Gitmo suicide was Saudi veteran

May 29, 2007
Gitmo suicide was Saudi veteran

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The detainee who died at Guantanamo Bay in an apparent suicide was identified Thursday as a Saudi military veteran and self-described Islamic holy warrior who denied he ever intended to kill Americans.

The military and Saudi Arabia identified the detainee as Abdul Rahman Maadha al-Amry. Though it gave no details about him, U.S. records say he was 34 and had been held without charges at the prison at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in southeastern Cuba since February 2002.

Al-Amry had no attorney of record, although the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights has filed a blanket legal challenge on behalf of all Guantanamo detainees. Lawyers say many detainees have little faith in the American legal system but others simply do not understand it.