[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) would appeal a judge’s order to release a Guantanamo Bay detainee suspected of involvement in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. In a decision released Monday, US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge James Robinson had granted the habeas corpus petition of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, ordering his release. Slahi has been accused of recruiting for al Qaeda in Germany and ultimately helping alleged hijackers Mohammed Atta, Ziad Jarrah and Marwan al Sehhi find training in Afghanistan. The prosecution believes that Slahi had a “significant” role in planning the 9/11 attacks and sought the death penalty, but a key prosecutor, Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, stepped down from the case after it was revealed that “enhanced interrogation techniques” had been used to compel his confessions. Robinson’s opinion is currently classified, but is expected to be publicly released at a later date.
Last year, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed an application by Slahi requesting access to records of interrogations conducted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) both in Canada and at Guantanamo Bay. Slahi had sought the release of records to corroborate his allegations of mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay as part of his habeas petition.