www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=11116 'Algerian group' sues US for torture ISN SECURITY WATCH (15/04/05) - Lawyers for six Algerian men arrested in Bosnia and detained at the US Guantanamo Bay prison camp have sued the US government, claiming that their clients have been abused and tortured during their detainment. All six men have Bosnian citizenship. The group's lawyers are demanding that the court force the US Justice Department and the Defense Department to release classified information that would allegedly prove that the men had been tortured by US soldiers at the navy base in Cuba. The lawsuit represents the first effort to use the Freedom of Information Act to compel the administration of US President George Bush to disclose medical records from Guantanamo. Lawyers say that one of the six men was beaten so badly that he suffered facial paralysis. According to the lawsuit, US soldiers forced a garden hose pumping water at full blast into the mouth of Mustafa Aid Idir, a computer technician, until he thought he would die from suffocation. Lawyers claim his finger and thumb were broken, and his head was driven into the ground with a force that caused facial paralysis. He is also said to have suffered a stroke. "His eyes didn't blink, he couldn't eat, food was leaking from his mouth," his attorney, Melissa Hoffer, told reporters. The Pentagon refused to comment on individual cases, saying only that US policy did not allow torture. Pentagon spokesman Major Michael Shavers told reporters that al-Qaida training manuals emphasized the tactic of making false abuse allegations. However, there have been many well-documented cases of prisoners being abuse in US custody. The six Algerians were accused in late 2001 of planning an attack against the US and British embassies in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. In January 2002, a Bosnian court cleared them of all charges, citing lack of evidence. But just hours before releasing them from custody, Bosnian authorities were pressured to hand them over to US authorities. The US then transferred them to Guantanamo. Unlike other Guantanamo detainees, the case of the "Algerian Group" is unique in that the six were not captured in combat in Afghanistan. Even though they were never sent to court or indicted, for more than three years they were banned from receiving any visits from family members or lawyers. In February this year, their wives organized protests in Sarajevo, calling on the Bosnian authorities to demand their release from Guantanamo. Last month, Bosnian authorities sent an official request to the US for the release of the six men, but US authorities rejected the request. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US still considered the men potential security threats. All six Algerian men fought on the Bosnian Muslim side in the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. After the war, they married Bosnian women, gained Bosnian citizenship, and worked for Muslim humanitarian organizations. (By Anes Alic in Sarajevo) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
