Appeals court hears arguments on release of detainee accused of recruiting Sept. 11 hijackers

US fights order to release Guantanamo detainee

WASHINGTON — The government is fighting a judge’s order to release a Guantanamo Bay prisoner accused of recruiting Sept. 11 hijackers for al-Qaida.

A federal judge ordered Mohamedou Ould Salahi’s release in March after he argued that he falsely admitted arranging travel for some of the hijackers after being abused by interrogators.

Salahi was arrested in his home country of Mauritania in late 2001 and sent to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a year later. He remains there as lawyers are set to argue over his release before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Appeals Court in Washington on Friday.

The 9/11 commission report described Salahi as a significant al-Qaida operative who instructed the Sept. 11 hijackers how to reach Afghanistan for training.