9/11 suspect charges dropped". BBC News. May 13, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7398953.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
20. ^ "Charges against 9/11 man dropped". The Australian. May 14, 2008. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23696355-2703,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
21. ^ William Glaberson (2008-11-18). "Detainee Will Face New War-Crimes Charges". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/us/19gitmo.html?bl&ex=1227243600&en=21630a148c19f857&ei=5087%0A. Retrieved 2008-11-20.  mirror
22. ^ Donna Miles (2009-01-14). "Detainee Treatment Remains Key as Officials Weigh Guantanamo’s Future". American Forces Press Service. http://www.southcom.mil/AppsSC/news.php?storyId=1527. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
23. ^ "Qahtani v. Bush, Qahtani v. Gates". Center for Constitutional Rights. 2009-11-04. http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/al-qahtani-v.-bush%2C-al-qahtani-v.-gates. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 

External links

• Detainee 063: serialized interrogation and torture log of Mohamed al-Qahtani December 9, 2009
• The "Ethical Interrogation": The Myth of Michael Gelles and the Qahtani Interrogation December 7, 2009
• The Final 9/11 Commission Report PDF, July 17, 2005
• The Final 9/11 Commission Report HTML, July 17, 2005
• Bill Dedman, Can the ‘20th hijacker’ of Sept. 11 stand trial? Aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo may prevent his prosecution HTML, October 24, 2006
• Information from the Partnership for Public Service, 2005
• "Search began with a stubborn detainee", USA Today, June 22, 2004
• Guantanamo Provides Valuable Intelligence Information Department of Defense Press Release, June 12, 2005 - Description of Qahtani's interrogation at Guantanamo Bay
• Interview with Adam Zagorin about Qathani's interrogation log, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, June 13, 2005
• Allegations of Abuse, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, July 13, 2005 - interview with Senator John Warner and General Bantz Craddock and General Randall Schmidt.
• 'Clean team' interrogated 9-11 suspects
• Human Rights First; Tortured Justice: Using Coerced Evidence to Prosecute Terrorist Suspects (2008)
• Human Rights First; Undue Process: An Examination of Detention and Trials of Bagram Detainees in Afghanistan in April 2009 (2009)

Persondata
Name	Qahtani, Mohammed al-
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1979
Place of birth	Dalam, Saudi Arabia
Date of death
Place of death