SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A lawyer for the alleged “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States says the man tried to kill himself last month after learning he faced a possible death sentence.
The lawyer, Gitanjali Gutierrez, says Mohammed al-Qahtani cut himself repeatedly and had to be hospitalized at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo, Cuba.
The Pentagon later dropped the charges without saying why.
U.S. prosecutors allege that al-Qahtani, a Saudi, tried to join the Sept. 11 hijackers but couldn’t get into the United States.
Gutierrez said he has been unable to disclose the suicide attempt until now because of security rules.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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