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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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March 8th,
2009 - Britain Briefed my Torturers, Says Ex-Guantanamo Detainee |
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Britain Briefed my
Torturers, Says Ex-Guantanamo Detainee By Robert Verkaik & David Rose The Independent March 8, 2009 Speaking for the first time
since his release from Guantanamo Bay, Binyam Mohamed today claims that horrific
torture he experienced while being held was directly influenced by the
British Government. Mr Mohamed, 30, a British
resident, said secret telegrams sent by MI5 to the CIA show that the men
responsible for his torture were being influenced by questions from the
British security service in London. He describes how, after his
capture in Pakistan in 2002, he was flown to Rabat in Morocco, where his
chest and genitals were repeatedly cut by Moroccan interrogators working to
American instructions. The claims will add to pressure on the Foreign
Secretary, David Miliband, to release all the secret documents which human
rights groups say will tell the full story of Britain's alleged collusion in
the rendition and torture of Mr Mohamed. Jack Straw, the Secretary of
State for Justice, also faces questions over what he knew, when he was
Foreign Secretary, about MI5's involvement in the US rendition. The former
Guantanamo prisoner, released two weeks ago, said that his torturers were
being fed specific questions relating to his movements from the years he had
lived in London. Speaking from a country house in the Home Counties, where he
is still recovering from his ordeal, Mr Mohamed remembers clearly the moment
when MI5's questions were first channelled by his Moroccan interrogators. He
said: "They started bringing British files to the interrogations - not
one, but several of them, thick binders, some of them containing sheaves of
photos of people who lived in London. It was obvious the British were feeding
them questions about people in London." The High Court in London has
already been told that Mr Mohamed was interviewed in Pakistan by an MI5
officer who introduced himself as John. But until now the allegation against
Britain was that it only ever provided background information to the
Americans during his subsequent detention in Morocco. The new evidence is
contained in verbatim notes taken by Mr Mohamed when he was given access to
unclassified telegrams from a separate legal action he is fighting in the US
courts. One MI5 memo sent during his detention in Pakistan suggests the
British saw themselves as central to his interrogation: "We believe that
our knowledge of the UK scene may provide contextual background useful during
any continuing interview process. This may enable individual officers to
identify any inconsistencies during discussions. This will place the detainee
under more direct pressure and would seem to be the most effective way of
obtaining intelligence on Mohamed's activities/plans concerning the UK." Reprieve, the legal charity
representing Mr Mohamed, believes this is the first clear evidence of the UK
actually volunteering to help the US to "break" Mr Mohamed. But
even after his rendition to Morocco, the documents show, MI5 continued to help
to direct his interrogation. In September 2002, one document reveals, MI5
received a report from the US of an interview with Mr Mohamed. He was
rendered to Morocco on 21 July, so at this time he had been there for more
than two months. UK officials purported not to know where he was, but they
knew he was in a third country, says Reprieve. Weeks later, on 5 November,
came the strongest evidence to emerge to date of British collusion in Mr
Mohamed's rendition and torture, in the form of a telegram from MI5 to the
CIA. Headed "Request for further detainee questioning", it stated:
"This information has been communicated in confidence to the recipient
government and shall not be released without the agreement of the British
government. We would be grateful if the following can be passed to ... Binyam
Mohamed." It went on to ask that his
interrogators show him and ask him questions about a "photobook recently
sent over". Large portions of the rest of the telegram have been
redacted, but it added: "We would be grateful if the following could be
put to Binyam Mohamed, in addition to the questioning above. Does Mohamed
know [two lines redacted]? What was the man's name? Can Mohamed describe him?
Where did they meet? Where was the man from? Who facilitated his travel from
the UK? Where did this man go? What were his intentions? We would appreciate
the opportunity to pose further questions." Mr Mohamed said: "When
I realised that the British were co-operating with the people who were
torturing me, I felt completely naked ... They sold me out." The UK Government said that
it neither condones nor colludes in torture. The Foreign Office said that the
US security services have threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Britain
if the courts order the public disclosure of evidence relating to Mr Mohamed. External link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-briefed-my-torturers-says-exguantanamo-detainee-1639757.html |