Group items tagged

A policy governing the interrogation of terrorism suspects in Pakistan that led to British citizens and residents being tortured was devised by MI5 lawyers and figures in government, according to evidence heard in court during a hearing brought on behalf of Binyam Mohamed, the British resident freed from Guantánamo last month.

number of British terrorism suspects have been tortured there, both before and after interrogation by MI5 officers; and they and their lawyers say there is clear evidence that British officials have been aiding and abetting their mistreatment. However, Khan, from Slough, Berkshire, is the first British national to allege British collusion in torture in Egypt

Khan says he was led along a corridor into a room where a number of people were being tortured from time to time. He says he was beaten around the body with sticks and subjected to occasional, unexpected electric shocks. His captors shouted at him and beat him if he tried to sit or lie down, he says, although he was occasionally allowed to rest. He says he received little food or drink. Around him, he says, were a number of other people who were also being beaten and tortured, including one man who spoke English with a British accent and prayed during beatings. From other cells within the prison he could hear screaming from both men and women throughout the day and night. During interrogations, which took place twice a day, he says he was asked in English about his friends and associates in Slough, Berkshire, in Crawley, West Sussex, and in east London

In the motion Abdel-Maqsoud argued that the detainees were held in state security headquarters for four months since their arrest last November before the case was made public. The lawyer said that this was an unlawful and unconstitutional location to hold suspects.

Although many of the detainees have been in the custody of state security for several months, the order for a detainment extension came from Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud Thursday as he prepares to bring charges against them.  Lawyer for five of the detainees, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, told Daily News Egypt Friday that according to a released detainee, authorities had tortured the detainees while in the custody of state security.   The detainee, Adel Ghareez, had been left paralyzed as a result and was moved to a hospital after his condition had deteriorated. His brother remains in custody.  "He was probably released because they thought he might die," Abdel-Maqsoud said, "until now I have not been permitted to see any of the detainees."  Ghareez claims the detainees were left naked in an air-conditioned room for 24 hours, and that cold water was poured into their detention rooms.