Palestinian terror suspect held by US emerges for first time since 2002

A Palestinian not seen publicly since his capture by the CIA in 2002 has appeared at a US government hearing called to determine whether he should remain in detention at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Abu Zubaydah, who sat expressionless during the brief hearing, was the first high-profile al-Qaeda terror suspect captured after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the first to vanish into the CIA’s secret “black site” prison network.

The review panel issued no immediate ruling on his status. He has been held at Guantanamo Bay since September 2006.

The US believed that Zubaydah, 45, was one of the most senior figures in al-Qaeda when he was captured in Pakistan. It has since dropped that claim. Zubaydah’s lawyers deny he was a member of al-Qaeda.

Zubaydah was born in Saudi Arabia to a Palestinian father but does not have Saudi citizenship.

A statement read at Tuesday’s hearing by a U.S. military officer acting as Zubaydah’s personal representative said he wants to reunite with his family and “begin the process of recovering from injuries he sustained during his capture.”

In a statement prepared for the review and provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday, a lawyer for Zubaydah asserts that he poses no danger to the US.

“Abu Zubaydah is not now and never has been an enemy of the United States and has been involved in no terroristic acts,” the lawyer, Mark P. Denbeaux, says in the statement.

At the hearing, the government stated that he played a “key role in al-Qaeda’s communications with supporters and operatives abroad” and that he was “generally aware” of the 9/11 attacks before they happened. It does not say he was an al-Qaeda member.

The government statement said he “probably retains an extremist mindset,” adding that he has shown “a high level of cooperation with the staff at Guantanamo Bay.” It said he has condemned the Islamic State group for its “atrocities and the killing of innocent people.”

— AP