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UK police begin investigation into alleged abuse of Guantanamo detainee

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The UK Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) announced Friday that it is investigating the alleged mistreatment of an Ethiopian Guantanamo Bay detainee by British intelligence officers. Binyam Mohamed, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002, claims that while he was held in Pakistan for three months he was tortured by Pakistani agents and interrogated by FBI and MI5 agents complicit in his abuse. Binyam was later transferred to Morocco, allegedly as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. Binyam also claims that British agents supplied torturers in Morocco with questions. According to the announcement, the MPS team assigned to the case will work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service throughout the investigation. In May, London High Court judges agreed to reconsider a prior decision to redact information from a ruling regarding Binyam after it was challenged on the grounds that the information may be essential to his defense. Following four years of detention at Guantanamo, Binyam was returned to the UK in February. He was originally sent to the prison based on suspicion of war crimes in connection with an alleged involvement with al Qaeda attacks on the US. The charges against him were dismissed in October 2008.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).