Mohamed Al Qahtani spent the last six years as a celebrity at Guantanamo Bay. He was the notorious '20th hijacker' and a star detainee. Whenever Guantanamo or the 'War on Terror' was challenged Qahtani, the 20th hijacker was thrown in as justification.
In 2006 Human Rights Watch reproted that Qahtani was forced to wear women's underwear, stand naked in front of a woman interrogator, and to perform "dog tricks" on a leash, in late 2002 and early 2003. Human Rights groups which got hold of a leaked copy of his interrogation log book which showed he was also subjected to sleep deprivation and forced to maintain "stress" positions; concluded that the treatment "amounted to torture". However the US government maintained that the interrogation did not amount to torture but only "abusive and degrading". The Centre for Constitutional Rights which represents Qahtani described the logs as "a shameful window onto the depravity of [the] administration and the depths to which they have been willing to sink."
In February 11,2008 the US government decided to charge Qahtani and five other equally 'famous' detainees for their involvement for what happened on September 11, 2001. However yesterday on May 13, 2008, the administration decided to drop charges against him without comment and without prejudice.
The mega million question is why were the charges dropped on Qahtani? The US government has not made a statement explaning this. Is it because the US finally realised that the flimsy evidence against Qahtani i.e. confessions signed by him, were obtained under torture and therefore decided to drop charges to preserve the integrity of the process?
The dropping of the charges is a well placed damage control strategy by the administration.
Recently the prominent international lawyer Philippe Sands QC, published Torture Team a book that gives a detailed account of what happened to Qahtani, the scraps of forced confessions that the US administration called 'evidence' and the people behind the torture. The book however is not mere a narrative. It's a strong, cogent and convincing brief for the prosecution of those involved in the torture on Qahtani for crimes against humanity and in fact hints that there is at least one judge and prosecutor in a European country famous for arrest warrants who seriously consider such a prosecution.
Given the publicity to book recieved Sands was requested to give a special testimony before the Congress Judiciary Committee on May 6, 2008 just a week before the dropping of the charges against Qahtani. In fact the Congressmen on the committee made specific queries as to possibilities of indictments and whether there were time limitations for such prosecutions.
The lawyers and the officials including Rumsfeld who were behind the torture of Qahtani had clearly met their Waterloo. Given the material in the book and the hint of possible prosecution, what if Qahtani's trial proceeded, he is found guilty and executed? It would only strengthen the resolve and the case of any prosecutor against the men indicted in Sands' book.
Dropping of the charges? It is another attempt at cover up and run for cover by Rumsfeld and the lawyers.
