tagged w/ Binyam Mohamed
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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.
Around a dozen British men who were detained at Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba... more
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The government’s attempts to delay the current proceedings that have yielded highly classified documents for public consumption have received a rebuttal out of court. The failed attempt to suppress the information out of court, a ’spin-off’ hope from the appeal court’s dismissal of the same case in May, has dented the coalition’s plans to restore confidence in the British Intelligence service who have been implicated in the torture of British citizens in Guantanamo and Afghanistan.
http://www.spectacle.co.uk/spectacleblog/guantanamo/government-tried-to-prevent-disclosure-of-detention-manual/The government’s attempts to delay the current proceedings that have yielded... more
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An official report of an interview with Omar Deghayes confirmed his testimony, that British Intelligence were complicit in his torture during interrogation at a US airbase in Afghanistan.
http://www.spectacle.co.uk/spectacleblog/guantanamo/measured-antipathy-and-treachery-by-british-intelligence/
The report formally recognises Deghayes complaints that he suffered internal bleeding, and showed considered revulsion at Deghayes’ health visibly deteriorating during repeated visits to interrogate him in US custody, “Throughout the interview Deghayes expectorated rather disgustingly into a tissue as if he were still tubercular. These moments usually coincided with those answers were he was most evasive.”An official report of an interview with Omar Deghayes confirmed his testimony, that... more
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Clive Stafford-Smith has published a letter sent to Sir Peter Gibson – the man elected by David Cameron to lead the inquiry into whether the UK has been complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects – that calls for him to renounce his position. The letter was written on behalf of Reprieve (http://www.reprieve.org.uk/), an organisation which represents prisoners held ‘beyond the rule of law’ or those facing the death penalty, and which represented Binyam Mohamed in the trial which cleared his name of any connections with any terrorist acts.
http://www.spectacle.co.uk/spectacleblog/guantanamo/reprieve-ask-sir-peter-gibson-to-stand-down-from-inquiry/Clive Stafford-Smith has published a letter sent to Sir Peter Gibson – the man... more
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The BBC reports on the news a inquiry is going to take place to investigate the claims "British security services were complicit in the torture of terror suspects"-BBC
One case that is likely to be part of the investigation, is the torture of Binyam Mohamed, who accuses British agents of knowing about his torture.
"The BBC understands that the inquiry will offer compensation to people found to have been victims of torture carried out by foreign security services, but with the knowledge of British intelligence officials."-BBC
The Inquiry is yet to be officially announced, but the article says David Cameron could make the announcement 'as early as Wednesday.'The BBC reports on the news a inquiry is going to take place to investigate the claims... more
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Do you think there should be an independent public inquiry?
The Independent reports on a letter it received from a number of groups "the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition and four human rights groups" calling for an inquiry into the UKs knowledge and involvement with torture cases.
The article connects the letter with claims and court cases where agents were accused of knowing and allowing the torture of suspects in custody. The most known case mentioned is of Binyam Mohamed, who was held at Guantanamo Bay and states MI5 were 'complicit in the mistreatment of detainees by foreign agents'.
According to the article, the authors of the letter want an independent judge to proceed over the inquiry.
"Led by Andrew Tyrie, Conservative MP for Chichester, the call for a public enquiry was backed by the Liberal Democrats and human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Liberty and Reprieve."-The Independent newspaper.Do you think there should be an independent public inquiry?
The Independent reports... more
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Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, who was a former MI5 boss, revealed last night that the government complained to the US over the use of torture and admitted MI5 was slow to find out what techniques were used.
"She said that in 2002 or 2003 she questioned how the US was able to supply Britain with intelligence gleaned from Sheikh Mohammed.
"I said to my staff, 'Why is he talking?' because our experience of Irish prisoners and terrorists was that they never said anything," she said."
She claims the Americans said Sheikh Mohammed was proud of what he did in questioning, but Buller stated she discovered after her retirement that water boarding was used, "She added: "Nothing, even saving lives, justifies torture."
Update: check out a comment by staffer richjm, for a Guardian article, "Former MI5 head Eliza Manningham-Buller denies knowing about mistreatment of detainees. Didn't she read the papers?"
The full article in the Guardian explains her statement in full and breaks down parts like her view on the mistreatment of Binyam Mohamed and criticisms of the previous US administration, "One of the sad things is Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush all watched 24."Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, who was a former MI5 boss, revealed last night that the... more
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Binyam Mohamed, the former Guantanamo detainee, has reversed a decision to stay out of the public eye by signaling his determination to campaign for justice for prisoners at the American detention camp and highlight the lifelong effects of torture he suffered at the hands of his interrogators.
Six months after emerging as a frail and ghostly figure from the plane which brought him back to Britain from the US military prison in Cuba, Mr Mohamed last night used his first public speech since his release to explain the legacy of his seven years in detention, which he says included his "extraordinary rendition" to a prison in Morocco where his penis was repeatedly cut with a scalpel to force him to confess as an al-Qai'da terrorist.Binyam Mohamed, the former Guantanamo detainee, has reversed a decision to stay out of... more
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Former Guantánamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed has welcomed the announcement that the Metropolitan police have been called in to investigate whether MI5 agents were complicit in his torture, and promised to co-operate with the inquiry.
The attorney general, Lady Scotland, said in a written statement today that she had given the allegations of possible criminal wrongdoing "very serious consideration" and felt there were sufficient grounds to launch a criminal investigation. But she stopped short of conceding a full judicial inquiry, which many critics have demanded.
Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born UK resident, said on his release in February that he had been "tortured in medieval ways" since his detention in 2002.
"I'm very pleased that there's going to be an independent investigation," he told the Guardian today. "I remain concerned that the investigations shouldn't just focus on the small people and that one agent shouldn't be the scapegoat for what was a government policy. I understand that the investigation will include the people directly responsible for the torture, the Americans, and this is obviously very important."Former Guantánamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed has welcomed the announcement... more
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British resident and former inmate of the infamous Gunatanamo Bay terror detention centre, Binyam Mohamed, claims he endured brutal torture in the time before he was moved to the prison camp in Cuba.
One-time computer and engineering student, Mohamed returned to the UK on Monday after 7 years at the CIA-run camp.
In a statement to the press, he said intended to hold the people he deems responsible for his alleged torture to account. Part of his statement read: “I am not asking for vengeance; only that the truth should be made known so that nobody in the future should have to endure what I have endured.”
Opposition parties have since joined human rights groups in calling on the government to shed light on the role British security agents played in Mohamed's interrogation and alleged torture, before he was incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay.British resident and former inmate of the infamous Gunatanamo Bay terror detention... more
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Binyam Mohamed has been held in Guantanamo since September 2004 and claims he has been tortured repeatedly while he was there. He has been released without being charged with a crime.Binyam Mohamed has been held in Guantanamo since September 2004 and claims he has been... more
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