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Guantanamo detainee asks Poland to probe alleged CIA secret prison

By Jaclyn Belczyk

[JURIST] Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah on Thursday asked Polish prosecutors to investigate claims that he was abused in a secret CIA prison [JURIST news archives] in the country. Zubaydah, a top al Qaeda suspect, alleges that he was transferred to Poland and subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. Zabaydah's lawyer said he is hoping that his client's case will be investigated in conjunction with an investigation [JURIST report] into the alleged mistreatment of accused USS Cole [JURIST news archive] bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri [NYT profile]. Both Zubaydah and al-Nashiri remain in detention at Guantanamo.

In September, former Polish prime minister Leszek Miller denied any knowledge [JURIST report] of a secret CIA prison in Poland and indicated that he will not discuss allegations of torture until the Polish government's investigation is complete. Allegations against Poland came in a June 2007 report [text; JURIST report] to the Council of Europe [official website] by Swiss Senator Dick Marty. The report concluded that numerous European governments had cooperated with the CIA program. In February 2007, the European Parliament condemned more than a dozen European states [JURIST report] for their roles in the program. Several nations have been accused of obstructing European probes into the secret prison allegations, including Poland [JURIST report], which allegedly housed the largest CIA detention facility in Europe [JURIST report].

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 16, 2010 (boomark / email).