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10/02/2010
Court Backs Torture File's Publication
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said he accepts an Appeal Court ruling to release details of alleged torture against a UK terrorism suspect.
Mr Miliband had earlier claimed such a decision would compromise national security.
Binyam Mohamed, a UK national born in Ethiopian, was detained by authorities for seven years.
During this time Mr Mohamed alleged he was tortured in Pakistani at the behest of US intelligence authorities.
According to Mr Mohamed, British MI5 officers were aware of his treatment.
The UK Government has continued to insist it does not endorse or condone torture.
A seven-paragraph summary of what the CIA told their British intelligence officials about Mr Mohamed's treatment in 2002 was at the centre of the Appeal case.
The redacted paragraphs have now been published on the Foreign Office website.
Mr Miliband today said in a statement "the government accepts the decision of the Court of Appeal".
It was revealed Mr Mohamed had been "subjected to continuous sleep deprivation", and "threats and inducements were made to him".
His condition was monitored by officers, who later put him on a self-harm watch due to increased stress and lax interviews.
"The treatment reported, if it had been administered on behalf of the United Kingdom would clearly have been in breach of [a ban on torture]," today's judgment found.
Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones ruled that the risk to national security was "not a serious one" and there was "overwhelming" public interest in disclosing the material.
Mr Mohamed received UK citizenship in 1994. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 over a visa irregularity.
The 31-year-old was later handed over to US officials and then secretly flown to Morocco in 2002.
During this time he was probed on his life in Britain, questions which he believes could only have been prompted by UK intelligence officials.
In 2004 he was sent to Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, where he remained until all charges against him were dropped in February 2009.
(PR/BMcc)
Mr Miliband had earlier claimed such a decision would compromise national security.
Binyam Mohamed, a UK national born in Ethiopian, was detained by authorities for seven years.
During this time Mr Mohamed alleged he was tortured in Pakistani at the behest of US intelligence authorities.
According to Mr Mohamed, British MI5 officers were aware of his treatment.
The UK Government has continued to insist it does not endorse or condone torture.
A seven-paragraph summary of what the CIA told their British intelligence officials about Mr Mohamed's treatment in 2002 was at the centre of the Appeal case.
The redacted paragraphs have now been published on the Foreign Office website.
Mr Miliband today said in a statement "the government accepts the decision of the Court of Appeal".
It was revealed Mr Mohamed had been "subjected to continuous sleep deprivation", and "threats and inducements were made to him".
His condition was monitored by officers, who later put him on a self-harm watch due to increased stress and lax interviews.
"The treatment reported, if it had been administered on behalf of the United Kingdom would clearly have been in breach of [a ban on torture]," today's judgment found.
Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones ruled that the risk to national security was "not a serious one" and there was "overwhelming" public interest in disclosing the material.
Mr Mohamed received UK citizenship in 1994. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 over a visa irregularity.
The 31-year-old was later handed over to US officials and then secretly flown to Morocco in 2002.
During this time he was probed on his life in Britain, questions which he believes could only have been prompted by UK intelligence officials.
In 2004 he was sent to Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, where he remained until all charges against him were dropped in February 2009.
(PR/BMcc)
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