Binyam Mohamed Wins Settlement for Being Tortured

/in /by

Binyam Mohamed and a number of other detainees will be paid millions by the British government to compensate for their role in torturing him.

Around a dozen men who accused British security forces of colluding in their transfer overseas are to get millions in compensation from the UK government.

Some of the men, who are all British citizens or residents, were detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba.

At least six of them alleged UK forces were complicit in their torture before they arrived at Guantanamo.

While I’m glad Mohamed has finally won some kind of recompense for his treatment here (because it appears he’ll never get it from the US, the country in charge of his detention), it likely limits any further revelations we’ll get through that court proceeding. The Brits will now proceed to have their review of torture (again, something you’ll never see in this country) in secret.

As we move forward with no accountability (aside from the British taxpayers paying a settlement in lieu of the torturers) for torture…

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  1. MadDog says:

    I wonder if the British government will insist the former detainees agree on a “no comment” requirement as part of their settlement.

    Seems to be SOP with most legal settlements and almost always only benefits the transgressor.

    • MadDog says:

      I hate it when I’m right *g* – via The Guardian:

      …Clarke yesterday delivered a robust defence of the “mediated settlement” that emerged on Monday night between the government and 16 men held at the US military base on Cuba, which officials said they hoped would “draw a line” under highly damaging evidence of Britain’s connivance in torture and abuse.

      “The details of the settlement have been made subject to a legally binding confidentiality agreement,” he told the Commons…”

      (My Bold)

  2. newz4all says:

    do you think that these other countries are getting tired of paying off their citizens due to the usa ( or its proxies ) torturing the shit out of them ????

    this case / post should of course remind us of Maher Arar who though tortured to Hell and back at least did not have his penis / genitalia carved up with a scalpel in f***ing Morocco or some such third world shit hole like what occured to Binyam Mohamed.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar

    Arar was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 on his way home to Canada from a family vacation in Tunis. He was held in solitary confinement in the United States for nearly two weeks, questioned, and denied meaningful access to a lawyer. The US government suspected him of being a member of Al Qaeda and deported him, not to Canada, his current home, but to his native Syria, even though its government is known to use torture. He was detained in Syria for almost a year, during which time he was tortured, according to the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, until his release to Canada.

    The government of Canada ordered a commission of inquiry which concluded that he was tortured. The commission of inquiry publicly cleared Arar of any links to terrorism. The government of Canada later settled out of court with Arar and awarded him a C$10.5 million settlement.

    Despite the Canadian court ruling, the United States government has not exonerated Arar and, on the contrary, has made public statements to state their belief that Arar is affiliated with members of organizations they describe as terrorist. As of February 2009, Arar and his family remain on a watchlist. His US lawyers at the Center for Constitutional Rights are currently pursuing his case, Arar v. Ashcroft, which seeks compensatory damages on Arar’s behalf and also a declaration that the actions of the US government were illegal and violated his constitutional, civil, and international human rights.

    that f***er ashcroft. god, the list of douchebags from the 8 nightmare years of cheney / bush is endless.

    • timbo says:

      That 8 year nightmare has not stretched into nine–it’s still going on, even after they’ve left office, due to the negligence and toadyism of the Democrat’s leadership in the administration and in the Congress. The rule of law has been bashed around so much…I suppose the last chance to save it would be to insist that laws regulating banks and legal foreclosures actually be enforced…but, um, it ain’t happening so far and is unlikely to start any time soon.

  3. Nell says:

    The first thing I thought when I learned of the settlement was what this would mean for the release of Shaker Ameer. Andy Worthington has the same question, and more informed thoughts about the deal generally.

  4. newz4all says:

    USA shows no sign of emulating UK payoff to Guantánamo prisoners

    The settlements triggered calls from the American Civil Liberties Union for the Obama administration to stop invoking the state secrets privilege to keep details of what happened to detainees from being aired in American courts.

    Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU’s deputy legal director, said that it was “deeply troubling” in the face of the British settlements that “here in the United States the Obama administration continues to shield the architects of the torture program from civil liability while Bush-era officials, including former President Bush and former Vice President (Dick) Cheney, boast of their crimes on national television.”

    “If other democracies can compensate survivors and hold officials accountable for their endorsement of torture, surely we can do the same,” he said.

    http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/16/1929317/us-shows-no-sign-of-following.html