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November 21, 2008 2:52:33 AM CST

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'20th Hijacker' Tried Suicide at Gitmo

Posted May 21, 08 7:48 AM CDT in Crime & Courts,  World 

(Newser) – A man accused of being al-Qaeda's 20th 9/11 hijacker tried to kill himself at Guantanamo Bay last month, Reuters reports. A lawyer for the Saudi said he cut his wrist open after learning that the Pentagon had filed capital charges against him. The charges were dropped last week without explanation but the Pentagon has reserved the right to reinstate them.

Thinking his execution was looming, he had a mental breakdown and "lost all hope and really had a very direct psychological reaction to all of this," his lawyer said. The detainee has spent more than 6 years in Gitmo, and been subjected to a "special interrogation plan" authorized by Donald Rumsfeld.

Source Reuters

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US military personnel inspect cells in Camp 5 maximum-security facility at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A guard tower is seen at Camp 4 in the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba, Tuesday, May 13, 2008. up to 9 other detainees.   (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this 2006 photo, reviewed by a US Department of Defense official, a closed cell door is seen behind a fence within Camp Delta military-run prison, at Guantanamo Bay.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, FILE)
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al-Qaeda • Pentagon • Guantanamo Bay • suicide • September 11 • Guantanamo prisoners • detainee • hijacker


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