On Friday, the Periodic Review Board, a government entity established during the Obama administration to determine whether detainees at the center were guilty, recommended repatriating al-Qahtani to a mental health facility in Saudi Arabia.
The board “determined that the detainee’s continued law-of-war detention is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States,” according to public filings.
“The Board understood that Saudi Arabia is able to provide comprehensive mental health care, and the Board noted Saudi Arabia’s ability to monitor the detainee after completion of the rehabilitation program. In addition, the Board considered the detainee’s significantly compromised mental health condition. and available family support. the final determination report said.
The board recommended certain conditions for al-Qahtani’s repatriation to Saudi Arabia, such as a “full set of security measures including monitoring and travel restrictions.”
Al-Qahatani’s lawyers, Shayana Kadidal and Luna Martinez from the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a statement: “He belongs to a psychiatric facility in his home country, Saudi Arabia, not a prison.”
“Despite the severity of his illness, Mohammed has never posed a risk to anyone but himself. In recent years, the voices in his head have increasingly told him to harm himself, doing things like swallowing glass. broken and not revealing it to his doctors, making his transfer out of Guantanamo urgent,” they said. “We are hopeful that Mohammed’s torment will ease when he is in the care of trusted psychiatrists who speak his native language, away from the scene of his torture and where he can receive vital support from his family. “.
.
