'Suicide attempt' of 9/11 suspect

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The alleged "20th hijacker" in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US tried to commit suicide days before his charges were dropped, his lawyer said.

Mohammad al-Qahtani thought he was to be executed at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay and attempted suicide, his attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez said.

The Pentagon dropped the charges of murder and war crimes against Mr Qahtani on 13 May.

No reason was given for dropping the charges, which could be filed again.

Ms Gutierrez said her client had tried to cut himself at least three times in April, once badly enough to require hospital treatment.

Torture claim

Mr Qahtani had made the suicide attempts after learning that he and five other Guantanamo prisoners faced possible death sentences for their alleged roles in the 11 September attacks that killed about 3,000 people.

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

The Pentagon has said the case against the other five defendants - including the alleged mastermind of the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - will proceed.

Ms Gutierrez said she learned of the suicide attempts during a visit to Guantanamo Bay in late April. She could not reveal the attempts until the military gave her clearance to publicly discuss the visit.

US military officials at Guantanamo Bay have refused to comment, saying they cannot discuss specific detainees.

The charges against Mr Qahtani were dropped because an initial confession - later recanted - had been obtained through torture, his lawyers have said.

US 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.