The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi citizen alleged to have been the “20th hijacker” in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.

Mohammad al-Qahtani was one of six Guantanamo Bay inmates charged with murder and war crimes in February.

The Pentagon said the case against the other five defendants would proceed.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the suspects in a case before military tribunals at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay.

‘Torture’

A Pentagon official said the charges against Mohammad al-Qahtani had been dropped “without prejudice”, meaning they could be reinstated.

The US military gave no reason for its decision.

But lawyers for the defendant say they believe the charges were dropped because he “was tortured” under interrogation.

The decision could have implications for the other five suspects, whose lawyers claim that similar treatment was meted out to them, the BBC’s Adam Brookes reports from Washington.

Authorities say Mr Qahtani failed to take part in the 9/11 attacks because he was denied entry into the US by an immigration official.

He was refused entry at Orlando in Florida in August 2001 and returned to Dubai. He was later detained in Afghanistan and transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

In 2006, he recanted accusations he had made against fellow detainees of having links to al-Qaeda.

His lawyer told Time magazine the statements had been extracted under torture.

The Saudi was reportedly submitted to stress positions, sleep deprivation and humiliation at Guantanamo.

Officials said he had been subjected to a harsh interrogation authorised by former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Four planes were hijacked by 19 men in the 11 September attacks. Two hit the World Trade Center in New York, another the Pentagon in Washington and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.

About 3,000 people were killed.

The five suspects still facing trial at Guantanamo include the alleged mastermind of the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Think about it — 15 of the supposed hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. The FBI thinks the funding came from Pakistan. Osama Bin Laden is NOT wanted by the FBI for the events of 9/11. So we attacked Afghanistan and Iraq in response?? Time to wake up.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ground Zero rescue workers and NYC residents are SICK and DYING because EPA Chief Christine Todd Whitman proclaimed the air “safe to breathe” THE NEXT DAY.

The Bush Admin pushed the EPA for the “all safe” declaration in order to get Wall St. up and running as quickly as possible.

The toxic air is only one part of the huge puzzle that is the government’s cover-up of 9/11.

NY appeals court: Whitman not liable in Sept. 11 air case

By LARRY NEUMEISTER – 11 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Former EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman cannot be held liable for telling residents near the World Trade Center site that the air was safe to breathe after the 2001 terrorist attacks, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Whitman’s comments reassuring people about the safety around the site apparently were based on conflicting information and reassurances by the White House.

The appeals court said legal remedies are not always available for every instance of arguably deficient governmental performance.

…The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by residents, students and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn who said they were exposed to hazardous dust and debris from the fallen twin towers after Sept. 11.

The plaintiffs alleged that Whitman and EPA officials acting on her behalf made statements about air quality that failed to report or misrepresented health risks associated with the dust from the ruined skyscrapers.

They said Whitman, who also is a former New Jersey governor, should be forced to pay damages to properly clean homes, schools and businesses.

A lower court judge had earlier refused to dismiss Whitman as a defendant, saying her actions were “conscience-shocking.”

The next question is — if the court has decided it wasn’t her fault that she had “conflicting information and reassurances by the White House” — will the White House be the next one taken to court?

Kucinich to Propose a Nat’l. Commission on Truth and Reconciliation for 9/11

Highlights from Congressman Kucinich’s latest email I received an hour ago:

…The truth can move us forward, as a unified whole, so that we can one day become a re-United States. 9/11 is the day the world changed. It is the day America embraced a metaphor of war. If we are open to truth and reconciliation, we may one day be able, once again, to embrace peace.”

Cynthia McKinney in Columbus THIS Saturday

Hero of American Blackout, Green Party 2008 Presidential Candidate, Georgia’s first African American Congresswoman, and 9/11 Truther will be in Columbus this Saturday!

Arizona State Senator Calls for New 9/11 Investigation

Backing my claims about 9/11 questions

Key 9/11 suspect charges dropped

Think about it — 15 of the supposed hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. The FBI thinks the funding came from Pakistan. Osama Bin Laden is NOT wanted by the FBI for the events of 9/11. So we attacked Afghanistan and Iraq in response?? Time to wake up.

Fed. Appeals Court: Former EPA chief not liable for 9/11 deaths

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ground Zero rescue workers and NYC residents are SICK and DYING because EPA Chief Christine Todd Whitman proclaimed the air “safe to breathe” THE NEXT DAY.

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