(AP) A Saudi prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center who was suspected of trying to join the 9/11 hijackers has been sent back to his home country for treatment for mental illness, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani was flown back to Saudi Arabia, to a treatment facility, from the U.S. base in Cuba after a review board including military and intelligence officials concluded he could be safely released after 20 years in custody.
The 46-year-old prisoner has suffered from mental illness, including schizophrenia, since childhood, according to medical examinations and records obtained by his lawyers. The U.S. dropped plans to try him after a Bush administration legal official concluded he had been tortured at Guantanamo.
With his release, there are now 38 prisoners left at the detention center.
