Binyam Mohamed is a UK resident who was abducted under the Extraordinary Rendition Program which was stepped up under the Bush administration after the events of 9/11. After over six years of illegal detention in secret prisons and eventually Guantanamo Bay, Binyam Mohamed was released, without charge, in February 2009.

There have been a series of conflicting rulings on whether details of Mr Mohamed’s treatment should be disclosed due the Government citing national security concerns. In the latest judgement, Lord Justice Thomas and Justice Lloyd Jones said that disclosing details of Mr Mohamed’s treatment was not “giving away the intelligence secrets of another country or making public ‘American secrets’”. The court was notably critical of Foreign Secretary, David Milliband’s, very public efforts to keep the information concerning Mr Mohamed’s treatment ‘classified’1.

Convention against Torture: Article 4

Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture2.

The secrecy does not come as a shock considering the allegations made by Mr Mohamed involving the complicity of MI5 in his ill-treatment. In documents already disclosed by The Daily Mail, MI5 twice gave the CIA questions to ask Mr Mohamed during interrogations3. There is also emerging evidence that the UK Government knew of the torture and ill-treatment that Mr Mohamed was subjected to which is contrary to international law. To add to the case is Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan. Mr Murray alleges that the UK has “for at least six years a considered but secret policy of cooperation with torture abroad.”

Mr Mohamed has reported countless abuses including;

  • His genitals and chest being slashed with a razor.

  • Being chained in painful positions for as many as eight days on end.

  • Being subjected to deafening music for 24 hours a day (including Eminem).

  • When in Kabul’s Dark Prison4, he was held in total darkness for months at a time.

  • Not receiving adequate food or water (contamination causing health issues).

  • His captors used mock executions to get him to confess.

  • Being chained to the top of the cell gate by the wrists and beaten for around 22 hours.

Since the release of the heavily redacted torture memos earlier this year, there is now solid legal evidence to back up Mr Mohamed’s claims. Under the UN Convention against Torture, the UK has an obligation to independently investigate claims of torture as well as ensuring that Mr Mohammed receives redress and adequate compensation, including the means for a full rehabilitation. Amnesty International’s UK Director, Kate Allen commented upon Mr Mohamed’s release that the UK “need[s] a proper independent inquiry into Binyam’s case and allegations of a cover-up over torture, as well as into the wider practice of rendition and secret detention.”5

Those who have participated in and sanctioned atrocities must be held to account.

Update February 2010

After an appeal by the UK government, the seven paragraphs have been released, see below.

  1. It was reported that a new series of interviews was conducted by the United States authorities prior to 17 May 2002 as part of a new strategy designed by an expert interviewer.

  2. It was reported that at some stage during that further interview process by the United States authorities, BM had been intentionally subjected to continuous sleep deprivation. The effects of the sleep deprivation were carefully observed.

  3. It was reported that combined with the sleep deprivation, threats and inducements were made to him. His fears of being removed from United States custody and "disappearing" were played upon.

  4. It was reported that the stress brought about by these deliberate tactics was increased by him being shackled during his interviews.

  5. It was clear not only from the reports of the content of the interviews but also from the report that he was being kept under self-harm observation, that the interviews were having a marked effect upon him and causing him significant mental stress and suffering.

  6. We regret to have to conclude that the reports provided to the SyS made clear to anyone reading them that BM was being subjected to the treatment that we have described and the effect upon him of that intentional treatment.

  7. The treatment reported, if had been administered on behalf of the United Kingdom, would clearly have been in breach of the undertakings given by the United Kingdom in 1972. Although it is not necessary for us to categorise the treatment reported, it could easily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of BM by the United States authorities.

Read Amnesty International's response to the court decision here

Full ruling: Mohamed, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs [2010] EWCA Civ 65 (10 February 2010)

References

  1. See BBC News “Binyam, Judges attack Secrecy Over Public Documents”

  2. Convention against Torture

  3. See David Rose, “How MI5 Colluded in my Torture: Binyam Mohamed claims British Agents Fed Moroccan Torturers their questions”

  4. The Dark Prison was a secret CIA facility in Kabul, Afghanistan. The prison was notorious for torture and ill-treatment. Read more about the ‘Prison of Darkness’

  5. See Amnesty International Australia, “Binyam Mohamed Release From Guantanamo not a Moment too Soon.”