Blah, blah, blah

Today a military judge dropped all charges against one of the six detainees charged in the 9/11 hijackings.

Mohamed al Kahtani faces no trial after years of torture in a Guantánamo prison for a crime he wasn’t even in the country to commit. He was detained in January 2002. In February 2008, after “aggressive” interrogations, the prosecution finally submitted charges.

It took six years for the Pentagon to levy charges that took only three months to dismiss.

His military defense lawyer suggests the dismissal comes because the only evidence against Kahtani is his statements that were “derived from torture.”

Even a military judge must repudiate such illegitimacy of testimonies made during what military officials have admitted were “degrading and abusive” interrogations.

But it’s not over yet. The charges against him were dropped “without prejudice,” so the government can reinitiate charges at any time. The remaining five suspects continue to face the death penalty.

Kahtani was only 22 years old when he was taken to Guantánamo. He has spent one-fifth of his life in the military prison based on unsubstantiated allegations.

The interrogation room in Guantanamo Bay, Christmas Eve 2002. Detainee 063 – an Al-Qaeda suspect called Mohamed al-Kahtani, who may or may not be that sought-after 20th 9/11 hijacker – is crying in his chair. It is his 33rd day of continuous interrogation – a month with almost no sleep – and the interrogators have started up with the white noise again and are pouring water over his head.

Maybe the snarling dogs will come back too, or he’ll once more be humiliated by some woman pressing up against him while he’s told to stand or crouch naked for hours on end. He’ll be yelled at, shaved by force and made to act like a dog and will have instructions bellowed at him from a distance of 2in. He’ll be so terrified and exhausted that he’ll wet himself.

Happy Christmas, Mohamed. Good Christian men, rejoice.