(ProsperNews.net) – A military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled that terror suspect Ramzi bin al-Shibh is not fit to stand trial due to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychotic features, and a delusional disorder. His lawyers said these are the result of CIA torture.
Guantanamo military commission spokesman Ronald Flesvig confirmed the ruling by Judge Col. Matthew McCall and said it means al-Shibh will not stand trial with four co-defendants accused of organizing one of the cells involved in the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
A military panel made the diagnosis of PTSD and related psychosis in August, saying years of solitary confinement led the defendant to believe that guards were attacking him with invisible rays. His defense attorney, David Bruck, told McCall his client had been made to stand sleepless for days at a time, was doused with cold water in already air-conditioned rooms, and made to remain naked except for a diaper. He believes US military officers are still conspiring to prevent him from sleeping.
Col. McCall issued his ruling on September 22 and said the prosecution of his co-defendants would continue in his absence. Pre-trial hearings resumed on the same day at the US Naval base in Cuba, but no trial date has yet been set for the proceedings that have already been subject to significant delay.
Brett Eagleson, whose father died in one of the planes that hit the Twin Towers, blames the US government for causing the disruption. “They wrongfully tortured these individuals. We don’t stand for torture. Because of that, we’re denied a trial. We’re denied true justice,” he said.
David Bruck said Ramzi bin al-Shibh will remain in custody until such time as he is deemed competent, should that time ever come about. He said the case presented “an opportunity for the country to come to account on the harm” caused by what he called the “CIA’s program of human experimentation.”
Copyright 2023, ProsperNews.net
