U.S. Drops Charges Against '20th Hijacker' Facing Guantanamo Trial

by Jarrett Martineau | May 12, 2008 at 08:46 pm

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If one of the six men set to face murder trial charges for involvement in the 9/11 attacks can have the charges against him dropped, is it possible that the remaining five men might as well?

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Pentagon is dropping charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was supposed to have been the "20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men facing murder charges before a U.S. military tribunal for the attacks.

But U.S. military defence lawyers confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that a Pentagon official has finalized the charges only against the other five, including the alleged architect of the attacks.

U.S. officials have said al-Qahtani was subjected to harsh treatment authorized by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.