Torture appeal lost by UK government

[Jan Klimkowski]

For completeness, here is what it is accepted was done to Binyam Mohamed:

Paragraph 23:

The problem in this case is not that Mr Mohamed was tortured in the UK. He was, however, subjected to torture. In (US court case) Farhi Saeed Bin Mohamed v Barak Obama (Civil Action No 05-1347 (GK)), it is publicly recorded that "the Government does not challenge or deny the accuracy of Binyam Mohamed's story of brutal treatment (p58)…the account in Binyam Mohamed's diary bears several indicia of reliability (p61)." Note is taken of his "willingness to test the truth of his version of events in both the courts of law as well as the court of public opinion" (p62). Towards the end of its judgment two specific matters are recorded:

"(a)…[Mr Mohamed's] trauma lasted for 2 long years. During that time, he was physically and psychologically tortured. His genitals were mutilated. He was deprived of sleep and food. He was summarily transported from one foreign prison to another. Captors held him in stress positions for days at a time. He was forced to listen to piercingly loud music and the screams of other prisoners while locked in a pitch-black cell. All the while, he was forced to inculpate himself and others in various plots to imperil Americans. The Government does not dispute this evidence."(p64)

"(b) In this case, even though the identity of the individual interrogator changed (from nameless Pakistanis, to Moroccans, to Americans, and to special agent (the identity is redacted)), there is no question that throughout his ordeal Binyam Mohamed was being held at the behest of the United States (p68)…The court finds that [Mr Mohamed's] will was overborne by his lengthy prior torture, and therefore his confessions to special agent…do not represent reliable evidence to detain petitioner"

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/65.html