A US Pentagon official says CIA interrogators tortured a Saudi man allegedly hoping to become the "20th hijacker" in 2001's 9/11 attacks. But the White House is defending the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policy.

Susan J. Crawford, a retired judge appointed the convening authority of military commissions last February, said in an interview with the Washington Post newspaper that Mohammed al-Qahtani was tortured. The man's lawyer said the US had subjected him to torture and he still suffers from its effects.

Gitanjali S. Gutierrez, Attorney, center for constitutional rights, said, "He was actually subjected to a very systematic and prolonged set of interrogation tactics that began really in August of 2002 with isolation, sleep deprivation. He was threatened with military working dogs, subjected to a variety of psychological stress, ranging from religious abuse to sexual humiliation. "

The White House defended itself against the claims.

Dana Perino, White House Secretary, said, "Let me just make sure it's clear - and I'll say it on the record one more time - that it has never been the policy of this president or this administration to torture."

Al-Qahtani is one of six men charged by the US last February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 9/11 attacks.

US authorities acknowledged al-Qahtani was subjected to waterboarding by CIA interrogators and that he was treated harshly at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

The Pentagon had no direct comment on Crawford's remarks, and would not speculate on its possible effect on other cases or on the whole of the Bush administration's legal structure for enemy combatants.

(CCTV January 16, 2009)