WASHINGTON, CMC – A United States parole-like panel has recommended that a mentally-ill detainee at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Detention Center in Cuba, accused of being involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, be transferred to Saudi Arabia to a custodial rehabilitation and mental health care programme for extremists.

Mohammed al-Qahtani, a Saudi Arabia national, is detained at the naval base, as being Al Qaeda’s intended 20th hijacker in attacks that brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York. 

The Periodic Review Board on Friday said that it determined by consensus that continued law of war detention of Qahtani is “no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States. 

“In making this determination, the Board recognizes the detainee presents some level of threat in light of his past activities and associations,” said the Board in a statement. “However, the Board found that considering the standard it must apply and the following factors and conditions of the transfer, the detainee is eligible for transfer and the threat the detainee presents can be adequately mitigated. 

“The Board expressed confidence in the efficacy of the Saudi rehabilitation program, the Board understood that Saudi Arabia can provide comprehensive mental health care, and the Board noted Saudi Arabia’s ability to monitor the detainee after completion of the rehabilitation program,” the statement added. 

The Periodic Review Board also said it considered the detainee’s “significantly compromised mental health condition” and available family support.”

The Board recommended that Qahtani, who is in his 40’s, be transferred  only to Saudi Arabia for participation in the Mohammed bin Naif Counseling and Care Center, “or a comparable program, to include provision of mental health care through implementation of a robust treatment plan and implementation of a comprehensive set of security measures, including monitoring and travel restrictions.”

Qahtani, who was reportedly tortured by the US military, is expected to be repatriated to Saudi Arabia as early as next month. 

In December 2001, Pakistani forces captured Qahtani close to the border with Afghanistan.

He was then handed over to the US military, who then transferred him, in February 2002, to the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay.

A senior US Defense official said Qahtani could not be tried because he was tortured, using tactics such as sleep deprivation and dehydration. 

“Despite the severity of his illness, Mohammed doesn’t pose a risk to anyone but himself,” said Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer for Qahtani and a law professor at the City University of New York (CUNY). “He needs psychiatric treatment in Saudi Arabia, not continued incarceration in Cuba.”

The US Department of Defense said 39 detainees remain at Guantánamo Bay, a significant drop from the peak of about 780 in 2002.