CIA photos 'show UK Guantanamo detainee was tortured'

[cal04]

Source: The Independent

Lawyers for a British resident who the US government refuses to release from Guantanamo Bay have identified the existence of photographs taken by CIA agents that they say show their client suffered horrific injuries under torture.

The photographic evidence will be vital to clear Binyam Mohammed, 27, who the Americans want to bring before a Military Commission on charges of terrorism, say his lawyers.

Last week it emerged that Britain had negotiated the release of four detainees who have British residence status but Mr Mohammed, who speaks with a London accent, and at least three others are being held back.

In a letter sent to the Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Britain is urged to ask the US to stop the CIA destroying the pictures.



Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3239372.ece

[derby378]

1. "Brutalized genitalia" - WTF?!?

Not. In. My. Fucking. Name.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Common CIA technique often used and taught in Central America nt

[alfredo]

12. Mr Fish mentions it.

[noamnety]

15. Every time folks bring up the connection

between torture and porn here, a segment of DUers get irate.

All the same, I don't see how the connections can be avoided.

[zabet]

2. I am so tired

of being ashamed
of my country.

[readmoreoften]

3. Haven't all the photos shown torture? "Shock therapy" a la Naomi Klein?

Stress positions, sensory deprivation.

I mean, one guy attempted to kill himself by slitting his throat with his own sharpened fingernail. We've all known it's not summercamp, right?

[bleever]

4. Maybe the Brits will be our salvation.

I sure have a lot of respect and admiration for the people and institutions of Great Britain.

Even though the flaws of their government are not so different from ours, the strength and genius of the people aren't so different either.

[derby378]

10. They've used torture, too...

Maybe they don't use the rack anymore, but some British police and military have used beatings, psychological torture, etc. on some of their suspects. There's that well-publicized beating video in Iraq, too, where street kids were brutalized by UK soldiers a couple of years ago.

[eroded47095]

5. 2 little tapes?

"Last week it emerged that the CIA destroyed hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the torture of detainees held by the US."

Or HUNDREDS OF HOURS of tapes?

[acmavm]

7. The last paragraph of this little snippet must be scaring the shit out of

some people:

<snip>
Clive Stafford-Smith, the legal director of Reprieve representing Mr Mohammed, said that he also knows the identity of the agents who were present when his client was allegedly beaten and tortured. Writing to Mr Miliband, he said: "Given the opportunity, we can prove that the evidence was the fruit of torture. Indeed, we can prove that a photographic record was made of this by the CIA. Through diligent investigation we know when the CIA took pictures of Mr Mohammed's brutalised genitalia, we know the identity of the CIA agents who were present including the person who took the pictures (we know both their false identities and their true names), and we know what those pictures show."

He added: "I have been privy to materials that allegedly support the finding that Mr Mohammed should be held, and while I cannot discuss some here (due to classification rules), I can state unequivocally that I have seen no evidence of any kind against Mr Mohammed that is not the bitter fruit of torture."

Reprieve says it will be pressing for criminal prosecutions against the CIA agents alleged to have carried out the torture.

<snip>

[donkeyotay]

13. It's not to protect the people who carried out the torture.

It's to protect the person who ordered them to do it. When the tortured memos were first released, the rationale given was that the commander in chief could order torture in times of war. This was written by Yoo (?) For interrogations to have gone so far beyond the line of enhanced interrogation that wasn't considered torture, the authorization had to come from the only person with the authority to give it - and it wasn't Cheney or Rummy. It was the commander in chief.

[Mnemosyne]

8. Rotten evil bastards. No offense to anything else spoiled rotten. n/t

[KansDem]

9. This is such horsesh*t!

Britain is urged to ask the US to stop the CIA destroying the pictures.

Bush has the CIA destroy these photos, ostensibly to protect the identities of the interrogators, if we choose to believe the administration's line. But Bush exposes a CIA operative for what reason we do not know (I mean, we do know but so far Bush has not given a "reason," just that he would fire anyone connected with the outing of Plame, which he has not done.)

The name "Bush" and the term "horseshit" will become synonymous! Perhaps that is what's meant by "bushit"...?

[Supersedeas]

11. Geneva Conventions - Bush Country style

[maddezmom]

14. Gitmo captive's lawyer says the CIA has photos showing an interrogator slicing his client's genitals

A Guantánamo captive's lawyer says the CIA has photos showing an interrogator slicing his client's genitals
~snip~

``Through diligent investigation, we know when the CIA took pictures of Mr. Mohamed's brutalized genitalia, we know the identity of the CIA agents who were present, including the person who took the pictures (we know both their false identities and their true names), and we know what those pictures show.''

CIA WON'T SAY

The CIA did not directly address whether the photos exist. But it defended the practice of outsourcing interrogations to third countries -- known as rendition -- as ``a key, lawful tool in the fight against terror.''

''The United States does not conduct or condone torture, nor does it transport anyone to other countries for the purpose of torture,'' said George Little, a spokesman for the agency.

He added: ``Rendition, which has been used on a very limited scale, has helped the United States and other nations disrupt terror plots and networks and is designed to get terrorists off the street.''

more:http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/340007.html