April 2, 2010
Chapter 4, Part 1 - A Ponzi Scheme of Torture
This chapter connects the interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, Jose Padilla, and Binyam Mohamed, three people who were allegedly involved in a 'dirty bomb' plot that grew more fantastical the more the men were tortured. It traces how torture begat torture, first because bad information extracted through abusive interrogations led to more torture and more bad information, and finally because interrogations were being conducted not only, as the Bush administration has insisted, to produce new intelligence to thwart impending attacks but also to force confessions and extract information that it would use to justify its detention and torture of others.
Part 1: The Scheme
Mohammed's stated reason for going to Afghanistan is entirely implausible. Further, he provides inconsistent accounts of his stay at the Jalalabad guesthouse. These findings undermine his attempts to defeat credible evidence put forth by the Government that Mohammed lived among al-Qaida supporters while there. The Government has established that it is more likely than not that he traveled there as part of a recruiting pipeline. Therefore, the Court credits the Government's evidence regarding Petitioner's earlier conduct.
The Government argues that Petitioner left the Jalalabad guesthouse to train at an al-Qaida camp, and then returned to Jalalabad before fleeing the country for Pakistan after September 11….Its chief support for this argument consists of the statement of Binyam Mohamed, who told interrogators at Guantanamo Bay in October and November of 2004 that Petitioner attended a training camp with him.
Petitioner contends that Binyam Mohamed's statements—the only other evidence placing Petitioner in a training camp—cannot be relied upon, because he suffered intense and sustained physical and psychological abuse while in American custody from 2002 to 2004. Petitioner argues that while Binyam Mohamed was detained at locations in Pakistan, Morocco, and Afghanistan, he was tortured and forced to admit a host of allegations, most of which he has since denied. When he arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Binyam Mohamed implicated Petitioner in training activities. However, after being released from Guantanamo Bay, he signed a sworn declaration claiming that he never met Petitioner until they were both detained at Guantanamo Bay, thereby disavowing the statements he made at Guantanamo Bay about training with Petitioner. In that sworn declaration Binyam Mohamed stated that he was forced to make untrue statements about many detainees, including Petitioner. Binyam Mohamed stated he made these statements because of "torture or coercion," that he was "fed a large amount of information" while in detention, and that he resorted to making up some stories.
After this prologue, the report indicates that Binyam Mohamed was shown a total of 27 photographs of various individuals, and identified 12 of them….He identified Petitioner by his kunya, "Abdullah," claiming that Petitioner "trained at the Algerian Camp with [him] and … eventually traveled to Kandahar with to [sic] him….Special Agent [redacted] notes at the end of his report that the subject was "very cooperative and polite," and that he answered questions without betraying "signs of deception or resistance techniques." Further, Binyam Mohamed "at many times" spoke freely without being questioned or prompted, and the information that he provided was deemed to be consistent with earlier information that he provided, though it does not state where Binyam Mohamed provided the earlier information.
First, Binyam Mohamed's lengthy and brutal experience in detention weighs heavily with the Court. For example, this is not a case where a person was repeatedly questioned by a police officer, in his own country, by his own fellow-citizens, at a police station, over several days without sleep and with only minimal amounts of food and water. See Ashcraft v. State of Tenn, 322 U.S. 143, 153-154 (1944); Reck v. Pate , 367 U.S. 433, 440-441 (1961) (murder suspect held incommunicado for eight days, questioned extensively for four, and interrogated while sick). While neither the Ashcroft nor Reck scenarios are to be approved, they can hardly compare with the facts alleged here.
The difference, of course, is that Binyam Mohamed's trauma lasted for two 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.
…[E]ven though the identity of individual interrogators changed (from nameless Pakistanis, to Moroccans, to Americans, and to Special Agent [redacted]), there is no question that throughout his ordeal Binyam Mohamed was being held at the behest of the United States . Captors changed the sites of his detention, and frequently changed his location within each detention facility. He was shuttled from country to country, and interrogated and beaten without having access to counsel until arriving at Guantanamo Bay, after being interrogated by Special Agent [redacted]. See JE 72 (declaration of Binyam Mohamed's attorney, Clive Stafford Smith, stating that he did not meet with client until May of 2005).
From Binyam Mohamed's perspective, there was no legitimate reason to think that transfer to Guantanamo Bay foretold more humane treatment; it was, after all, the third time that he had been forced onto a plane and shuttled to a foreign country where he would be held under United States authority. Further, throughout his detention, a constant barrage of physical and psychological abuse was employed in order to manipulate him and program him into telling investigators what they wanted to hear. It is more than plausible that, in an effort to please Special Agent [redacted] (consistent with how captors taught him how to behave), he re-told such a story, adding details, such as Petitioner's presence at training, which he thought would be helpful and, above all, would bring an end to his nightmare.
There was 4 small cells, each 2m x 2.5m. While there, he was hung up for a week by a leather strap around the wrists. He could only just stand. He was only allowed down to go to the toilet twice a day. He was given food, normally rice and beans, once every second day. "It was the first thing that happened to me. I just thought it would end. There were threats of beating, though.
The FBI seemed to think that because he had lived in the US for a short while he had plans to do something there. "But I'm going to the UK," Binyam would say.
The FBI also seemed to think that he was some kind of top al-Qaida person.
"How? It's been less than six months since I converted to Islam! Before that, I was into using drugs," Binyam would say. Indeed, he had traveled in part to help try to kick the habit.
On the first day of interrogations, 'Chuck' said, "If you don't talk to me, you're going to Jordan. We can't do what we want here, the Pakistanis can't do exactly what we want them to. The Arabs will deal with you."
It was at this point that Binyam told them his name and address. Chuck checked with the British and this was true.
'Terry' asked the same questions. "I'm going to send you to Jordan or Israel," he said. Then he threatened to send him to the British. "The SAS know how to deal with people like you."
It was after Terry's visit that they started the torture.
The Pakistanis could not speak English, and Binyam could not understand them. They would just come in and beat him with a leather strap. It had a handle, and then leather with a joint making the rounded end part whip back on him.
One Pakistani pointed some kind of gun at Binyam's chest. it was a semi-automatic, and he loaded it in front of Binyam. "He pressed it against my chest. He just stood there. I knew I was going to die. He stood like that for five minutes. I looked into his eyes, and I saw my own fear reflected there. I had time to think about it. Maybe he will pull the trigger and I will not die, but be paralyzed. There was enough time to think the possibilities through."
'Chuck' came in after that. He said nothing. He stared at me and left."
"But the officials said there were highly skeptical of the credibility of Abu Zubaydah's claim, who also recently said al-Qaeda was targeting banks in the United States. That report was the basis of an FBI alert last week.
"It could be he's not being truthful. It could be that he's boasting," a US official told the Associated Press news agency."
First transform the gas into a liquid by subjecting it to pressure. You can use a bicycle pump for this. Then make a simple home centrifuge. Fill a standard-size bucket one-quarter full of liquid uranium hexafluoride. Attach a six-foot rope to the bucket handle. Now swing the rope (and attached bucket) around your head as fast as possible. Keep this up for about 45 minutes. Slow down gradually, and very gently put the bucket on the floor. The U-235, which is lighter, will have risen to the top, where it can be skimmed off like cream.
But that's when [Chuck] started getting all excited. Towards the end of April he began telling me about this A-bomb I was supposed to be building, and he started on about Osama Bin Laden and his top lieutenants, showing me pictures and making out I must have known them.
Matthew Alexander 02/16/10: At this point in the interrogation, there has been little done by the interrogators to build rapport and establish a relationship of trust, necessary to convince a detainee to cooperate. There’s been little analysis of what makes Mohamed tick. If he was planning to assist Al Qaida, why? Why did he start using drugs in the UK? Mohamed was a perfect interrogation subject, a searching soul who the interrogators could have approached in a spirit of cooperation, not dominance.
On or about April 23, 2002, Abu Zubaydah was shown two photographs, one that was taken from the U.S. passport of Jose Padilla, which had been recovered from Padilla's person. Abu Zubaydah identified the individual in that photograph as the person he knew as "Abdullah Al Muhajir."[The name Jose Padilla adopted when he converted to Islam] The other phtotgraph was taken from a fake passport recovered from Binyam Muhammed, which Abu Zubaydah identified as the individual in the company of the "South American."
Abu Zubaydah further stated that Padilla and Binyam Muhammad had asked Abu Zubaydah for his opinion on their plan to build an explosive device that would combine uranium or other nuclear or radioactive material with an "ordinary" explosive device (hereinafter called a "dirty bomb") and then detonating the dirty bomb in the United States. Abu Zubaydah told Padilla and Binyam Muhammad that he (Abu Zubaydah) did not think the plan would work, but Binyam Muhammad thought it would work. Abu Zubaydah also indicated to the government that he did not think Padilla and Binyam Muhammad were members of Al Qaeda. Abu Zubaydah further stated that he believed the dirty bomb plan was still in the idea phase, as Padilla and Binyam Muhammad did not have any radioactive material yet, but they mentioned stealing radioactive material from an unnamed university. Abu Zubaydah believed that Padilla and Binyam Muhammad had consulted an unidentified Internet website to learn how to assemble a dirty bomb….
The affidavit then turned to information provided from an interview of Binyam Muhammad in early April, 2002. The affiant explained that Binyam Muhammad had been detained in Pakistan by the Pakistani authorities while trying to board a flight, on suspicions that his non-U.S. passport was fraudulent (which it was). The affiant explained that he had read reports prepared based on the interview of Binyam Muhammad, and had spoken with other law enforcement officers regarding this interview. Binyam Muhammad stated that he went to Pakistan at the behest of Abu Zubaydah to receive training in "wiring explosives." Binyam Muhammad further stated that, while in Pakistan, he and Padilla researched the construction of a uranium-enhanced device, which would be detonated in the United States. Binyam Muhammad and Padilla discussed this plan with Abu Zubaydah, who referred them to other members of Al Qaeda for further discussion of the operation.
With regard to the status of the prisoners, under the various Geneva Conventions and protocols, all prisoners, however they are described, are entitled to the same levels of protections. You have commented on their treatment. It appears from your description that they may not be being treated in accordance with the appropriate standards….
It is important that you do not engage in any activity yourself that involves inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners. As a representative of a UK public authority, you are obliged to act in accordance with the Human Rights Act 2000 which prohibits torture, or inhumane or degrading treatment. Also as a Crown Servant, you are bound by Section 31 of the Criminal Justice Act 1948, which makes acts carried out overseas in the course of your official duties subject to UK criminal law. In other words, your actions incur criminal liability in the same way as if you were carrying out those acts in the UK."
They gave me a cup of tea with a lot of sugar in it. I initially only took one. 'No, you need a lot more. Where you're going you need a lot of sugar.' I didn't know exactly what he meant by this, but I figured he meant some poor country in Arabia." One of them did tell me that I was going to get tortured by the Arabs.
'John' questioned Binyam. Binyam said he wanted a lawyer.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"I don't know, said Binyam.
"I'll see what we can do with the Americans," he said, promising to tell Binyam what would happen to him. He did not see him again.
I told [BM] that he had an opportunity to help us and help himself. The US authorities will be deciding what to do with him and this would depend to a very large degree on his degree of cooperation. I said that if he could persuade me he was telling the complete truth I would seek to use my influence to help him. He asked how, and said he didn't expect ever to get out of the situation he was in. I said it must be obvious to him that he would get more lenient treatment if he cooperated. I said that I could not and would not negotiate up front, but if he persuaded me he was cooperating fully then (and only then) I would explore what could be done for him with my US colleagues. It was, however, clear that, while he appeared happy to answer any questions, he was holding back a great deal of information on who and what he knew in the UK and in Afghanistan .
Yesterday, after consultation with the acting secretary of defense and other senior officials, both the acting secretary of defense and I recommended that the president of the United States, in his capacity as commander in chief, determine that Abdullah al Muhajir, born Jose Padilla, is an enemy combatant who poses a serious and continued threat to the American people and our national security. After the determination, Abdullah al Muhajir was transferred from the custody of the Justice Department to the custody of the Defense Department .
Agents Fincher and Donnachie, along with Chicago FBI agents Robert Holley and Todd Schmitt, participated in an interview of Padilla in a conference room, which began at approximately 3:15 p.m. and ended sometime between 7:05 and 7:35 p.m. when Padilla declined to speak further to agents without an attorney….
Near the end of the interview, but prior to actually placing Padilla under arrest, Agent Fincher told Padilla that he would like Padilla to work with him and help him more fully understand the issues they had discussed. If Padilla were to volunteer, Agent Fincher explained, the FBI would arrange for a hotel that evening and they would all travel to New York the next day so that Padilla could then testify in front of a grand jury in New York. Otherwise, Agent Fincher indicated that he would have to serve Padilla with a grand jury subpoena, which he showed to Padilla, to compel his testimony before the grand jury. Padilla asked procedural questions about the grand jury subpoena process, which Agent Fincher answered. After considering the information, Padilla stated that he was not going to volunteer to go to New York and that if Agent Fincher wanted him to go, he would have to arrest Padilla. The same thing happened again: Agent Fincher informed Padilla that he did have a Material Witness Warrant that he could use to arrest Padilla, but that he would rather have Padilla volunteer the information, and that he did not want to arrest Padilla. Padilla responded that he was not going to volunteer and that Agent Fincher would have to arrest him. Following this exchange, Padilla was arrested by Agent Fincher and read his Miranda rights pursuant to a Customs Advice of Rights Form.
On July 21 st , 2002, Binyam was taken to a military airport in Islamabad. There were two others with him. He was blindfolded, but it was very quiet. He was held there for about two hours.
Once there, he was turned over to the Americans. The U.S. soldiers were dressed in black, with masks, wearing what looked like Timberland boots. They stripped him naked, took photos, put fingers up his anus, and dressed him in a tracksuit. He was shackled, with earphones, and blindfolded.
He was put into a U.S. plane—he cannot say the size, but is sure it was some kind of official or military plane, rather than anything civilian, since it was so quiet on board before take off that there were not many others on it.
He was tied to the seat for the roughly 8 to 10 hour flight.
He was flown to an airport in Morocco where he arrived on July 22 nd . While he was blindfolded, he is sure there were two other prisoners on the flight.
He believes it may have been near Rabat.
Binyam believes that there was a U.S. military base near it.
When I got to Morocco they said some big people in al-Qaida were talking about me. They talked about Jose Padilla and they said I was going to testify against him and big people. They named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, and Ibn Sheikh al-Libi. It was hard to pin down the exact story because what they wanted changed from Morocco to when later I was in the Dark Prison, to Bagram and again in Guantánamo Bay.
They told me that I must plead guilty. I'd have to say I was an al-Qaida operations man, an ideas man. I kept insisting that I had only been in Afghanistan a short while. "We don't care," was all they'd say.
Matthew Alexander 02/16/10: It’s interesting that the interrogators asked Mohamed to plead guilty. At this point, he is still being interrogated for intelligence purposes, not law enforcement. There is no guilt or innocence in an intelligence interrogation. In fact, a good interrogator does not bring up such a subject in an interrogation or shifts the blame off the detainee. The interrogators may be mixing up a law enforcement technique taught in the Reid Course (a civilian interrogations training program) which instructs interrogators to never allow a suspect to assert his innocence and to consistently assume the suspect is guilty, never allowing doubt. This would be a mistake in an intelligence setting such as Mohamed’s.
The "Canadian" called "Sarah" came today. She said she was supposedly a "third party" only interested in talking to me, because I had refused to talk to the Moroccans and the Americans, so maybe I would talk to a Canadian.
"If you don't talk to me, then the Americans are getting ready to carry out the torture. They're going to electrocute you, beat you, and rape you." She seemed blasé about this, as if this was something normal. I listened to her, but I said I would not talk today.
Today "Sarah" came in with Mohammed, a Moroccan.
They had brought pictures, all of British people. "This is the British file," they said. "Sarah" picked up the pictures of two British people—Yusuf Jamaici and Amin Mohammed—and told their whole story, about how they were suspected of being al Qaida and other stuff.
They also brought pictures of about 25 of the "most wanted" al Qaida people. "I don't know these people."
"I'm giving you a last chance to think about cooperating with the U.S.," said 'Sarah.' They left me alone for a day to think about it, with no interrogation.
They'd ask me a question. I'd say one thing. They'd say it was a lie. I'd say another. They'd say it was a lie. I could not work out what they wanted to hear.
They say there's this guy who says you're the big man in al Qaida. I'd say it's a lie. They'd torture me. I'd say, okay it's true. They'd say, okay, tell us more. I'd say, I don't know more. They'd torture me again.
Matthew Alexander 02/16/10: It’s not unethical in an interrogation to assert a false accusation against a detainee as long as that assertion does not violate the law or threaten the detainee. In this instance, the interrogators could have started by using a lawful, valid approach called Establish Your Identity, listed in the Army Field Manual. In this approach, the interrogator asserts that a detainee is more (or less) important than they suspect. It’s a legal, ethical interrogation technique. However, the torture is inexcusable and appalling and counters the technique’s effectiveness by reinforcing reasons why Mohamed should not be truthful in establishing his identity.
They took the scalpel to my right chest. It was only a small cut. Maybe an inch. At first I just screamed because the pain was just…I was just shocked, I wasn't expecting…
Then they cut my left chest. This time I didn't want to scream because I knew it was coming.
Marwan got agitated at this. "Just go ahead with the plan."
One of them 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, trying desperately to suppress myself, but I was screaming. I remember Marwan seemed to smoke a cigarette, throw it down, and start another.
They must have done this 20 to 30 times, in maybe two hours. There was blood all over.
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