Guantanamo detainee attempted suicide : laywer

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A Saudi held in Guantanamo Bay military jail and often described as the 20th hijacker in the September 11 attacks attempted to commit suicide in April, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Mohammed al-Qahtani, who was facing the death penalty, "felt the Saudi government has thoroughly abandoned him and as if he is surrounded by people -- the US military -- who want to kill him," Gitanjali Gutierrez said.

In Feburary, the Pentagon announced that it planned to call for the death penalty against six detainees held at the US military prison in southern Cuba who were implicated in the 2001 attacks in which almost 3,000 people died.

Among the six was Qahtani. A few weeks later he slit his wrists, leading to heavy bleeding which led to his hospitalization....