As might have been considered at the time, the American authorities are finding that years of torturing detainees at Guantanamo Bay have made it difficult to convict them of anything – even in a military court.
A US military judge has ruled that Guantanamo Ramzi bin al-Shibh is not competent to stand trial for the charge of organising a cell of 9/11 hijackers in Germany because years of sleep deprivation and physical abuse since then has “rendered him lastingly psychotic”.
alShibh’s lawyers told the court he “went insane as a result of what the agency called enhanced interrogation techniques, that included sleep deprivation, waterboarding and beatings”.
The court agreed, and al-Shibh’s case is essentially frozen until his mental health is restored. How that would happen is also a matter of debate, with President Biden refusing his lawyers’ request that post-trauma care be offered as part of his plea negotiations.
The cases of three other detainees accused of organising the 9/11 attacks are still scheduled to proceed without al-Shibh.
You can read more about this case here: