United for Peace of Pierce County - TRANSLATIONS: Europe investigating secret CIA prison reports (<I>Le Figaro</I>)

Details: Written by Mark Jensen; Published: 18 November 2005

On Friday, Le Figaro (Paris) published several articles reviewing investigations into the charges that the CIA has outsourced torture to allies.[1] -- "The latest 'stopovers' by American spies in Europe or on its periphery are being much discussed," Arnaud de La Grange noted. -- Spain and Italy are pursuing investigations vigorously, and inquiries are also underway in Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Hungary. -- It is clear that few believe official denials by Romania and Poland, wrote Arielle Thedrel.[2] -- Thierry Oberlé gave details of one harrowing case, that of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi, an Ethiopian national residing in the U.K. who was sent by Americans from Pakistan to Morocco to be tortured, then on to Kabul for more torture, and is now being held at Guantanamo.[3] -- "Morocco is, in fact, after Jordan and Egypt, one of the principal Arab partners of the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda," writes Oberlé, whose article is principally based on Amnesty International's report on al-Habashi's case. -- AI's account of the Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi case is also posted below, together with names and addresses of officials to whom letters can be written.[4] -- This weekend, Amnesty International is holding an international conference in London on "The Global Struggle Against Torture: Guantánamo Bay, Bagram, and Beyond." ...

[Translated from Le Figaro (Paris)]

International

United States

THE CIA OUTSOURCES ITS WAR ON TERROR
By Arnaud de La Grange

** American intelligence agencies have used allied countries for transit, detention, even interrogation of suspected terrorists **

Le Figaro (Paris)
November 18, 2005

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/20051118.FIG0253.html?094334

During the Vietnam war, the CIA's airline had its glory days. Back then, it was called "Air America." Today, they call it the "Guantanamo Express" instead. An explicit name that makes the link with the war on terrorism. There's nothing new about the CIA misusing air corridors. But the latest "stopovers" by American spies in Europe or on Europe's periphery are being much discussed. Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Romania, Hungary . . . The list of countries where explanations of CIA maneuvers are being asked is getting longer and longer. At the heart of the debate is the use of these countries for the transit, illegal detention, or torture of suspected Islamist terrorists. At the CIA, they have a code word for it: "extraordinary renditions."

Some countries have been used simply as a platform for moving "prison planes" about. Other allies of Washington are more deeply involved, sheltering detention centers where suspects can be secretly interrogated, even tortured. The polemic was revived two weeks ago the Washington Post. On Nov. 2, the American daily stated that the CIA was holding about one hundred suspected terrorists on secret sites in eight countries, including Afghanistan, Thailand, and Eastern European democracies.

At present, Spain is the country that has been the most shaken by these revelations. The government is finding itself pressed on all sides by demands for explanations. Yesterday Interior Ministers José Antonio Alonso promised "total transparency" on the subject of the mysterious stopovers of planes loaded by the CIA on the Balearic or Canary Islands. For Madrid the matter is made more embarrassing by the fact that all these flights -- four to Tenerife and ten to Palma, on Majorca -- occurred between January 2004 and May 2005. They are thus thought to have been taking place one year after conservative José Maria Aznar, an ally of George Bush in Iraq, gave way to socialist José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, in March 2004. In Washington, official declarations have only fed suspicions. Tuesday, the deputy secretary of state for European affairs, Daniel Fried, confined himself to declaring to Spanish diplomats that there was "no proof of a transfer of prisoners."

SUSPICIOUS MOVEMENT OF PLANES

Northern Europe is also said to have been favored by clandestine pilots. In Sweden, the prime minister's intelligence agencies have confirmed that "two aircraft that have, on other occasions, been used by the CIA, landed" in the country. Norway has asked American authorities to shed light on similar facts. In Denmark, the government has indicated that the CIA planes have illegally flown over the kingdom about twenty times since 2001, and one aircraft landed there. In Iceland, the press has noted the landing of suspect aircraft. The Baltic countries are also said to be involved.

In Italy, on Friday, a judge in Milan requested the extradition of 22 CIA agents suspected of participating in the kidnapping of an imam, Abu Omar, in February 2003. [For one of several pieces on this case posted on the UFPPC web site, see here. --Trans. note.] The same matter is the object of an inquiry in Germany, since Abu Omar is thought to have passed through the American base at Ramstein before being taken to Egypt. Another investigation is underway on the kidnapping in Macedonia of a German of Lebanese origin, Khaled al-Masri, who says he was brought to Afghanistan, kept in total isolation for five months, and then released with any explanation.

GHOST PRISONS

More serious is the suspicion of acts of torture at the famous "black sites," the network of secret prisons financed by the CIA. Some countries -- like Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Poland, or Romania -- are suspected of having agreed to act as independent contractors for the internment and interrogation of suspected terrorists (see below). There is, moreover, nothing new about this affair, since last April the U.N.'s special rapporteur on torture asked to have access to all prisons kept by the United States, "including those that are not known." But at the time, people were speaking only of secret jails in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or about boats sailing the Indian Ocean.

Beyond all these black sites and gray flights, the central question is to know whether the total war against terrorism has mutated into a "dirty war." The White House today finds itself under pressure from all fronts. The Senate, despite its Republican majority, has just confirmed the adoption of John McCain's amendment forbidding torture. Vice President Dick Cheney leaped to the defense of "exempting" the CIA from the provision banning any inhuman or degrading treatment. The same Senate has just asked the White House to give, from now on, a report every three months on its political and military operations, notably in Iraq. And it is precisely in Iraq that the discovery of prisoners mistreated in a secret government detention center in Baghdad has become a big story. It's true the jailers are Iraqis this time, but the affair is all too similar to Abu Ghraib.

"We do not torture," reaffirmed last week George W. Bush, who prefers to speak about the "aggressive hunt" for terrorists. The Pentagon, however, has thought it wise to restate its interrogation procedures, explicitly forbidding "physical and mental torture" and the use of dogs. But that does not apply to military centers like Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. Or the CIA's "ghost prisons." There, techniques like "waterboarding" are still practiced, authorized at the highest level after September 11, 2001. At the time, the American secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, himself said that the traditional laws of war were "out of date."

--
Translated by Mark K. Jensen
Associate Professor of French
Department of Languages and Literatures
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447-0003
Phone: 253-535-7219
Web page: http://www.plu.edu/~jensenmk/
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

[Translated from Le Figaro (Paris)]

BUCHAREST AND WARSAW COLLABORATE CLOSELY WITH WASHINGTON
By Arielle Thedrel

** Romania and Poland have denied harboring secret CIA prisons, but doubts remain **

Le Figaro (Paris)
November 18, 2005

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/20051118.FIG0254.html

Poland has denied the existence of secret CIA prisons on its territory just as strongly as Romania. Questioned by Le Figaro, the Romanian president, Traian Basescu, "categorically" denied their existence. The close military cooperation between the United States and these two NATO member makes one think, however, that allegations by the Washington Post and Human Rights Watch are not without foundation.

Warsaw and Bucharest do not hide a trans-Atlantic turning that grew stronger with the arrival of new leadership teams. The two countries, which aspire to establish themselves as regional powers, have made their relations with the United States the keystone of their foreign policies.

THE BUILDING OF MILITARY BASES

Poland and Romania continue to maintain troops in Iraq, in opposition to public opinion in those countries, even if the contingents are symbolic ones. Romania has sent some 860 men, whose withdrawal is not at the moment under consideration. On its side, the Polish government, formed in October, has not confirmed the decision of earlier leaders to bring home the 1,700 soldiers of the multinational force at the beginning of next year.

Military cooperation is increasing. With Warsaw, Washington is negotiating the building of an antimissile missile base capable of protecting the continent against long-range missiles. For geostrategic reasons, the United States has been courting Romania for years. The Mihael Kogalniceanu base, suspected of harboring secret CIA prisons, was used by the American army as a back base during the Iraq war. This summer, at the request of the State Department, Romania received 450 Uzbek refugees there.

Bucharest is now preparing to sign an agreement with the United States for the creation of military bases, no doubt on the Black Sea. It is expected that these bases will be used as much by American forces as NATO forces in the context of operations in the Middle East or the Caucasus.

[Translated from Le Figaro (Paris)]

International

"WE MAKE AL-QAEDA PEOPLE TALK CLEANLY"
By Thierry Oberlé

** The American army is subcontracting the interrogation **

Le Figaro (Paris)
November 18, 2005

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/20051118.FIG0252.html

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi, a British citizen of Ethiopian origin, was caught in the CIA's net on Apr. 10, 2002, at the Karachi airport, when he tried to reach London on a false passport. Presently detained in Guantanamo, he has traveled the CIA's circuit of subcontracting for the interrogation of Islamists suspected of having links with international terrorism. According to his account, made public by Amnesty International [see below], Benyam was tortured in Morocco. Around Jul. 21, 2002, he was returned in Islamabad by Pakistanis to American officials. "The Pakistanis cant do exactly what we want them to. The Arabs will deal with you," an American agent, "Chuck," confided to him.

Chained, blindfolded, wearing earphones, he boarded a flight bound for Morocco, where he was subjected to acts of violence for months. "One of [the guards] took my penis in his hand and began to make cuts. He did it once and they stood still for maybe a minute, watching my reaction. I was in agony, crying. They must have done this 20 to 30 times," he says. "When you leave here, youll have the scars and youll never forget," one of jailers explained to him, to justify his zeal.

SENT TO GUANTANAMO

His torturers were in the habit of pouring chemical products over his wounds to intensify his suffering. Interrogated about his relations to the Islamist movement, he at first gave contradictory versions. "I could not work out what they wanted," says Benyam. He was sent by plane to Afghanistan at the end of January 2004 after having been photographed from every angle by American soldiers. Tortured anew, he confessed to having planned a "dirty bomb" attack on a city in the United States before being sent in September of the same year to Guantanamo.

Benyam's case is no doubt not an isolated one. Morocco is, in fact, after Jordan and Egypt, one of the principal Arab partners of the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda. The intelligence services of those countries furnish labor for the CIA by reason of their "linguistic" proximity to one portion of the suspects. "The United States appeals to Arab investigators because of their know-how," acknowledges a high police official in one country in the region. "Some police know the Koran as well, even better, than the Islamists. That can establish a relation that facilitates the work," he says. Discreetly, he does not mention cases of torture, but evokes procedures in which they make "al-Qaeda people speak cleanly."

The transfer of Islamist prisoners to Morocco is said also to be confirmed by flight plans. According to Amnesty International, a Gulfstream IV with registration N227SV, known for having effected "deliveries" for the American army, is said to have made flights to Morocco from June 2002 to January 2005, but also to Afghanistan, Dubai, and Jordan. The aircraft, which is said to have gone fifty-one times to Guantanamo, is supposed in particular to have transported the Egyptian kidnapped in February 2003 by the CIA on a Milan street, before being tortured in Egypt. An affair in which twenty-two CIA agents are being sought by Italian courts for kidnapping. [NOTE: For a Mar. 13, 2005, report on this case in the Washington Post, see here. --Trans. note.]

For its part, Human Rights Watch (HRW) is speaking of the movement of prisoners through Europe and the Middle East in 2003 and 2004 on board a Boeing 737 registered under the number N313P. The weekly Newsweek specifies that in January 2004 the famous Boeing 737 passed through Rabat, Kabul, and Algiers, on dates that correspond to Benyam's departure from Moroccan jails for a prison center in Kabul nicknamed the "prison of darkness."

USA

WHO ARE THE GUANTÁNAMO DETAINEES?

** Case sheet 23: Ethiopian national/U.K. resident: Benyam Mohammed al Habashi **

September 21, 2005
AI Index: AMR 51/152/2005

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511522005

Full name: Benyam Mohammed al Habashi
Nationality: Ethiopian
Age: 27

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi remains in Guantánamo Bay, held without charge or trial by the U.S. military. Before his arrival he was a victim of the U.S. governments practice of "extraordinary rendition" -- he was forcibly transferred from one country to another, in his case three times, without reference to a court. In each country he was tortured or ill-treated. There are also concerns about the role of the U.K. authorities in his arrest, interrogation, transfers and torture.

"The Americans are getting ready to carry out the torture. Theyre going to electrocute you, beat you, and rape you." --An interrogator to Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi in Morocco

BACKGROUND

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was born in Ethiopia. In 1994 he sought asylum in the U.K. and was given leave to remain. He lived in the U.K. for seven years, during which he converted to Islam and attempted to conquer his addiction to drugs. He left the U.K. to escape the temptation of drugs and to see Muslim countries "with his own eyes." To this end he travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On 10 April 2002 Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was arrested at Karachi airport by Pakistani immigration officials. He had been intending to return to the UK. He was not using his own passport.

TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT IN PAKISTAN

While in custody in Pakistan, Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi alleges that he was:

- hanged by his wrists for days;
- allowed to go to the toilet only twice a day;
- given food only every other day;
- beaten with a leather strap;
- subjected to a mock execution by a guard pressing a loaded gun to his chest.

"I knew I was going to die . . . I looked into his eyes and saw my own fear reflected there."

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi says that he was interrogated by intelligence agents from both the U.S.A. and U.K. One U.S. intelligence agent, known as "Chuck" by Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi, told him, "We cant do what we want here, the Pakistanis cant do exactly what we want them to. The Arabs will deal with you."

TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT IN MOROCCO

"It never, never crossed my mind that Id end up being hauled half way across the world by the Americans to face torture in a place Id never been, Morocco."

On around 21 July 2002 Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was taken to Islamabad airport and handed over to U.S. officials. Shackled, wearing earphones, and blindfolded, he was flown to Morocco. For the next 18 months he was held incommunicado and, he alleges, subjected to systematic torture at the behest of U.S. authorities. A U.K. newspaper claims to have flight records of CIA-chartered jets going to and from Morocco on the dates Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi believes he was transferred.

After nearly a month in a prison in Morocco, Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi says that one of his Moroccan interrogators came into his cell with three other guards. "One of [the guards] took my penis in his hand and began to make cuts. He did it once and they stood still for maybe a minute, watching my reaction. I was in agony, crying . . . They must have done this 20 to 30 times. There was blood all over." Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi states that this torture was repeated once a month for the next 18 months. His torturers would reportedly add to the pain by pouring chemicals onto his wounds.

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi also alleges that he was:

- beaten severely and regularly;
- subjected to sensory deprivation and placed in solitary confinement;
- exposed to loud music for days on end;
- forcibly given mind-altering drugs through an intravenous drip.

Once, when he asked a guard why he was being tortured, the guard replied, "Its just to degrade you, so when you leave here, youll have the scars and youll never forget. So youll always fear doing anything but what the U.S. wants."

"Theyd ask me a question. Id say one thing. Theyd say it was a lie. Id say another. Theyd say it was a lie. I could not work out what they wanted." --Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi, describing his treatment in Morocco.

TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT IN AFGHANISTAN

In late January 2004 Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was told by his captors that he was "going home." He was not. Instead, after U.S. soldiers had cut off his clothes and photographed the scars of his torture, he was flown to Afghanistan.

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi alleges that he was taken to a detention center in Kabul called the "Prison of Darkness" or "Dark Prison," where he was held until May 2004. The detention centER had only 20 rooms as it was reserved for "special people" who the U.S. considered high value detainees. On arrival Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi says soldiers smashed his head against a wall. He also alleges that he was:

- hanged by his wrists, his feet barely touching the floor, for days on end;
- constantly bombarded with loud hip-hop music and "horror sounds" to deprive him of sleep.

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi says that the detainees in the prison were interrogated day and night by CIA officials, for months on end. He alleges that doctors and psychiatrists were involved in his interrogation. He says that he was weighed by doctors every other day, apparently to "make sure" he was losing weight. He alleges that other detainees had "lost their minds" because of the torture and ill-treatment.

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was then taken to Bagram airbase where he alleges he was forced to sign confessions that he had been planning a "dirty bomb" attack on a U.S. city. He states that by the time he was taken to Bagram "I was telling them whatever they wanted to hear."

"Youre nothing to us. Youre not going to leave here until you testify against people." --Guard at Guantánamo Bay .

GUANTANAMO BAY

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was taken from Bagram airbase to Guantánamo Bay on 19 September 2004. He says that since then he has been "routinely humiliated and abused and constantly lied to." In February 2005 he was placed in Camp V, the harsh "super-maximum" style facility where, reports suggest, "uncooperative" detainees are held. He was told that he would be required to testify against other detainees.

In July 2005 Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi and an unknown number of Guantánamo detainees went on hunger strike to protest against the harsh conditions and their lack of access to any judicial review. Detainees say they ended the protest because the U.S. authorities agreed to meet their demands, and that these changes had been personally approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Sources from the camp suggest that these promises were not kept.

On 12 August Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi and up to 200 other Guantánamo detainees resumed their hunger strike. In an unclassified statement from Guantánamo Bay, Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi states that the detainees "only ask for justice: treat us, as promised, under the rules of the Geneva Conventions . . . while we are held, and either try us fairly for a valid criminal charge or set us free."

ROLE OF U.K. AUTHORITIES

"I never thought the British Government would allow me to be slashed with a razor blade for a full year. I never thought they would let me be hauled to the Dark Prison in Kabul for further abuse before my trip to Guantánamo." --Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi.

After his arrest in Pakistan, Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi alleges that he was interviewed by U.K. intelligence agents. He states that the torture stopped while they were there. One U.K. agent reportedly told him that he knew he would be transferred to an Arab country to face torture.

When he was transferred to Morocco, the Moroccan interrogators told Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi that they were collaborating with the U.K. intelligence services. He alleges that he was shown photos of individuals that were taken by U.K. agents and that he was asked questions that he believes could only have been provided by the U.K. authorities while he was being tortured in Morocco.

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi also alleges that U.K. officials promised to intervene on his behalf. They have yet to do so.

Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi remains detained in Guantánamo Bay without access to judicial review. His hope is that "the British people will hold the British Government to its word" so that he can "go back home" to London.

TAKE ACTION FOR BENYAM MOHMAMMED AL-HABASHI

Write to the U.S. authorities:

· Stating that Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi and all the other Guantánamo detainees must be given fair trials or released;
· Calling on the U.S.A. to halt its practice of "extraordinary rendition" to countries where detainees are at risk of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
· Calling on the U.S. authorities to keep Benyam Mohammed al-Habashis family informed of his legal status and health;
· Calling for a full and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi while in U.S. custody, and for all those found responsible to be brought to justice;
· Calling for the U.S. government to set up a commission of inquiry into all aspects of the U.S.A.s "war on terror" detention policies and practices;
· Calling for the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay to be closed, and for all other "war on terror" detention facilities to be opened up to external scrutiny.

Write to the U.K. authorities:

· Calling on them to make diplomatic representations on behalf of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi;
· Calling on them to conduct a full, independent and impartial investigation into allegations that UK agents were involved in the interrogation of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi, and that U.K. intelligence services provided information and questions to interrogators in Morocco;
· Seeking assurances that the allegations of torture and ill-treatment while in U.S. custody have been raised with the U.S. authorities;
· Seeking assurances that the allegations of torture and ill-treatment while in custody in Morocco have been raised with the Moroccan authorities;
· Seeking assurances that the allegations of torture and ill-treatment while in custody in Pakistan have been raised with the Pakistani authorities;
· Seeking assurances that if returned to the U.K., Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi will be released or charged with a recognizably criminal offence and given fair trial.

Write to the Moroccan authorities:

· Calling for an impartial investigation into allegations that Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was illegally transferred to Morocco and tortured there;
· Calling for all those found responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi to be brought to justice;
· Calling for the Moroccan authorities to stop torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Write to the Pakistani authorities:

· Calling for an impartial investigation into allegations that Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was tortured and ill-treated in detention in Pakistan;
· Calling for all those found responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi to be brought to justice;
· Calling for the Moroccan authorities to stop torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
· Calling for an impartial investigation into allegations that Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi was illegally handed over to U.S. custody by Pakistani officials.

WRITE TO:

Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001, U.S.A.
Fax: + 1 202 307 6777
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Rt Hon Jack Straw
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 0207 008 2144

Mohamed Bouzoubaa
Minister of Justice
Ministère de la Justice
Place Mamounia
Rabat
Morocco
Fax: +212 37 73 07 72

General Pervez Musharraf
President
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835

If you want to take further action on this case, please contact your national AI office

Amnesty International, International Secretariat, Peter Benenson House,
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK. www.amnesty.org