Another Detainee Alleges Torture At CIA Black Hole

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 02:58:40 PM EST
Tags: CIA, torture, detainees (all tags)

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Huffington Post has an exclusive interview with Yemen citizen Mohamed Farag Bashmilah:

From October 2003 until May 2005, I was illegally detained by the U.S. government and held in CIA-run "black sites" with no contact with the outside world. On May 5, 2005, without explanation, my American captors removed me from my cell and cuffed, hooded, and bundled me onto a plane that delivered me to Sana'a, Yemen. I was transferred into the custody of my own government, which held me -- apparently at the behest of the United States -- until March 27, 2006, when I was finally released, never once having faced any terrorism-related charges.

He's never gotten an explanation and all of his attempts to obtain documentation have been ignored or rejected. Why is he coming forward at Huffpo today? As part of an effort underway to get President Obama to establish a commission. [More...]

The American public deserves to know what was done to people like me -- and I deserve to know why I lost nineteen months of my life -- all in the name of protecting their security. It gives me faith to see that Americans are standing up for my rights and calling for the truth to be exposed. It is my hope that the President will not only establish this commission, but that he will also direct the relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute those who broke American laws in ordering the torture and disappearance of people like me. Truth and justice are not in opposition; both are necessary, and both are the right of all Americans and the victims harmed in their name.

From the Constitution Project:

Leaders from across the political spectrum, including a former FBI director, an Army general who investigated detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib, and a former Under Secretary of State, today called upon President Obama to appoint a non-partisan commission to examine policies related to the detention, treatment, and transfer of detainees following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The commission would investigate the government's alleged detainee abuse and related constitutional and legal violations.

The full statement is here (pdf).

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Another Detainee Alleges Torture At CIA Black Hole | 19 comments (19 topical)

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The torturing of innocent people (none / 0) (#1)
by MKS on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 03:29:26 PM EST

no doubt occured....It will be the legacy of Bush, Cheney, Gonzo, Bybee and Yoo....That is what history will remember of them.
That innocent people were tortured should make it easier to convince even conservatives that the torture of anyone, guilty or innocent, is wrong.....

: How's that? Don't they consider it (none / 0) (#2)
by vml68 on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 04:24:59 PM EST

collateral damage?

That innocent people were tortured should make it easier to convince even conservatives that the torture of anyone, guilty or innocent, is wrong.....
Innocent people being executed does not stop them from being proponents for the death penalty.

We are nearing (none / 0) (#3)
by lilburro on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 04:41:33 PM EST

I think, the real likelihood of an investigation, and hopefully even prosecutions. It is simply too difficult to avoid - each Gitmo prisoner we release is going to have their own horrible story, and the lawsuits aren't going to go anywhere. The UK looks prepared to investigate its own involvement in our torture regime. Bush and Cheney are largely out of the spotlight and away from the mic. Their self-defenses are growing smaller with time. They seem more and more like common criminals each day. Take 'em all down, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and investigate Rockefeller and Harman too.

: "lawsuits aren't going to go anywhere" (none / 0) (#4)
by lilburro on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 04:42:53 PM EST

I mean, "lawsuits aren't going to go away." Does Obama really want to spend his entire term covering for what Bush did, case by case? I would hope not.

No doubt (none / 0) (#5)
by NYShooter on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 05:13:42 PM EST

travesties have been perpetrated, in our name, by our "leaders."

But, that this "tell-all exclusive" was funneled through, what I consider the most duplicitous, dishonest, biased, and sensationalist blog on the Net, does give me pause.

God help us if HuffPo is now considered a reliable conduit for factual information.

Wow (none / 0) (#7)
by squeaky on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 05:31:41 PM EST

The world must have gotten much smaller for you since Hillary ran for dem nominee POTUS.

Who else is on your list?


I'm sure (5.00 / 0) (#9)
by NYShooter on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 05:51:30 PM EST

there must be a comment,question......

something?


Not Sure What You are Asking (none / 0) (#10)
by squeaky on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 05:58:30 PM EST

But if you did not understand my comment it was in response to this:

what I consider the most duplicitous, dishonest, biased, and sensationalist blog on the Net, does give me pause.
God help us if HuffPo is now considered a reliable conduit for factual information.

HuffPo is not on my daily list but there is always many factual and interesting stuff there, breaking news ect. And yes it has a tabloid aspect to it but to call the whole blog dishonest and devoid of any factual information is pure nonsense.


: Reminiscent of (5.00 / 0) (#11)
by NYShooter on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 07:26:49 PM EST

the self-confessed mass murderer who freely admits to murders 1-16 and 18-24, but becomes enraged at being accused of #17.
You'll excuse me for not wasting my time sifting through the stench of sophomoric dreck to find a sliver of "factual and interesting stuff."
Then again, "Reagan had some good ideas;" who knew?

Not A Fan of HuffPo (none / 0) (#17)
by daring grace on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 11:10:05 AM EST

Never go there any more.

But as an Obama supporting site they were also the ones to break that 'bitter, clinging to their guns' story during the primaries.


: Bitter and clinging to their (none / 0) (#18)
by jondee on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 02:51:30 PM EST

guns -- and the wrath of God.
Another utterly scandalous moment of truth telling.

Here's a question (none / 0) (#6)
by jbindc on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 05:20:27 PM EST

I have no doubt these abuses occurred at Abu Grahib and other black site prisons. But what if all these people come forward and we find out that at least some of their stories are not true? (I'm not saying this man's story is not true - just speaking in general terms.)

It happens with every tragedy - people who were not involved come forward and get sympathy, and possibly remuneration, but in this case, criminal cases could be built if the Obama administration would choose to purse them. If say, 20% of the stories that come out turn out to be lies, can that hurt the prosecutions of the other cases that might happen to be true? Or do you think any potential jury is already so conditioned to hearing about all this, that they will assume all stories are true and innocent people may be punished?

Head in the sand (none / 0) (#12)
by shoephone on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 09:45:59 PM EST

So, because some of the claims may be questionable (and that's a big, cynical assumption right there) that means don't investigate any claims?

For cripes sake, have you not read any of Jane Mayer's pieces in the New Yorker? She blew the lid off of the rendition-for-torture program more than a year ago. Even the people in charge at Jeppesen Int'l -- the Boeing subsidiary -- that flew the detainees to the black sites copped to it. Said it was real good money too and told new employees to "do your jobs and don't ask questions."


: Um , no (none / 0) (#13)
by jbindc on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 08:33:04 AM EST

But hysterics aside, I was asking a legitimate legal question. What happens if the government decides to prosecute those who actually DID torture and some of those who claim to have been tortured turn out to be lying? How would that affect the rest of the cases?

We know (none / 0) (#8)
by lentinel on Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 05:48:13 PM EST

what has been going on.
We have known for years.
It is still going on.
What are we going to do about it?

Definitely important to remember.... (none / 0) (#14)
by kdog on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 08:34:30 AM EST

that this is not new, it just reached new heights after 9/11. This kinda heinous crap has been going on for 50 years.

The only way to stop it is to disband the CIA...it is an agency beyond repair.

And no, nobody is going to do anything meaningful about it...yeah there will be hearings and maybe a few scapegoats will get some jail time...but the show will go on. I don't think it is that we don't care, we just don't care enough.


That's the ticket. (none / 0) (#15)
by lentinel on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 09:40:36 AM EST

"I don't think it is that we don't care, we just don't care enough."

And as long as we don't care enough, things will go on as usual.

Believe me, I'm not finding fault.
It's human nature.
Especially when we are struggling to pay our rent and put food on the table.
We also are frightened.
I believe our government will keep us poor and frightened for the foreseeable future.

I recently read Jefferson's statement about what it takes to overthrow a government. He said that people will endure things and go on doing so until they become unendurable. Only then will they rise up and get rid of the oppressor. So far, we are being given just enough crumbs to keep us quiet, and just enough fear to keep us passive and immobile.

We need a Malcolm X.
And there isn't one on the horizon that I can see.


Indeed.... (none / 0) (#16)
by kdog on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 09:54:44 AM EST

we will endure it as long as we're eating and relatively free...basic human nature.

The state is so massive I don't know where you start, and I love the freedom I have too much to risk the chains and cages...the fear you spoke of. That makes me and many others enablers, and a big part of the problem.


: Defending "our interests" (none / 0) (#19)
by jondee on Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 03:32:34 PM EST

"trading relationships" and imperial outposts are always going to entail a little torture, rendition, assassination etc