Around a dozen British men who were detained at Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba will today be given millions of pounds in compensation from the government following weeks of negotiations.
The settlements were reached, as the government on the advice of the security forces, did not dare to take the risk of exposing thousands of documents in open court on how Britain co-operated with the US on the so-called extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects.
The exact amounts paid out to the former detainees may never be known, but at least one detainee is understood to be in line for a payout of more than £1m.
At least six of the men alleged UK forces were complicit in their torture before they arrived at Guantanamo.
Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed and Martin Mubanga were among those who had begun High Court cases against the government.
The men had claimed that UK intelligence agencies and three government departments were complicit in their torture and should have prevented it.
In May, the Court of Appeal ruled that the government was unable to rely on "secret evidence" to defend itself against the six cases.
Then, in July, the High Court ordered the release of some of the 500,000 documents relating to the case.
At least 60 government lawyers and officials have been working through the documents.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said of the payments: "It's not very palatable but there is a price to be paid for lawlessness and torture in freedom's name. There are torture victims who were entitled to expect protection from their country.
"The government now accepts that torture is never justified and we were all let down - let's learn all the lessons and move on."
To watch an interview with some of these former Guantanamo detainees please check out our brilliant documentary Life After Guantanamo.
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nanac
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This is another stain on America's resume..It is one of the biggest frauds committed in American history. Most of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay were innocent victims, who were at the wrong place at the wrong time...The so-called war on terror is a joke..This is a Bush/Cheney con on the American people, motivated by greed....
- 1 year ago
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nanac
