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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 28th,
2008 - Lawyer Asks Taoiseach for Information on CIA Flights |
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Lawyer Asks Taoiseach for Information
on CIA Flights By Carol Coulter Irish Times July 28, 2008 The lawyer representing a
British resident detained in Guantánamo Bay has written to Taoiseach Brian
Cowen seeking information on CIA flights involved in his client's
"extraordinary rendition" which landed in Shannon in 2002 and 2004. Clive Stafford Smith wrote
to Mr Cowen on Friday on behalf of Binyam Mohamed, whom he is representing in
the US military commissions process and US habeas corpus litigation. Mr Mohamed, a janitor from
Kensington in London, was 30 on Thursday last, and has been detained for the
past six years, four in Guantánamo and before that for two years in Morocco
and Afghanistan. While the Human Rights
Commission, Amnesty International and other bodies have highlighted the
movement of CIA flights involved in "extraordinary rendition"
through Shannon airport, this is the first time the Irish authorities have
been asked for information on specific flights on behalf of a specific
detainee. Coincidentally, Mr Mohamed's
case comes up in court in London today, where he is taking judicial review
proceedings on the decision of the UK government not to release evidence in
its possession that would help prove that he was rendered by the CIA to
Morocco, where he claims he was tortured. So far the UK authorities
have refused on the grounds they are not bound to assist in proceedings
before a court in another state. According to Reprieve, the UK
organisation that is working on behalf of UK detainees in Guantánamo, British
agents met with Mr Mohamed when he was arrested in Pakistan, interviewed him
for three hours, and apparently told the US that he was a "nobody".
UK agents also told him he was going to be rendered by the US to a foreign
country. "When Binyam was duly
sent to Morocco for 18 months of torture, the UK provided background
information to the US that was used to manipulate him in his torture
sessions," Reprieve said in a briefing document. Mr Stafford Smith said in
his letter to Mr Cowen that Mr Mohamed was seized by the Pakistani
authorities on an immigration charge in April 2002, and abused by both US and
Pakistani authorities there. He was then
"rendered" to Morocco, where he suffered torture, including having
his penis cut with a razor. According to the letter, this treatment was
supervised by US agents. He said that the plane that
rendered him to Morocco, number N379P, flew the next day, July 23rd, 2002, to
Shannon where it refuelled and the crew stayed overnight before flying on to
Washington. Flights logs are enclosed with the letter. On January 22nd, 2004, Mr
Mohammed was "rendered" from Morocco to the so-called "Dark
Prison" in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he endured a further five months of
torture. According to Mr Stafford Smith, this rendition was also facilitated
by Ireland. The plane that brought him,
number N313P, flew from Washington to Shannon on January 16th, where the crew
again stayed overnight before flying on to Larnaca in Cyprus and from there
to Rabat, where they picked up Mr Mohamed on January 22nd. Since then he has been held
in Guantánamo, in conditions described by Mr Stafford Smith as "worse
than any I have witnessed in 25 years of visiting clients on death row across
the United States". Mr Stafford Smith is seeking information from the
Irish Government that might assist Mr Mohammed in his defence on any charge
of involvement in terrorism and vindicate his claims of having been tortured. This information sought
includes the names of those travelling on the flights, their passport
details, the hotel or hotels they stayed in, all records, including telephone
records, and all details of those involved in the flights. Mr Stafford Smith heads the
UK branch of Reprieve, which is working on behalf of a number of detainees in
Guantánamo. © 2008 The Irish Times External link: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0728/1217013340456.html |