Saudi Sept. 11 suspect tortured in Guantanamo

US: A Saudi suspected of involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks was tortured at the US detention site in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing a US official.

Susan Crawford, the Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo detainees to trial, told the Post that the suspect cannot be tried because he was tortured.

US military interrogators subjected Mohammed al-Qahtani, 30, to sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition," Crawford said.

"We tortured Qahtani," Crawford told the newspaper. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.

Qahtani, alleged to be the 20th hijacker in the September 11 attacks, was denied entry to the United States one month before the attacks but was captured in Afghanistan and flown to Guantanamo in January 2002.

Washington, Wednesday, AFP