A Saudi Arabian captive at Guantanamo Bay allegedly involved in the 9/11 terrorist plot didn’t head into surgery for repair of a prolapsed anus, but rather was actually treated for hemorrhoids.
Mustafa al Hawsawi’s doctor said Monday during a court hearing that he approved hemorrhoid surgery for Hawsawi after traditional treatment didn’t seem to work, the Miami Herald reports.
Hawsawi’s attorney, Walter Ruiz, tried to argue that the reason the Saudi captive is suffering from hemorrhoids now is because he was sodomized while in CIA custody more than a decade ago. The presiding judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, shot down Ruiz’s argument and told him to focus on the events following the surgery Oct. 14.
“This man was sodomized; he’s not the average individual,” Ruiz said, protesting the decision.
Hawsawi was supposedly involved in providing support to the terrorists who carried out the attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon Sept. 11, 2001. He apparently gave money, Western-looking clothing and credit cards to the plane hijackers. If found guilty, Hawsawi could be subject to execution.
It’s up to Hawsawi if he wants to skip this week’s court hearings and remain in his cell, but his doctor has prescribed him with the narcotic Tramadol, which should allow him to sit at court for a reasonable amount of time without unbearable pain.
As such, the judge said Hawsawi has the option to sit in his cell instead of attend; he will have to sign a waiver saying the decision was voluntary and not compelled by health problems.
Ruiz called the judge’s determination that Hawsawi is fit enough for attendance “inhumane,” as according to him, Hawsawi cannot sit properly for hours without experiencing serious pain.
“This is not some show that we are trying to put on to delay these proceedings,” Ruiz said, according to The Associated Press. “Mr. al-Hawsawi needs additional time to recover.”
Hawsawi was brought into the court room Monday in a restraint chair.
In March 2003, he was captured in Pakistan and handed over to the CIA, after which point he was shipped to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, where he has remained ever since.
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