UK government settles claim with Guantanamo detainee Abu Zubaydah for complicity in torture
Zubaydah, who has been held without charge or conviction since 2002, was the first individual subjected to the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" techniques following the September 11 attacks
The UK government has paid "substantial" compensation to Abu Zubaydah, a Guantanamo Bay detainee, to settle a legal claim regarding the UK's complicity in his torture.
Zubaydah, who has been held without charge or conviction since 2002, was the first individual subjected to the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" techniques following the September 11 attacks. Although he was initially labeled a senior al-Qaeda operative, the US government has since withdrawn those allegations, says the BBC.
MI5 and MI6 were found to have passed specific questions to the CIA to be used during Zubaydah's interrogations, even though they were aware of his extreme mistreatment. His legal counsel argued that by providing these questions, the UK intelligence services "created a market" for his torture.
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Zubaydah was treated as a "guinea pig" for brutal techniques, which included being waterboarded 83 times, physically assaulted, and confined in coffin-shaped boxes. Internal MI6 messages noted that the treatment he endured would have "broken" 98% of US special forces soldiers.
Before being moved to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, Zubaydah was held at several secret "black sites" in countries such as Lithuania and Poland. CIA officers reportedly concluded early in his detention that he should remain isolated from the outside world for the remainder of his life.
Despite the financial settlement, Zubaydah remains imprisoned and is currently unable to access the compensation money. His legal team emphasizes that while the payment is significant, it is "insufficient" because his unlawful detention is ongoing.
The UK government and the Foreign Office have declined to comment on the specific amount of the settlement or broader intelligence matters. Meanwhile, former parliamentary inquiry chair Dominic Grieve noted that the UK had evidence of the mistreatment early on but failed to raise concerns or halt cooperation with the United States for a "considerable period of time".
To understand his situation, one might see the financial settlement as a formal apology written on a piece of paper, but that paper is currently being held inside a locked room that Zubaydah is not yet allowed to leave.
