Torture Survivor Held at Guantánamo for 20 Years released
HAVANA TIMES – The Biden administration has released a mentally ill torture survivor who was held at the Guantánamo Bay prison for nearly 20 years, most of that time without charge. Mohammed al-Qahtani was diagnosed with schizophrenia long before his capture in Afghanistan in 2001. His condition deteriorated further after he was rendered to Guantánamo in 2002, where he was subjected to 20-hour-per-day interrogations for weeks, in which he suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Al-Qahtani’s lawyer, Shayana Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, “Mohammed has always belonged in the care of psychiatrists, not in a prison. He survived being tortured and detained at Guantánamo through enormous personal courage, and we are very hopeful that with proper treatment with his family nearby, he will learn to manage his symptoms and salvage the remainder of his life.”