CIA TORTURE
UNREDACTED
SAM RAPHAEL
CROFTON BLACK
RUTH BLAKELEY
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE
CIA TORTURE PROGRAMME
CIA TORTURE
UNREDACTED
SAM RAPHAEL
CROFTON BLACK
RUTH BLAKELEY
‘SCHOLARS OF COUNTER-TERRORISM HAVE LONG ARGUED THAT TORTURE REPRESENTS AN IMMORAL
AND DEEPLY INEFFECTIVE MEANS OF RESPONDING TO NON-STATE VIOLENCE. THIS STRIKING REPORT
CONTRIBUTES RESONANTLY TO THAT INSIGHT, AND WILL PROVE OF VERY HIGH VALUE TO ALL WHO
ARE INTERESTED IN APPROPRIATELY MORAL AND SUCCESSFUL RESPONSES TO TERRORISM.’
PROFESSOR RICHARD ENGLISH, AUTHOR OF TERRORISM: HOW TO RESPOND
‘CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED IS A MONUMENTALLY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INVESTIGATIVE WORK. SAM RAPHAEL,
CROFTON BLACK AND RUTH BLAKELEY HAVE – BY PIECING TOGETHER INTRICATE DETAILS DRAWN FROM A BROAD
RANGE OF AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES – PULLED BACK THE CURTAIN ON THE CIA’S EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION
AND SECRET DETENTION PROGRAMME. THE RESULT IS A DAMNING REPORT THAT REVEALS STORIES ONCE HIDDEN
BEHIND BARS – FIRST, THE METAL BARS OF CIA JAILERS, AND LATER, THE BLACK BARS OF US CENSORS. THIS
REPORT, BORN OF PAINSTAKING WORK BY RESEARCHERS STEEPED IN THE US TORTURE PROGRAMME, WILL PLAY A
CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPARATION.’
MARGARET L. SATTERTHWAITE, CO-DIRECTOR,
CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLOBAL JUSTICE, NYU SCHOOL OF LAW
‘OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS, THE AUTHORS’ METICULOUS RESEARCH HAS PROVIDED AN INVALUABLE TOOL FOR THE
UN’S EFFORTS TO UNCOVER THE SCALE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY THAT WAS ORCHESTRATED
BY THE BUSH-ERA CIA, AS WELL AS ITS COLLABORATORS SUCH AS THE UK. SHAMEFULLY, SUCCESSIVE US
ADMINISTRATIONS HAVE FAILED TO PROSECUTE THE PERPETRATORS, OR ANY OF THE SENIOR ADMINISTRATIONS
OFFICIALS WHO ORDERED THESE CRIMES, SHIELDING BEHIND THE “SUPERIOR ORDERS” DEFENCE THAT WAS REJECTED
AT NUREMBURG AND IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN UNDER THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE. IN THE FACE OF
THIS AFFRONT TO THE VALUES OF CIVILISED NATIONS, WE ALL OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO RAPHAEL, BLACK AND
BLAKELEY FOR THEIR INDEFATIGABLE COMMITMENT TO THE TRUTH.’
BEN EMMERSON QC, FORMER UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON COUNTER-TERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS
CONTENTS
PREFACE
VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IX
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
XI
ABBREVIATIONS LIST
XIV
INTRODUCTION
1
THE PRISONER LIST
10
CHAPTER 1: UNREDACTING CIA TORTURE
15
CHAPTER 2: THE EVOLUTION OF CIA TORTURE
CONCLUSION
147
APPENDIX 1: THE PRISONERS
153
APPENDIX 2: THE RENDITIONS
289
71
PREFACE
When I first visited Guantánamo Bay in 2004, the nearly 800 prisoners held there were mostly
nameless. It took years for the government to release a list of its captives – a prerequisite to
establishing whether or not they should be held at all. Many, it turned out, were there on the
basis of malicious, false or inaccurate information, had been handed over by bounty hunters, or
had been imprisoned because they wore a certain type of Casio watch. These were the people
the Bush administration called ‘the worst of the worst’.
Information about its prisoners had to be prised out of the US military’s unwilling bureaucracy. But already at that time there were rumours of an even more secretive programme, run
in parallel by the Central Intelligence Agency outside the Pentagon’s chain of command. Occasional
press stories spoke of people abducted in the middle of the night, manhandled onto planes and
never heard of again. Leaks from US government officials began to tell a tale of secret detention
locations, in Asia or Europe or elsewhere. Painstakingly, journalists, NGOs and lawyers began
to compile lists of the disappeared – the organisation I founded, Reprieve, contributed to one
of them in 2009.
Accounts of grave abuses committed in the so-called ‘black sites’ began to surface. One
man had been waterboarded – drowned to the point of convulsions, vomiting and unconsciousness – 183 times in one month. Others had been placed for hours in boxes so small they had to
crouch, or deprived of sleep for weeks at a time. One had been killed – through a combination
of neglect, ill treatment and avoidable hypothermia. This wasn’t ‘enhanced interrogation’. This
was torture.
We knew that some of these men had ended up in Guantánamo – where they were held apart,
in a separate unit, and prevented from communicating their experiences to the outside world.
Others had been transferred to other countries and released, sometimes after years of torture
and isolation. But we often didn’t know where they’d been held – and so were unable effectively
to investigate what had happened to them or to seek meaningful redress on their behalf.
A comprehensive picture of the illegal system into which these men disappeared – albeit one
apparently derived entirely from CIA documents without the participation or inclusion of any former
prisoners – is contained in the full report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, published
in 2014. But it is unlikely any of us will ever get to read it. The report, a mammoth exercise, is likely
VII
to remain classified for decades. Instead, what we have is a partial summary, heavily redacted at
the behest of the CIA – the very agency whose abuses the report investigates.
CIA Torture Unredacted is a ground-breaking study of the CIA’s detention programme. A
pioneering combination of sophisticated analysis techniques and detailed open-source research,
it unveils crucial data which the CIA tried to hide in its censorship of the torture report. This data
paints an unprecedented picture of the inside details of the black site programme.
Why does this matter? While the US has, at least partially, given an account of its missteps
in the early years of the ‘War on Terror’, other heavily-complicit countries still maintain the facade
that they were not involved. Three European countries which held prisoners for the CIA still
refuse to admit to the facts – facts which CIA Torture Unredacted lays out in forensic detail. The
UK, despite a recent damning report by its Intelligence and Security Committee, still has not
convened a proper judge-led inquiry into its own – considerable – role in what happened. Theresa
May’s apology for the rendition of our clients Abdul Hakim Belhadj and Fatima Boudchar was
wrung out of an unwilling government only after many years of fighting in the courts. This is
simply unacceptable.
It is a truism that if we fail to understand the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat
our failures. But we cannot learn from history unless we know what it is. CIA Torture Unredacted
is an essential guide to the history of one of the most profound errors in recent memory – the
decision, when threatened, to abandon centuries of due process around imprisonment and
prohibitions around torture. It is, at times, uncomfortable reading. But only through comprehensive investigation of how western democracies came to endorse barbarism in the name of
protecting freedom can we hope to ensure that this is not repeated.
Clive Stafford Smith, founder, Reprieve
www.reprieve.org.uk
VIII
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It has not been easy to investigate the CIA’s torture programme. State officials from numerous countries, to the highest levels, have denied public access to much of the important
documentary evidence relating to the programme; have denied the scope, significance and
human impact of the programme; and have even denied its very existence. The victims of CIA
torture often do not know where they were held, or who was responsible for their abuse. The
outsourcing of key aspects of the programme to private companies has meant the dispersal of
evidence, as has its global scope and operation over many years. Our data has often been
fragmentary, held at disparate locations across the world, and challenging to access. Likewise,
undertaking our analysis has presented significant methodological and resourcing challenges.
We are a small team, operating with a small budget.
More than ever, therefore, it is true to say that we would not have been able to do this
alone. Our work would not have been possible without being able to build on the investigations
and findings of a number of lawyers, activists, parliamentarians, journalists and others who
have, over the years since 9/11, sought to expose the abuses at the heart of the ‘War on Terror’.
We hope to have given due credit throughout the report – in particular in the endnotes – and
remain indebted to those who have worked before us and alongside us to expose the torture
programme.
We would like to say our particular thanks to the following people and organisations, who
gave us access to material, advice and support throughout our work: Singeli Agnew; Dibyesh
Anand; Nicolas Bennett-Jones; Christina Cowger, Allyson Caison, Catherine Read and all members of NCCIT; Helen Darbishire, Lydia Medland and the team at Access Info Europe; Helen Duffy;
Hélène Flautre and the European Parliament’s LIBE committee; John Flint; Katie Gallagher; Anand
Gopal; Julia Hall; Qassim Hamad; Leah Henderson; Andy Hindmoor; Jonathan Horowitz; Adam
Krzykowski; Jason Leopold; Dick Marty and the PACE inquiry team; Vic Parsons; Laura Pitter;
Alka Pradhan; Nikki Reisch; Payenda Sargand; Meg Satterthwaite; Graham Smith; Clive Stafford
Smith, Cori Crider and the team at Reprieve; Matias Vallés; Sebastian Walker; Jennifer Watson;
Steven Watt, Dror Ladin and the team at ACLU; Vincent Wood.
Steve Kostas, who kindly passed on to us a significant body of material he collected, and
helped us to make sense of this, has been a crucial colleague throughout our efforts.
IX
Jac St John has worked tirelessly to ensure the integrity of our data, findings and presentation, to create our online document library, and to support us in numerous other ways. We owe
him a lot.
Claire Mason from Flushleft, our designer, has brilliantly transformed our intractable mass
of material into its current form. This was no small task and we are grateful to her for her perseverance, sensitivity, and eye for detail.
Between them, the University of Westminster, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the
University of Sheffield, and the University of Kent have funded much of our time, and also provided logistical support at important moments along the way. Thanks also to our students and
colleagues, discussions with whom have been key in helping us to formulate the scope and
shape of the project.
Lisa Magarrell, Manager of the National Security and Human Rights Project at Open Society
Foundations, provided us funding to complete the investigation and produce the report. We
could not have finished it without this support, and we are very thankful for it.
X
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CIA Torture Unredacted presents the findings from a four-year joint investigation by The
Rendition Project and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism into the use of rendition, secret
detention and torture by the CIA and its partners in the ‘War on Terror’. Between 2001 and 2009,
the CIA established a global network of secret prisons (‘black sites’) for the purpose of detaining
terrorism suspects, in secret and indefinitely, and interrogating them through the use of torture
and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The abuses which took place were severe,
sustained, and in clear violation of domestic and international law. The perpetrators have never
been held to account.
This report, and The Rendition Project’s website (www.therenditionproject.org.uk), provide
the most detailed public account to date of the CIA torture programme. We move significantly
beyond the findings of past investigations, including those published in heavily-redacted form
by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) in December 2014. In the course of our
work, we have:
→
Revealed key material which was redacted from the SSCI Torture Report;
→
Unlocked the locational data from the thousands of CIA cables referenced
by the Torture Report, allowing us to build a picture of where the torture of
individual prisoners took place;
→
Constructed datasets to enable cross-source analysis of detention times,
locations and movements;
→
Collated and published thousands of records relating to CIA rendition
operations, including company invoices, pilot logs, landing records and aircraft
communications data;
→
Brought together multiple first-hand accounts of torture from former CIA
prisoners; and
→
Compiled and indexed hundreds of declassified US Government documents,
including many released after 2014.
XI
Our analysis has enabled us to build an unprecedented picture of the programme from the
ground up. We are publishing here:
→
A detailed profile of the prisoners held within the torture programme, including
their nationalities; capture locations and dates; detention locations, dates and
treatment; and fate and whereabouts afterwards;
→
The identity of those prisoners held in the black sites in Thailand, Poland,
Romania, Lithuania, Morocco, and Guantánamo Bay;
→
A detailed reconstruction of the shifting geography of secret detention
operations in Afghanistan;
→
A granular account of the complex network of companies which provided
aircraft to the CIA for rendition operations;
→
Extensive documentary evidence relating to over 60 rendition circuits by these
aircraft, which involved over 120 individual renditions;
→
A detailed overview of complicity by a number of key states, including the
United Kingdom and those which hosted the black sites.
CIA Torture Unredacted stands as a comprehensive public account of one of the most disturbing
elements of the ‘War on Terror’: a global programme of systematic disappearance and torture,
carried out by the world’s most powerful liberal democratic states. In the face of continued
obstruction and denial by the governments involved, which refuse to allow for a full accounting
of the crimes which took place, we hope that this report will stand as a central reference point
for all those who still seek redress and reparations for the victims of CIA torture, as well as some
measure of the truth for us all.
XII
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Ammar al-Baluchi’s account of his detention in a CIA black site
ABBREVIATIONS
The following abbreviations are used throughout the report, including in the endnotes:
AFTN
Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network
ARB
Administrative Review Board (DoD)
CAA
Civilinės Aviacijos Administracija (Lithuania)
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
CNSD
Committee on National Security and Defence (Lithuania)
CSC
Computer Sciences Corporation
CSRT
Combatant Status Review Board (DoD)
CTC
Counterterrorism Center (CIA)
DCI
Director of Central Intelligence (CIA)
DDO
Deputy Director of Operations (CIA)
DoD
Department of Defense
DoJ
Department of Justice
DoS
Department of State (DoS)
ECtHR
European Court of Human Rights
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
FCO
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (United Kingdom)
FOIA
Freedom of Information Act
GID
General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan)
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
ISC
Intelligence and Security Committee (United Kingdom)
ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence (Pakistan)
JTF-GTMO Joint Taskforce Guantánamo (DoD)
MI5
Security Service (United Kingdom)
MI6
Secret Intelligence Service (United Kingdom)
MoN
Memorandum of Notification
NSC
National Security Council
OIG
Office of Inspector General (CIA)
XIV
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
OLC
Office of Legal Counsel (DoJ)
OPR
Office of Professional Responsibility (DoJ)
PACE
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
PRB
Periodic Review Board (DoD)
RDI
Rendition, Detention and Interrogation
SBGS
State Border Guard Service (Lithuania)
SERE
Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape
SFA
SportsFlight Air
SITA
Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques
SSCI
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
SSD
State Security Department (Lithuania)
UWA
Universal Weather and Aviation
In addition, we use the term ‘Committee Study’ throughout to refer to the redacted executive
summary of the SSCI’s Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and
Interrogation Program.
XV
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
CIA Torture Unredacted presents the findings from a four-year joint investigation by The
Rendition Project and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism into the use of rendition, secret
detention and torture by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its partners in the ‘War on
Terror’. We have focused our efforts on understanding the evolution, scope and human impact
of the CIA’s Rendition, Detention and Interrogation (RDI) programme, which operated between
2001 and 2009. During this time, the CIA established a global network of secret prisons (socalled ‘black sites’) for the purposes of detaining and interrogating terrorism suspects – in secret,
indefinitely, and under the most extreme conditions. As a result, scores of men were captured,
at locations around the world, and disappeared into the programme for weeks, months or years
on end, whereupon they were subjected to sustained torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman
and degrading treatment.
This report, and The Rendition Project’s website (www.therenditionproject.org.uk), provide,
without doubt, the most detailed public account to date of CIA torture. We move significantly
beyond the findings of past investigations, shedding new light on the inner workings of the programme and tracking in detail the operation of the CIA’s black sites, the use of private aircraft to
transfer prisoners secretly between these sites, and the fate and whereabouts of those subjected
to secret detention, rendition and torture. In particular, we have filled in many of the gaps in public
understanding which still exist after the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) decided
to withhold its full Committee Study into the programme, and – alongside the CIA and the White
House – to heavily redact the Study’s Executive Summary before its publication in December 2014.
As we document throughout the report, the abuses at the heart of the programme were
severe, and were in clear violation of international and domestic law. Although the CIA played
the lead role, officials and personnel from a number of other states – including other powerful
liberal democracies such as the United Kingdom – were deeply implicated in the abuses which
took place, as were a number of private companies. Prisoners were held in complete darkness
for months on end, chained to bars in the ceiling and forced to soil themselves. Continual loud
music, combined with extended sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation and stress positioning
were deployed to reduce men to a completely dependent state. Interrogations involved being
3
severely beaten, and repeatedly slammed against walls. Some prisoners were placed, for hours
at a time, in boxes so small they had to crouch. Others were subjected to water torture which
induced vomiting, hypothermia and unconsciousness. Men were raped, mutilated, and threatened
with guns, drills and being buried alive. They were strapped to chairs and to tables. They were
hung upside down and beaten. They were chained to the floor in ways making it impossible to
stand or sit. They were deliberately, systematically dehumanised in an attempt by interrogators
to exert complete control.
Although these accounts are harrowing, we discuss them in detail throughout the report.
We do this because it is important to be clear about the severity and systematic nature of the
abuse which lay at the heart of the programme. This is especially true given the lengths to which
state officials have gone to deny the impact of, or even the existence of, CIA torture, including
through the use of euphemistic language. This was not a programme of ‘enhanced interrogation’; this was torture.
Throughout our investigation, our work has focused on four particular elements of the
torture programme. First, we have examined the evolution of the CIA’s network of ‘black sites’:
secret prisons built and run by the CIA directly, for the express purpose of holding terror suspects outside the law and interrogating them under torture. We have worked to confirm the
location of each of these sites, their position within the overall torture programme, their specific
operating periods, and the knowledge and involvement of host countries in their operation. We
have also identified, to a far greater level than any other public investigation, the names of those
held and tortured within each black site, the dates of their detention, and the treatment to which
they were subjected.
Second, we have investigated the CIA’s rendition programme, which ran alongside the detention programme and which was used to transfer prisoners into and out of secret detention, and
between detention facilities. We have tracked CIA aircraft as they crossed the globe, and have
uncovered the network of private companies which undertook these rendition operations. Our
account of the rendition programme is unparalleled, derived from our analysis of thousands of
billing records from within the programme and thousands of flight records pertaining to CIA
aircraft. We have been able to map both the network itself, as well as more than 60 individual
rendition operations. Each of these operations transferred prisoners in secret, in violation of
international law, for the purposes of secret detention and torture by the CIA and its partners
in the ‘War on Terror’.
Third, we have established the most detailed picture to date of the CIA’s secret prisoners.
At least 119 men were detained by the CIA as part of its torture programme, and we have tracked
their whereabouts during and after their time in CIA custody. This has included building a picture
of the nationalities, capture locations and capture dates of each prisoner, as well as the dates
that they were transferred into and out of CIA custody, the duration of their detention, and their
fate and whereabouts afterwards. We have also documented, to the greatest degree possible,
the location(s) and time frame(s) of each instance of secret detention, along with the conditions
and treatment to which each prisoner was subjected.
4
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Last, we have investigated the role played by the United Kingdom, and in particular the
British intelligence services, in providing support for the programme. It is now clear that Britain’s
role was central: supplying locational intelligence for capture operations; passing questions and
intelligence for use in interrogations under torture; planning, financing and facilitating rendition
operations; and acting as a key logistical hub for numerous rendition operations transferring
prisoners for torture.
This is not the first time we have published our findings from this investigation. We have
previously outlined the ways in which we tracked CIA rendition aircraft to understand more fully
the use of secret detention in Europe.1 We have provided expert testimony to the European Court
of Human Rights (ECtHR), which found that the involvement of European states in the torture
programme led to multiple violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.2 We have
assisted citizen-led efforts at accountability for CIA torture.3 We have published the most detailed
public account of British involvement in torture in the ‘War on Terror’,4 and have helped to guide
parliamentary, commissioner and police investigations in relation to this.5
CIA Torture Unredacted moves beyond our previous publications, however, and provides an
overview of our investigation as a whole. We present here our key findings in one place, along
with an account of our data and the methods we have used for our analysis. These findings have
been made possible through the collection and analysis of thousands of records relating to CIA
torture, including flight records, corporate invoices and billing records, declassified CIA documents, court records and prisoner testimonies. We have also developed novel techniques to
‘unredact’ – both literally and metaphorically – the heavily-redacted executive summary of the
SSCI’s ‘Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program’
(hereafter, the Committee Study).6 Through a detailed analysis of the text and the redactions
within the Committee Study, including through pioneering a technique to unlock the locational
data from the thousands of CIA cables referenced by the Study, and through a systematic triangulation of this data with the other records at our disposal, we are able to significantly advance
our understanding of how the torture programme evolved.
This has not been easy. The torture programme was a highly secret endeavour, with the CIA
and its partners going out of their way to hide the existence of a secret prison network dedicated
to the indefinite detention and torture of terror suspects. It has taken years of investigation, by
journalists, lawyers, parliamentarians and human rights investigators, for the broad contours of
the programme to be revealed. Our report builds upon these previous efforts, and we remain
indebted to each of them.
The report has two substantive chapters, followed by two appendices. In Chapter 1 we
explain how we sourced and analysed our data, including through ‘unredacting’ the Committee
Study, through the construction of a number of unique and powerful databases (versions of
which we are publishing alongside this report), and through the systematic triangulation of our
data. We also provide a summary of our key findings, which relate to the black sites, the rendition programme, the fate and whereabouts of the prisoners, and the multifaceted nature of
British involvement.
5
In Chapter 2 we provide an account of the overall evolution of the torture programme, from
its inception immediately after the attacks of 11 September 2001 until its closure in January 2009.
Our focus here is on tracking the shifting network of black sites, secret detentions and rendition
operations, so as to situate the detention and torture of individual prisoners within a broader,
programmatic context.
Our extensive appendices outline our current assessment of what happened to each of the
CIA’s prisoners (Appendix 1), and of the rendition operations which moved them into, out of, and
between the secret prisons (Appendix 2). Focus here is on the marshalling of all available evidence to provide an account of what happened to each prisoner, where they were held, how
they were moved, and by whom.
Our core findings are based upon the correlation of independent facts which mutually reinforce each other through a process of multiple triangulation. Although some of our specific findings
may be provisional, given the incomplete data from which they are derived, our overall account
of the spatial architecture and evolution of CIA torture is supported by such a rich set of data that
it would be impossible to plausibly sustain any other conclusions than those we derive here. Given
the continued obfuscation and denial from many state authorities, this point is important to make.
Indeed, as the ECtHR has found – based in part on the presentation of our findings before the
Court – the continued refusal by state authorities to release the full information in their possession should not be seen as an insurmountable obstacle to establishing proof in the context of CIA
torture. Rather, the Court found, ‘proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong,
clear and concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact.’7
In this light, it is simply not possible to deny what we have now established as indisputably
and factually true about the CIA torture programme, including in relation to the host countries
of the black sites, their operational periods, the changing number of prisoners held in the programme over time and who was held in each black site, and the aircraft, companies and countries
involved in dozens of individual, specific rendition operations.
Overall, we hope that this report will stand as a central reference point for all those who still
believe that the systematic human rights abuses at the heart of the programme, which translate
to many stories of individual human suffering, demand a full accounting of the facts of CIA torture.
We firmly believe that it is access to these facts which will ultimately drive further attempts to
achieve justice and accountability for the abuses committed, as well as any further successes
in this regard. We also believe that such an accounting of the past is important for assisting
those who continue to challenge the involvement of states (including liberal democracies) in
systematic human rights abuses in the name of countering terrorism and defending freedom.
ACCOMPANYING RESOURCES
CIA Torture Unredacted does not just provide the most detailed public account to date of the CIA
torture programme. It also provides comprehensive open access to our underlying data, including
6
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
our unique datasets and the hundreds of primary documents with which we have worked.
Where individual documents are referenced in the text of the report, access is provided
through the hyperlinked endnotes in each chapter and appendix. In addition, The Rendition
Project website (www.therenditionproject.org.uk) provides access to the following:
→
an online, fully-indexed document archive, where users can search and browse
hundreds of CIA and other documents;
→
a prisoner search page, where users can search for and filter prisoners by
name, capture location, detention locations, and other indicators;
→
a rendition circuit search page, where users can search for rendition operations
by country involved, aircraft and prisoner;
→
a version of our Prisoner Database, allowing users to filter and search to
conduct independent data analysis;
→
a version of our Cable Database, allowing users to identify the location from
which individual cables were sent and their dates;
→
a version of our Flights Database, with visualisations and data filter functions.
As well as these online resources, we include throughout this report full-page images – themselves hyperlinked to the underlying documents – which provide illustrative examples of the
records to which we have access, providing an easy way to understand the type and extent of
data which underpin our findings.
PRISONER NAMING CONVENTION
Those held by the CIA have, in many cases, been known by multiple names. This has been either
on account of aliases adopted by the individuals concerned, or because others (e.g., the US
government) have made their own determination in this regard. Transliteration from (in most
cases) Arabic has also often provided numerous spellings for names, in particular for common
nomenclature such as Sheikh (Shaykh), Khalid (Khaled), and Mohammed (Mohamed, Muhammad,
and so on).
Throughout our work we have adopted one form, and one spelling, for the name of each of
the CIA’s prisoners, relying where possible on the spelling most often found in NGO and legal
texts. Where the Committee Study (based on CIA naming conventions), or other key organisations (such as the Department of Defense), use names for individuals which are significantly
different, we note this in the prisoner profile in Appendix 1 – although we do not provide a full
listing of all aliases which have been associated with each prisoner.
In most cases, the names adopted by us conform closely or identically with the names
adopted in the Committee Study. Important exceptions include those listed in this table.
7
The Rendition Project name
Committee Study name and number
Abdul Rabbani
Abd al-Rahim Ghulam Rabbani (#23)
Ahmed Rabbani
Ghulam Rabbani, aka Abu Badr (#25)
Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi
Riyadh the Facilitator (#93)
Gouled Dourad
Hassan Ahmed Guleed (#102)
Khaled al-Maqtari
Firas al-Yemeni (#96)
Khalid al-Sharif
Abu Hazim al-Libi (#51)
Majid al-Maghrebi
Adnan al-Libi (#91)
Mohamed Bashmilah
Mohammad al-Shomaila (#89)
Mohammed al-Asad
Muhammad Abdullah Saleh (#92)
Mohammed al-Shoroeiya
Abd al-Karim (#52)
Mustafa al-Mehdi
Ayyub al-Libi (#107)
Salah Qaru
Salah Nasir Salim Ali (#75)
Saleh Di’iki
Abu Abdallah al-Zulaytini (#94)
Walid bin Attash
Khallad bin Attash (#56)
When we first mention specific prisoners, we follow their name with their Committee Study
number – e.g., Abu Zubaydah (#1), Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114) – to enable easy cross-referencing
with other sections of the report. A full list of the CIA’s 119 prisoners, as indexed by the Committee
Study and later amended after our initial investigation found anomalies in the data provided, is
provided after this introduction.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
We use UK English spellings throughout (e.g., programme), unless we are citing US documents
or institutions.
Where we have ‘unredacted’ parts of the Committee Study to determine the hidden text, we
represent such text through the use of this typographic format. Where we have been able to ascertain only the number of digits underlying the redaction of a number, but not the values themselves,
we have represented these as follows: x for single-digit numbers; xx for double-digit numbers.
Many of our references are to individual CIA cables, which in many cases have been extracted
from the Committee Study. Here, we have often been able to unredact the locational data for a
particular cable, or the date of a cable (either exactly or within a narrow range), or both. We
discuss this in detail in Chapter 1, but note here that, where this has been possible, our cable
references include the unredacted portions in this typographic format.
Some of the prisoner testimonies we reproduce were recorded in imperfect conditions. We
have occasionally edited the transcripts to ensure maximum clarity, although we have been
careful to retain the original meaning throughout. Source material can always be accessed through
the endnotes.
8
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
To maximise readability of the text we have used endnotes, rather than footnotes, throughout. In the electronic version of the report these are dynamic, and so allow easy movement
between the text and the corresponding endnotes. All endnotes are hyperlinked to full versions
of the documents, which are held on The Rendition Project website.
Endnotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sam Raphael, Crofton Black, Ruth Blakeley and
Steve Kostas, Tracking Rendition Aircraft as a
Way to Understand CIA Secret Detention and
Torture in Europe, The International Journal of
Human Rights, vol. 20, no. 1, 2016, pp. 78-103.
For example, ECtHR, Judgment: Abu Zubaydah
v. Lithuania, 31 May 2018; ECtHR, Judgment: Al
Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May 2018.
For example, North Carolina Commission of
Inquiry on Torture, Torture Flights: North
Carolina’s Role in the CIA Rendition and Torture
Program, 27 September 2018.
Ruth Blakeley and Sam Raphael, British Torture
in the ‘War on Terror’, European Journal of
International Relations, vol. 23, no. 2, pp.
243-266.
5.
6.
7.
For example: ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and
Rendition: 2001-2010, UK Parliament, 28 June
2018; Marc Ellison, ‘Smokescreen’ Allegations
Over Rendition Flights Probe, BBC News, 4
November 2015; Severin Carrell, MSPs Demand
Action Over Use of Scottish Airports for
Rendition, The Guardian, 29 June 2018; The
Rendition Project, Recommendations for Reform
of the Consolidated Guidance, submission to
Investigatory Powers Commission, Consultation
on the Consolidated Guidance, 25 October 2018.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted).
See, for example: ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri
v. Romania, 31 May 2018, para 488.
9
10
CIA Feb
TORTURE
UNREDACTED
Committee Study list of CIA prisoners (amended
2015)
11
APPENDIX 1
12
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
13
APPENDIX 1
UNREDACTING CIA TORTURE
APPENDIX 1
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 1:
UNREDACTING
CIA TORTURE
understood. Referred to by the CIA as the Rendition, Detention and Interrogation (RDI) programme, it ran from September 2001 until January 2009, and formed a central plank of the Bush
CHAPTER 2
Much has been written about the CIA torture programme, and its broad contours are now well
administration’s ‘War on Terror’. It was global in scope, and shocking in its depravity, representing
one of the most profoundly disturbing episodes of recent US and allied foreign policy. The programme resulted in multiple violations of domestic and international law, encompassing a global
tematic use of brutal interrogation techniques which clearly amounted to torture.
As part of the programme, scores of terror suspects were swept up by the CIA in the months
and years after 9/11, with capture operations taking place across Europe, Africa, the Caucasus,
CONCLUSION
network of kidnap operations, indefinite secret detention at numerous locations, and the sys-
the Middle East, and Central, South and Southeast Asia. Foreign security forces often played a
role in the capture, either jointly with the CIA or acting on the basis of US and allied intelligence.
Prisoners were held for days or weeks in foreign custody, and were often interrogated under
torture. CIA officials were present during many of these interrogations. For example, Majid alin Afghanistan. Throughout this period, he was interrogated and tortured repeatedly, including
many times via electric shocks until he lost consciousness, as well as beatings (including with a
leather whip) and the use of stress positions and positional torture (including tying him to a frame
APPENDIX 1
Maghrebi (#91) was held in Pakistani custody for several weeks before his transfer to a CIA prison
and ‘stretching’ him). He could hear the screams of others being tortured at the facility, as well
as their pleas for mercy: ‘I can still hear the voice of one of the guys in my head asking them to
stop, saying blood was coming out of his mouth.’1 Likewise, Mohamed Bashmilah (#89) was
tortured repeatedly while in Jordanian custody:
APPENDIX 2
Soon after seeing my mother and wife, some guards came and took me from my cell
to a large hall in the same building, known as the Yard, where several guards were
waiting in a circle holding canes. The guards surrounded me and commanded me to
run around in circles. When I became too fatigued to run any further they beat me
with their canes. When I could no longer withstand the pain of being beaten by the
canes I collapsed into the middle of the circle. The guards in the Yard tried to demean
17
me by ordering me to imitate animals. They forced me to imitate a donkey’s bray and
the antics of dogs. After torturing me in the Yard the guards then took me to another
room and suspended me upside down, from the ceiling.2
After this period of initial detention, prisoners were transferred to CIA custody, either formally
or otherwise. At this stage, most were rendered – transferred between states outside of the law
– to secret detention at one of a number of facilities around the globe. Some of these facilities
were themselves secret; others were acknowledged to exist but yet held some prisoners ‘off
the books’. A number were owned and run by another foreign security service – in particular,
those in Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco – while others were operated by the US
Department of Defense (DoD) in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The CIA itself built and operated at least ten of its own secret prisons. Four of these socalled ‘black sites’ were located in Afghanistan, with others in Thailand, Poland, Romania, Lithuania
and within the grounds of the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay. At least two others, one in
Morocco and a second site in Lithuania, were built but never used. Agreements were also reached
with two further countries to establish black sites on their territory, although these plans were
not enacted.3
CIA detentions and interrogations also took place at a number of informal ‘safe houses’ and
ad hoc locations. Khaled el-Masri (#97), for example, was held by the CIA for 23 days in January
2004, in a hotel room in Skopje, Macedonia, before being rendered to an Afghan-run prison in
Kabul.4 Both CIA records and prisoner testimony make clear that there was an evolving network
of secret detention sites in Afghanistan and, as we detail in Chapter 2, the CIA made extensive
use of Afghan-run facilities and safe houses to hold detainees before, during and after their time
in the official black sites.
The black sites and other prisons did not exist in isolation from one other. They formed,
rather, a network of secret detention facilities which operated across four continents, with individual sites operating for varying periods within the overall programme. Rendition aircraft – civilian
aircraft operated by or on behalf of the CIA – flew hundreds of flights to connect the sites, and
were used to transfer prisoners, interrogators and other US officials between prisons. These
flights were undertaken in secret, and where they carried CIA prisoners they entailed multiple
violations of international law. This was the case, not least, given the treatment to which they
were subjected. Prisoners were drugged, shackled, hooded and strapped to stretchers by rendition teams dressed entirely in black and communicating only in sign language. Some were placed
in coffins during the flight; others were beaten repeatedly during their transfer. This procedure
was designed, in the words of one memo, to create ‘significant apprehension in the [detainee]
because of the enormity and suddenness of the change in the environment, the uncertainty
about what will happen next, and the potential dread [they] might have of US custody.’5
After riding in the car with these guards for about twenty or twenty-five minutes, we
arrived at an airport, where I was assaulted and experienced very humiliating, painful
and terrifying treatment. I was pulled roughly out of the car. I was lifted off the ground
18
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
and my blindfold was ripped off. I saw about five black-clad individuals whose faces
were concealed by balaclavas. They tore off all of my clothing. One shoved a finger
CHAPTER 1
into my rectum. They photographed me naked. Then they put a diaper on me and…
plugged my ears with cotton, placed headphones and a hood over my head, and
securely taped the hood. They chained my hands, waist, and feet. I was blind, deaf,
and could barely walk. I was in severe pain and felt deeply humiliated and weak…
After experiencing this terrible treatment, I half-walked and was half-carried onto a
waiting plane by people holding me on both sides. I was forced to lie on my back on
the floor, and then was strapped down around my legs and waist… The position they
put me in was very painful. I could not shift my position as I could barely move
be allowed to change positions to alleviate the pain but the guards did nothing. I even
tried using English, pleading ‘Help me, help me please!’ but no one did anything.6
Mohammed al-Asad (#92)
CHAPTER 2
because of the straps. I have a back injury from before my detention, and I asked to
Some men were rendered multiple times. For example, the CIA’s first formal prisoner, Abu
Zubaydah (#1), was rendered at least seven times during his four-and-a-half years of secret CIA
Afghanistan and finally to US military detention at Guantánamo Bay (where he remains).
Prisoners were held secretly within the programme for months or years on end, always
incommunicado (without access to legal representation or other contact with the outside world).
CONCLUSION
detention: from Pakistan to Thailand, then to Poland, Guantánamo Bay, Morocco, Lithuania,
All were held in continuous solitary confinement, under conditions designed explicitly to dehumanise and exert control, and which in themselves clearly amounted to cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment.
Conditions at some of the sites were dungeon-like, with prisoners held in either complete
number of ‘conditioning techniques’ designed, in the words of one CIA memo, to reduce them
‘to a baseline, dependent state.’ These required ‘little to no physical interaction between the
detainee and the interrogator,’ and were important ‘to demonstrate to the [prisoner] that he has
APPENDIX 1
darkness or constant light, and subjected to continual loud noise, harsh temperatures and a
no control over basic human needs.’7 Such techniques, which were applied throughout an individual’s detention, and were separate from the interrogations under torture, included sustained
nudity, sleep deprivation through vertical shackling, diapering, and dietary manipulation.
Many were also subjected to multiple and sustained forms of torture, either during interwere subjected, variously, to drowning to the point of unconsciousness, repeated beatings, the
use of ice baths and hoses to induce hypothermia, sleep deprivation for more than a week at a
time, painful stress positions for months at a time, prolonged confinement in extremely small
boxes, and sexual assault by forced feeding through the rectum. Others were subjected to mock
execution, electro-torture, genital mutilation, mock burials, rape, and stress positions so severe
that, in one case, observers were concerned that the prisoner’s arms would dislocate from his
19
APPENDIX 2
rogation sessions or as part of a generalised regime of detention. This torture was brutal. Men
Cable from the Thai black site, August 2002, describing the eighth continuous
day of Abu Zubaydah’s torture
shoulders.8 Suspects detained in these prisons were subjected to an interrogation regime designed,
in the words of one interrogator, to take them ‘to the verge of death and back again.’9
The psychological impact of extended secret detention in isolation from human contact,
detainees became suicidal, and used blankets, toothbrushes and other objects to harm themselves. Others rammed their heads against their cell walls in an attempt to lose consciousness.
CHAPTER 1
sensory deprivation, stress positioning and interrogation under torture, was extreme. Many
Men experienced severe hallucinations and paranoia, and many have continued to suffer significant post-traumatic stress.
I became so hopeless and helpless that I decided to end my life. I stockpiled
painkillers given to me by medics over the weeks of my detention to ease the pain in
CHAPTER 2
my right hand, and I attempted to swallow them and overdose. However, before I was
able to swallow them, guards entered my cell and stopped me…. I still suffer the
excruciating physical and mental effects of my time in the Darkness and the
interrogators’ abusive treatment of me. My whole body still aches, my upper and
lower back especially. I regularly suffer crippling flashbacks and nightmares. They’re a
constant reminder of that place and the terrible things that were done to me there.10
Suleiman Abdullah (#48)
CONCLUSION
THE COMMITTEE STUDY
Many new details of the CIA’s torture programme emerged in December 2014, with the partial
publication of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) ‘Committee Study of the
Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program’ (hereafter, the Committee
activities and programs of the United States Government’, and in this context completed a threeyear review of the torture programme between March 2009 and December 2012. The Study
represents a mammoth effort, and is without doubt the most comprehensive review of CIA torture
APPENDIX 1
Study). The SSCI is tasked with ‘oversee[ing] and mak[ing] continuing studies of the intelligence
ever likely to be conducted. The full report, which remains classified, has over 6,700 pages and
38,000 footnotes, and is drawn from extensive and unprecedented access to classified CIA
records. More than six million pages of material were reviewed, including ‘cable traffic, reports,
memoranda, intelligence products, records of interviews conducted of CIA personnel by the
communications.’11 Over three volumes, the Study covers the history of the programme from its
inception to its termination, along with a review of each of those known to have been held by
the CIA. It describes the agreements in place with foreign governments for the operation of the
secret prisons, as well as the ways in which the CIA misrepresented the effectiveness of its use
of torture to gather intelligence.12
21
APPENDIX 2
CIA’s Office of the Inspector General and other CIA entities, as well as internal email and other
The Committee Study provided new insights into the scope, scale and nature of the programme. For the first time, an official list of CIA detainees was published, with 119 names provided
in an appendix to the report.13 Many of these prisoners had never before been identified by
investigators. There were new details of the treatment to which these men were subjected, with
‘overwhelming and incontrovertible’ evidence of the use of torture, as well as ‘conditions of
confinement and the use of authorized and unauthorized interrogation and conditioning techniques [that] were cruel, inhuman, and degrading.’14
CIA records cited by the Study showed that torture was used immediately after the arrival
of prisoners at a site, rather than as part of a measured escalation of interrogation methods (as
the CIA had claimed). The Study also concluded that black site staff and interrogators were
poorly trained, and subjected prisoners to improvised torture methods without authorisation.
Meanwhile, the development and deployment of the authorised torture techniques was described
as being largely the work of two contract psychologists, named elsewhere as James Mitchell
and Bruce Jessen, who had no experience as interrogators but who made millions of dollars via
their contract with the CIA.
Despite the global press interest and political reaction which accompanied the release of
the Study, the published summary provides only a partial account of the use of secret detention,
rendition and torture by the CIA and its allies in the ‘War on Terror’. This is so in a number of
ways. The overall scope of the report is limited: there is no discussion of the rendition branch of
the programme, and the aircraft and companies which took part in this are not mentioned at all.
Individuals being transferred by the CIA to foreign governments or the US military were explicitly
excluded from the Committee’s investigation, as was an accounting of the fate and whereabouts
of these men and the involvement by the CIA in their interrogation.15 These are significant omissions, given that many detainees were moved into and out of formal CIA custody throughout
their time in secret detention, and given that the CIA continued to have access to detainees held
in foreign and US military custody.
The Committee Study, as published, also provides little or no information on most of the CIA’s
prisoners. Chapters within the Study provide detailed analysis of the cable traffic relating to a
small number of interrogations under torture: Abu Zubaydah (#1) between 4-23 August 2002;
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26) between 5 December 2002 – 27 January 2003; Ramzi bin al-Shibh
(#41) between 11-28 February 2003; and Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45) between 6-24 March
2003.16 While there is an excruciating level of detail in these case studies, they neither account
for these detainees’ entire period of secret CIA detention,17 nor encompass the vast majority of
those held within the programme. More than 50 of the 119 prisoners are not discussed at all in
the Study, remaining simply names on a list, while a further 20 are mentioned only once or twice
in passing. With the exception of the four men above, the executive summary refers to most of
the prisoners in a haphazard, inconsistent and fragmentary fashion, with information about each
prisoner often buried at multiple locations in the report, and often only in the footnotes.
Despite the fact that the programme operated within the context of significant international
cooperation, the Committee Study also fails to address in any detail the role played by other
22
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
governments, and by partner intelligence and security agencies. This absence is perhaps most
glaring in the case of those countries which hosted the CIA’s black sites, but is also significant
in cases where other countries provided material and intelligence support for capture and
nificant than UK support for the programme, and the absence of all mention of British involvement
in the Committee Study is striking.18
CHAPTER 1
rendition operations, or for interrogations under torture. In this sense, no case was more sig-
Perhaps most significantly, some of the most important information in the Committee Study
is hidden from public view, either through the use of pseudonyms in place of real names or
through the redaction of text (where particular words are blacked out, as here ). Without exception, the names and locations of each black site, the countries that hosted (or negotiated the
pseudonyms. Even at the point where the classified Study was presented to the full Committee,
the names of those countries which hosted black sites had been replaced with a letter, so that
they were referred to throughout as ‘Country A’, ‘Country B’, and so on. Likewise, each black site
CHAPTER 2
hosting of) these sites, and the names of CIA personnel working at the sites are hidden behind
was given a colour, and described as ‘DETENTION SITE BLACK’, ‘DETENTION SITE BLUE’, and
so on. During the subsequent declassification process to prepare the Study for public consumption, the CIA and White House added another level of opacity, replacing some specific dates
each of the hundreds of cables from CIA stations, which are cited throughout the report, were
redacted to conceal where the abuses took place.
CONCLUSION
with more general time frames, redacting specific locations, and redacting all pseudonyms for
black site hosts (thus, ‘Country A’ has become ‘Country A ’). In addition, the locational data for
There are thousands of redactions, and numerous pseudonyms, scattered throughout the
report, relating to the geographic locations of CIA detention and torture, the identities of the
torturers, the dates of particular renditions and detentions, and the active involvement of other
countries. In essence, the declassification process was designed to ensure that the abuses
nor specific jurisdictions. This has significant implications for a full understanding of the programme, and for attempts to achieve some measure of justice for the abuses which took place.
APPENDIX 1
described at some length in the report can be tied to neither specific individuals, specific times,
MOVING BEYOND THE COMMITTEE STUDY
Launched in December 2014, our investigation aims to address many of the Committee Study’s
torture programme operated. This effort, which has taken years of investigative research to collate, analyse and triangulate a huge amount of data relating to CIA torture, has enabled us to
build a picture of the programme from the ground up. By tracking each individual prisoner as
they were rendered between secret detention sites; tracking the use of each facility over time
(including location, layout, conditions of confinement, and operational dates); tracking the CIA
aircraft involved in the torture programme as they travelled the globe; and tracking the companies
23
APPENDIX 2
limitations, and to fill in many of the remaining gaps in the public understanding of how the CIA
Extract from the Committee Study, with dates, CIA officers and cable data
redacted, and with PSEUDONYMS for black sites and contractors
and countries involved in enabling the programme to operate, we can present a far richer picture
of how CIA rendition, secret detention and torture played out on the ground.
Our data comes from a number of key sources. First, we have brought together the findings
especially where these have significantly advanced the factual narrative in relation to CIA torture.
We have also collated first-hand accounts from former CIA prisoners, some of which have been
CHAPTER 1
of previous investigations by a number of journalists, lawyers, NGOs and parliamentary bodies,
published as witness statements in court cases in the United States and elsewhere;19 others of
which have been gathered by international organisations, human rights investigators or journalists.20 We bring together this testimony for the first time, providing multiple, harrowing accounts
of the torture endured.
CHAPTER 2
Then, they took me to a room and hung me by my hand to an iron shackle where my
toes hardly touched the ground. They removed the mask away from my face and left
me hanging from one hand, naked, thirsty, and hungry. I regained my breath after
they removed the mask but soon enough I began feeling tired from being hung,
hungry, and thirsty. All my weight was hung from the iron shackle until my hand was
about to be cut off and the blood was going down to my feet. All my body parts were
shaking because of cut off blood circulation and my pulled and beaten body began
CONCLUSION
hurting all over and my head, nose and mouth started bleeding. Although I was not
able to see anything due to the darkness, I was able to smell and taste the blood that
was falling down my throat.21
Ahmed Rabbani (#25)
We have also made use of hundreds of formerly-classified US Government documents, most of
which have been declassified in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation or other
lawsuits. Significant tranches of documents include those relating to US military detentions of
Review Tribunals (CSRTs) and the Administrative Review Boards (ARBs), and the Joint Task Force
Guantánamo (JTF-GTMO) Detainee Assessments, all of which are hosted by The New York Times.22
They also include material released to the American Civil Liberties Union through FOIA litigation
APPENDIX 1
former CIA prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, including the transcripts from the Combatant Status
and through discovery in legal proceedings;23 and material released to investigative journalist
Jason Leopold following the publication of the Committee Study.24
In addition we have comprehensively deconstructed the Committee Study, extracting each
of the thousands of pieces of data scattered throughout its pages and connecting each where
a literal sense, many of the Study’s redactions. This is due to our identification of a number of
important – if apparently unremarkable – features of the report’s formatting and typography.
Armed with this knowledge, it becomes possible to propose likely values underlying specific
redactions, especially where these clearly hide the name of a calendar month, a particular date,
or a particular location. Where our proposed underlying text has strong confirmation from an
independent source, and where there is an exact overlay with the redaction, there is a very strong
indication that we have identified the correct value.
25
APPENDIX 2
possible to particular individuals, locations and dates. We have also been able to ‘unredact’, in
UNREDACTING THE COMMITTEE STUDY: FORMATTING AND TYPOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Identifying the following characteristics of the Committee Study text has been crucial
to our process of unredacting:
Î the report is written in Times New Roman, at 12pt (with footnotes in 10pt);
Î the report is ‘flushed left’ (aligned along the left margin), meaning that there are
equal spaces between each word (unlike with justified text);
Î Times New Roman is a proportional font, meaning that the width of each character is
variable (so ‘w’ is wider than ‘j’);
Î Despite Times New Roman being proportional, its figures are monospaced (so ‘1’
has the same width as ‘8’). This means that, where a redaction clearly hides just
figures (e.g., the date), we cannot identify the value, but we can identify the number
of figures (single or double digit). It also means that, where it is clear that a redaction
hides both figures and letters, and we know the number of figures, we can identify
the length of the accompanying word (this is useful for unredacting cable references
– see below);
Î the report uses a standardised date format: ‘month date, year’ (e.g., ‘February 23, 2004’);
Î redactions are applied to individual words or sentence fragments, with the redaction
always coterminous with the word(s). There are no large block redactions applied to
whole paragraphs.
Lastly, we have collated large amounts of data relating to the companies and aircraft involved in
the torture programme. This includes contracting and billing documentation passed between
companies, registration and leasing documentation for particular aircraft, and flight data. ‘Flight
data’ is our term for information that provides geolocational data on specific aircraft at specific
times. In many cases, this data was sourced initially through the work of other investigators, and
we are indebted to a number of organisations and individuals for agreeing to share their findings
with us.25 Our own investigation has also secured the release of significant tranches of data.26
Overall, these come from a large number of sources, including Eurocontrol (a pan-European,
intergovernmental air traffic management organisation), the US Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), a number of national civil aviation, border guard and airport authorities across Europe,
the findings of parliamentary investigations at a national level, hotel records, eyewitness accounts,
and documentation secured from within the CIA torture program.
Collecting this data was only the first step. Our ability to generate significant new findings
in relation to the CIA torture programme has come as a result of building datasets which allow
analysis along multiple vectors, as well as subsequent triangulation between these datasets. We
discuss these next.
26
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIA FLIGHTS DATABASE
Our CIA Flights Database is the world’s largest and most comprehensive public database relatand first released in May 2013,27 our database incorporates flight data from a number of authoritative sources. This enables us to track the movements of individual aircraft between airports
CHAPTER 1
ing to aircraft associated with the CIA torture programme. Compiled over a number of years,
on particular dates. It is the collation of this data into one database, and the subsequent analysis,
which has enabled us to generate significant new findings in relation to the rendition of CIA
detainees. This is particularly true given that each individual dataset within the database contains
only partial records of an aircraft’s movement, and it is only by linking individual flights into ‘flight
to form an overall global trip) that it has been possible to track rendition aircraft as they transited
from airport to airport. Each record in the database represents one flight by a specific aircraft
between two airports. Aircraft are identified in the data by their registration numbers (often
CHAPTER 2
circuits’ (a series of discrete flights – from A to B, from B to C, and so on – which connect together
referred to as their tail numbers), and circuits are built by ordering records by this number, and
then by date, to establish a chronological account of each aircraft’s movements.
Collecting this data, and matching across hundreds of individual flight records to produce
because of the sheer number of different sources in the database, as well as the different formats which the raw data has taken. These include exchanges of messages or digital data
between a number of different actors around the world on the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication
CONCLUSION
meaningful flight circuits, has been time-consuming and challenging. This is true not least
Network (AFTN) or the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA)
Network;28 extracts from air traffic management systems used by air traffic authorities (each
with varying fields); lists or tables generated specifically for the purpose of answering FOIA
requests; take-off and landing records generated by individual airports; itineraries listed in
ating at particular airports. This data – which cumulatively consists of tens of thousands of
individual data points – has had to be converted to a standardised format to enable cross-dataset
analysis to take place.
APPENDIX 1
corporate invoices; pilot logs; hotel records; and service provision invoices by companies oper-
Formed in this way, the database contains over 15,000 records, relating to over 11,000
flights.29 A version of our CIA Flights Database can be accessed on The Rendition Project website
(www.therenditionproject.org.uk), which allows users to search flight records for themselves.
Around 200 aircraft are listed in the database. Not all of these aircraft were involved in the torture
even where certain aircraft clearly undertook rendition operations (transferring prisoners between
facilities), not all flights by these aircraft are rendition flights. Many rendition planes were private
charter aircraft, and the CIA was one of a number of clients. Even where a flight took place by
or on behalf of the CIA, this could have been for a number of operational reasons, to do with
both the torture programme (e.g. ferrying staff and supplies between black sites) and other
intelligence activities.
27
APPENDIX 2
programme, although all of them have been suggested as such in the past.30 As a further caveat,
February 2005 invoice from Palanga Airport, Lithuania (EYPA), for charges due
for aircraft N787WH, having flown from Bucharest, Romania (LRBS) (Circuit 55)
Identifying rendition operations from within this data thus requires triangulation with other
data sources, specifically those which establish the movements of prisoners into, out of, and
between secret detention facilities.31 These are collated in our CIA Prisoner Database.
CHAPTER 1
CIA PRISONER DATABASE
Our CIA Prisoner Database provides a summary of our analysis of the 119 CIA prisoners named
in the Committee Study, and sets out what is currently known about their nationalities; where
and when each prisoner was captured; the duration of pre-CIA custody (before they were transand what happened to each prisoner after their time in CIA detention. We have established this
information through a careful reading of prisoner testimony, declassified documents, and other
forms of reporting. Our deconstruction of the Committee Study, including an analysis of its
CHAPTER 2
ferred to the CIA’s secret prison network); the duration of CIA detention; where they were held;
redactions, has proved especially fruitful here, as has our analysis of the CIA cables which underpin the Study’s work (see below). A version of the CIA Prisoner Database is available on The
Rendition Project website, and can be filtered and ordered to allow for independent analysis of
We have been able to establish a range of dates within which we know each prisoner was
transferred into and out of CIA custody. This has been important for tracking the fate and whereabouts of individuals, and was made possible through a detailed analysis of the information provided
CONCLUSION
the data.
in the Committee Study triangulated with information gleaned from other sources. Of particular
importance has been our analysis of Appendix 2 to the Study. This provides an official list of CIA
detainees, ordered chronologically according to their entry date into the programme, along with
the date of custody and the number of days each spent in CIA detention. However, key informais not possible to easily determine these without our techniques for unredacting.
APPENDIX 1
tion in this list, including dates and periods of detention, are partially redacted, meaning that it
APPENDIX 2
29
Official list of CIA prisoners, in chronological order by date of custody,
with key details redacted
ANALYSIS OF APPENDIX 2: REVEALING THE IN/OUT DATES FOR CIA PRISONERS
dates for each prisoner:
Î The text in the appendix is Times New Roman, 8pt.
CHAPTER 1
The following characteristics of Appendix 2 have allowed us to unredact the entry and exit
Î The month and date of custody is redacted, although the year is not.
Î Given the principles already outlined (relating to the proportional characteristics
of the font used, the monospaced figures and the standardised date formats) it
CHAPTER 2
is possible to suggest values underlying each redaction. These will be in a range,
given that ‘April 10, 2004’ is the same length as ‘April 30, 2004’ and all values in
between, although different from ‘April 3, 2004’ and also different from all other
possible month values.
Î These ranges can be further narrowed given the fact that each prisoner appears on
the table in the order in which they entered CIA custody. Thus, the earliest in-date
CONCLUSION
for prisoner #3 can be no earlier than the earliest in-date for prisoner #2, while the
latest in-date can be no later than prisoner #4.
Î The number of days in CIA detention have the final digit redacted. For example, Abu
Zubaydah was held by the CIA for 1,591 days. This provides a range (1590-1599 days).
Î The exit dates are therefore also a range, derived from the entry range and the
custody range. For example, a prisoner brought into the programme ‘February 23,
2003’, and held for 620 days, would have left the programme at some point between
2003 + 629 days).
Other data, such as prisoner testimony, flight records, or individual CIA cables (see below), can
APPENDIX 1
22 October 2004 (10 February 2003 + 620 days) and 18 November 2004 (28 February
be used to further narrow these date ranges, often to a specific day. In turn, this has a knock-on
effect with other dates for that prisoner, and with the dates for surrounding prisoners (given the
chronological relationship between individuals on the list). At the time of writing, we have been
able to establish the dates of entry into the CIA prison network to an accuracy of a week or less
investigation into this data brought to light inaccuracies in the original Appendix of the Committee
Study, and the SSCI published a corrected version as a result of our work.32
31
APPENDIX 2
for 70 of the 119 prisoners, and to between a week and a month for a further 46. In fact, our initial
CIA CABLE DATABASE
Our analysis of redactions in the Committee Study has enabled us to identify the location from
which many of the CIA station cables were sent. Cable traffic between CIA Headquarters and
individual stations form the primary evidential material in the Committee Study, with thousands
of individual references throughout. Importantly, it is the cables from the stations back to
Headquarters which provide the detailed accounts of prisoner transfers, detentions and torture,
and identifying the location of these provides a crucial window into the programme as a whole.
Cable references in the Committee Study have three parts. First, there is the locational data,
which we call the ‘originator ID’, identifying the site from where the cable was sent. Cables from
the US mainland have this identifier shown (e.g., HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, ALEC), but
those of all cables from field stations are redacted. Second, there is what we call the ‘cable ID’.
This is a unique identifier for each cable, and tends to be 4-6 figures in length. In this case, cable
IDs from the US are all redacted, whereas those of cables from field stations are not. Third,
cables have a date-time stamp, in the format ‘(ddhhmmZ MTH yy)’. ‘Z’ here stands for ‘Zulu time’
(Greenwich Mean Time, GMT). For example, a cable with date-time stamp (040952Z SEP 04)
would have been sent at 09:52 GMT on 4 September 2004. Most cable references in the Committee
Study have their date-time stamp unredacted, although some are redacted in part or in full.
Understanding the format of these cables is important. Each cable is used in the Study to
support particular factual claims, and collecting this data enables us to identify which cable(s)
refer to which event. For example, cable ‘cable originator ID 3240 (231839Z SEP 04)’ documents the rape of Majid Khan (#58) on 23 September 2004, where his ‘“lunch tray”, consisting
of hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins, was “pureed” and rectally infused.’33 Other cables
document the severe psychological toll exacted on Khan over the following nine months, through
his sustained secret detention and torture.
CIA CABLES DOCUMENTING MAJID KHAN’S DETERIORATING MENTAL HEALTH
cable originator ID 3694 (301800Z NOV 04)
attempts to cut his wrists
cable originator ID 3724 (031723Z DEC 04)
attempts to chew into arm at inner elbow
cable originator ID 3835 (260659Z DEC 04)
attempts to cut vein in top of his foot
cable originator ID 4242 (191550Z MAR 05)
attempts to cut his wrists
cable originator ID 4250 (221213Z MAR 05)
attempts to cut his wrists
cable originator ID 4614 (071358Z JUN 05)
attempts to cut skin at elbow with filed
toothbrush
32
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Crucially, the redacted originator IDs are of different lengths, depending on the field stations from
which they came. Thus, all cables from the black site referred to in the Study as DETENTION SITE
GREEN have originator IDs of the same length as each other, and this length is different to the IDs
the length of redacted originator IDs for each of the hundreds of cables referenced in the Study.
This has enabled us to build our CIA Cable Database. Here, each record relates to one reference
CHAPTER 1
of cables from DETENTION SITE BLUE. With this observation as a starting point, we have measured
of one cable in the Committee Study, and has a number of fields: the length of the redacted originator ID; the (unredacted) cable ID; the (mainly unredacted) date-time stamp; the location of the
cable reference in the Study; and the content which the cable supports as a footnote.
Once this dataset was built, we could order chronologically all cables with the same length
coherence of each cable series. Using this approach, we have built a number of cable series,
and connected these to particular locations (through triangulation with other data concerning
the location of where particular events took place).34
CHAPTER 2
of originator ID. When this happens, the cable IDs are also ordered sequentially, confirming the
Thus, for example, we have a series of cables relating to DETENTION SITE GREEN, beginning with cable 10005 (sent 23:16 on 9 April 2002) and ending with cable 11357 (sent 12:42 on 2
December 2002). Likewise, our DETENTION SITE BLUE series begins with cable 10006 (sent
In turn, in those cases where individual cables have their date-time stamp redacted, their
location in a particular cable series allows us to propose minimum and maximum date-times.
CONCLUSION
09:02 on 7 December 2002) and ends with cable 12825 (sent on 13 September 2003).
CABLE ANALYSIS: UNREDACTING THE DATE-TIME STAMPS
Î DETENTION SITE BLUE 10985 (242351Z MAR 03)
APPENDIX 1
Î DETENTION SITE BLUE 10990 (242351 ZMAR 0)
Î DETENTION SITE BLUE 10999 (260835Z MAR 03)
Cable 10990 was clearly sent by officials at DETENTION SITE BLUE at some point between
23:51 on 24 March 2003 and 08:35 on 26 March 2003. This is an important observation, given
that the cable documented the request by the black site officials to Headquarters to torture
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47). This both confirms al-Jaza’iri’s presence in DETENTION SITE BLUE
requests tended to be sent immediately prior to, or immediately after, a prisoner’s arrival at a
black site).35
In this way, our series allow us to provide locational data for particular events and detainees. For
example, all of the cables referenced above in relation to Majid Khan fit into the Afghanistan
series, suggesting that he was held in the country during this abuse. Indeed, an analysis of all
33
APPENDIX 2
during March 2003, and suggests the time that he was transferred to the site (given that torture
cables referring to Khan reveal that those sent between 5 March – 24 May 2003 fit into the
Pakistan series, and those sent from 27 May 2003 to 7 June 2005 fit into the Afghanistan series,
suggesting the locations of his detentions, the date on which he was captured by Pakistani
forces, and the later date on which he was transferred to CIA custody.
Likewise, as another example, our analysis of CIA cables relating to Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
provides a far more detailed account of his time in CIA custody than that published in the
Committee Study.
CABLE ANALYSIS AND AL-NASHIRI’S LOCATIONS
The following specific cables are the first and last in each series which document al-Nashiri’s
presence at particular black sites, thus confirming the dates and locations during his period of
secret CIA detention. Possible values for the redacted dates in the first two cables can be suggested according to their place in the relevant cable series, as well as through triangulation
with flight data and other documents (see below).
Î Afghanistan 29768 ( 121212Z NOV 02)
Î DETENTION SITE GREEN 11293 ( 121212Z NOV 02)
Î DETENTION SITE GREEN 11357 (021242Z DEC 02)
Î DETENTION SITE BLUE 10030 (111541Z DEC 02)
Î DETENTION SITE BLUE 11701 (191640Z MAY 03)
Î Morocco 1756 (190800Z SEP 03)
Î Guantánamo 1091 (031835Z NOV 03)
Î Guantánamo 1630 (271440Z MAR 04)
Î DETENTION SITE BLACK 1202 (231644Z MAR 04)
Î DETENTION SITE BLACK 3051 (301235Z SEP 05)
Î DETENTION SITE VIOLET 3910 (241852Z JAN 06)
Î DETENTION SITE BROWN 1029 (291750Z JUN 06)
Î DETENTION SITE BROWN 1242 (050744Z SEP 06)
This analysis is powerful, especially when other findings confirm the locations of the black sites
(see below). This allows us to independently confirm that al-Nashiri was held at black sites in
Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland, Morocco, Guantánamo Bay, Romania, Lithuania and Afghanistan
again, as well as identify the dates on which he was in each country.
34
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Our analysis of the cables in the Committee Study has been powerful, and we reference individual
cables throughout this report to provide evidence of the location and time of events. We have
also published a version of our CIA Cable Database on The Rendition Project website, and this
CHAPTER 1
can be used to identify exactly where each cable is referenced in the Committee Study.
TRIANGULATION
Our account of the torture programme has been built up through multiple triangulation of a
range of sources. For example, analysis of the redactions in the Committee Study can often
reveal the location to which he was first brought. This can be matched with flight data, which
might confirm a flight into the black site location by a known CIA rendition aircraft on the date
in question. Billing documentation can confirm that the flight was undertaken pursuant to the
CHAPTER 2
reveal the date of an individual’s transfer to CIA custody, while the CIA Cable Database can
overall contract with the CIA, and provide confirmation of where the prisoner was before transfer
to CIA custody. With the entry date for that prisoner confirmed, the range of possible exit dates
is narrowed (as are the entry date ranges for other prisoners, given the chronological relationtestimony by the prisoner, or information in declassified documents, which independently confirms a particular exit date. Again, flight data on that date may include a flight by a known CIA
rendition aircraft, leaving from a known black site location, suggesting that this was the indi-
CONCLUSION
ship between individuals’ entry into the programme). This can then often be matched with witness
vidual’s final detention location while in CIA custody.
The power of this method of triangulation is best illustrated in the context of specific case
studies, and we include discussion of two of these at the end of this chapter to show the detailed
cross-analysis which underpins our findings. The rest of the chapter outlines some of our broader
APPENDIX 1
findings in relation to CIA black sites, rendition operations and secret detentions.
LOCATING THE BLACK SITES
Although the Committee Study disguises the location of the CIA’s black sites through the use
of pseudonyms, our investigation provides robust evidential confirmation of the countries which
hosted these facilities, as well as their periods of operation.
APPENDIX 2
35
CIA BLACK SITE LOCATIONS AND OPERATIONAL PERIODS (FROM/TO)
DETENTION SITE GREEN
Thailand
March 2002
December 2002
DETENTION SITE COBALT
Afghanistan
September 2002
April 2004
DETENTION SITE BLUE
Poland
December 2002
September 2003
DETENTION SITE GRAY
Afghanistan
January 2003
December 2003
DETENTION SITE BLACK
Romania
September 2003
November 2005
DETENTION SITE INDIGO
Guantánamo Bay
September 2003
April 2004
DETENTION SITE MAROON
Guantánamo Bay
September 2003
April 2004
DETENTION SITE ORANGE
Afghanistan
April 2004
September 2006
DETENTION SITE VIOLET
Lithuania
February 2005
March 2006
DETENTION SITE BROWN
Afghanistan
March 2006
March 2008
These findings are made possible through the triangulation of all our datasets, but in particular
by reading the Committee Study alongside an analysis of our CIA Flights Database. For example,
the Study makes multiple references to specific renditions to and from DETENTION SITE BLUE,
each of which can be matched with corresponding flights into and out of the Szymany airport
in north-eastern Poland. This is significant, given that previous investigations, as well as the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), have found that this airport serviced a CIA black site
outside the village of Stare Kiejkuty, in the lakes region of north-eastern Poland.36
The Committee Study makes passing reference to Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah’s
rendition from DETENTION SITE GREEN to DETENTION SITE BLUE in December 2002, and this
will have taken place on or before the torture of al-Nashiri at DETENTION SITE BLUE, which the
Study notes began on 5 December.37 This stated transfer is matched with the flight by aircraft
N63MU from Bangkok, Thailand to Szymany, landing on 5 December (Circuit 15). Likewise, the
Study’s documentation of Ramzi bin al-Shibh’s rendition from foreign custody to DETENTION
SITE BLUE, between 1-9 February 2003,38 matches with a flight by aircraft N379P from Rabat,
Morocco to Szymany on 8 February (Circuit 17). Lastly, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed’s rendition
from DETENTION SITE COBALT to DETENTION SITE BLUE in March 2003, at some point on or
36
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
after 6 March and by the time of his torture on 8 March at the latest,39 matches with a flight by
aircraft N379P from Kabul, Afghanistan to Szymany on 7 March (Circuit 19).
Although this is just one form of triangulation possible from our data, these matches alone
to confirm the location of other sites: DETENTION SITE GREEN as a CIA black site in Thailand;
DETENTION SITE COBALT as a CIA black site in Afghanistan; and Morocco as a site of secret
CHAPTER 1
provide powerful confirmation of the location of DETENTION SITE BLUE. And, in turn, they help
detention by a foreign government on behalf of the CIA.
The locations of the CIA black sites and facilities run by foreign governments have long been
suggested by investigators, often on the back of excellent reporting by a number of journalists.40
Our findings, derived independently from our analysis of the Committee Study and other declasclear that these are now established as factually true; a matter in which, in the context of black
sites in Poland, Romania and Lithuania, the ECtHR agrees. With detailed reference to our findings and submissions, the Court’s two separate rulings in May 2018 concerning Romania and
CHAPTER 2
sified documents, prisoner testimony and flight data, puts this matter beyond any doubt. We are
Lithuania stated that, in both cases, ‘the applicant’s allegations [regarding the location of his
secret detention are] sufficiently convincing and, having regard to the above evidence from various sources corroborating his version, finds it established beyond reasonable doubt’ that the
CONCLUSION
black site existed in the country.41
HOST COUNTRY COMPLICITY
It is clear that the countries hosting CIA black sites were both aware of the rendition operations
and secret detentions taking place on their soil, and were active participants in the programme.
The Committee Study confirms that ‘the political leaders of host countries were generally
ernment officials, and local CIA stations providing ‘wish lists’ of financial assistance to partner
agencies.42 The Thai site, for example, was run ‘with the foreign host government’s knowledge
and approval,’43 although local officials acquiesced to its continued operation through 2002 only
APPENDIX 1
informed of [the sites’] existence,’ with the CIA paying millions of dollars in cash to foreign gov-
after continued lobbying by the CIA Station Chief.44 Likewise, Moroccan officials were involved
in surveying potential locations for a black site during 2003, and agreed on two separate occasions to hold CIA prisoners in their own facilities while the site was under construction. Although
the CIA facility was never made operational, and Morocco ultimately rescinded its support for
the cooperation, and provided approval of the construction of the black site.45
Investigations into the black sites in Poland, Romania and Lithuania have uncovered much
of the detail relating to host government involvement, and, given the effort to which these governments have gone to deny their knowledge and culpability, it is worth describing this in some
detail. Having spoken with ‘multiple well-placed sources in the governments and intelligence
services of several countries, including the United States, Poland and Romania,’ the Council of
37
APPENDIX 2
the programme, it is clear that elements of the political leadership in the country were aware of
Europe’s early investigation into secret detention and rendition in Europe concluded that ‘the
key arrangements for CIA clandestine operations in Europe were secured on a bilateral level.’
Such agreements existed with respect to individual capture operations, and also for more enduring forms of cooperation, including infrastructure, material support and operational security. In
countries where black sites operated, the CIA ‘brokered “operating agreements”… to hold its
high-value detainees in secret detention facilities.’ Under these agreements, host governments
‘agreed to provide the premises in which these facilities were established, the highest degrees
of physical security and secrecy, and steadfast guarantees of non-interference.’46
Although the ECtHR did not have sight of any bilateral agreement between the CIA and
Polish authorities, it found it ‘inconceivable that the rendition aircraft could have crossed Polish
airspace, landed at and departed from a Polish airport and that the CIA could have occupied the
premises in Poland without some kind of pre-existing arrangement.’47 The Committee Study also
recounts how Polish officials became uneasy about the detention site in early 2003, refusing to
accept a transfer flight in March until ‘the US ambassador intervened with [Poland’s] political
leadership.’48
The CIA appears to have chosen Romania to host a black site given, at least in part, the close
existing intelligence and security relationship afforded as part of the broader ‘War on Terror’.49
Several high-level Romanian government officials knew about and authorised the secret detention operations, including President Ion Iliescu, President Traian Băsescu, Presidential Advisor
on National Security Ioan Talpeş, Minister of National Defence Ioan Paşcu and the Head of
Directorate for Military Intelligence Sergiu Medar. Such high-level knowledge was not shared
widely, with information kept from the heads of the civilian intelligence services.50
The CIA entered into an agreement with the Romanian authorities to host a black site in
mid-October 2002.51 By January 2003 the local CIA station had been asked to consider ways to
demonstrate to the Romanian government ‘that we deeply appreciate the cooperation and support’ for the black site,52 and in April 2003 the station provided an 8 million dollar suggestion.53
By May 2003 Headquarters had provided millions more than suggested, and by the fall of 2003
it had received its first five prisoners.54
Accounts of these agreements have been confirmed by some of the high-level Romanian
officials involved. Speaking in 2015, former President Ion Iliescu admitted that ‘our US allies asked
us for a site’ towards the end of 2002, and that he had approved this in principle as ‘a gesture
of courtesy ahead of our accession to NATO.’ The details were taken care of by Ioan Talpeș, who
has confirmed this independently.55 According to Talpeș, he had discussions with the CIA from
2003 regarding ‘a more intense cooperation’ where the CIA could carry out its own activities in
certain locations, and told Iliescu in 2003 and 2004 that the CIA was operating in Romania. This
involved the detention of individuals in ‘one or two locations in Romania.’56 Specifically, Talpeș
has admitted to having given permission to lease a government building to the CIA, and that this
building was in Bucharest. He was aware of the risks inherent in such an arrangement, and
‘explicitly told the CIA representatives that Romania did not want to know anything about the
activities on these premises.’57
38
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
The leasing of this building to the CIA has been confirmed by ‘Witness Z’, in testimony to
the Romanian prosecutor (in the context of the government’s criminal investigation). This official
has acknowledged that the CIA ‘asked the Romanian authorities to offer some locations, on
one location was offered: an office building in Bucharest. Furthermore, ‘we insisted, and it was
agreed, that in all those locations the Romanian State should have no participation and all activi-
CHAPTER 1
Romanian territory, to be used for actions of combating international terrorist threats’, and that
ties were to be undertaken exclusively by the American partners under their exclusive responsibility.’58
It appears that the desire for non-interference in CIA operations was mutual, although
Romanian officials were key in providing security. The Council of Europe found that ‘the manner
of protection requested by the CIA was for Romanian military intelligence officers on the ground
protected, even from perceived intrusion by their counterparts in the Romanian services.’59
Although Romanian officials have all denied knowledge of the activities taking place at the
secret detention site, the Committee Study makes clear that, at some point after xx September
CHAPTER 2
to create an area or “zone” in which the CIA’s physical security and secrecy would be impenetrably
2004, Romanian officials were briefed by the US Ambassador and the local CIA Station Chief
regarding the programme. The use of torture by the CIA was clearly described in the presentation, which sought to bolster support for the programme amongst Romanian officials.60
its territory, and has claimed that allegations are without merit,61 the ECtHR ruled that it had
been established beyond reasonable doubt that Romania both ‘knew of the nature and purpose
of the CIA’s activities on its territory’, and also ‘cooperated in the preparation and execution’ of
CONCLUSION
Although the Romanian government has always denied the existence of a secret prison on
the rendition and detention program.62
In Lithuania, meanwhile, the CIA obtained the approval of the political leadership before
constructing the black sites. One Lithuanian official was described as ‘shocked’, but nevertheless
approved the plan. The CIA offered $1m+ to its partners to ‘show appreciation’ for their support,
the payment).63 Indeed, the Lithuanian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Defence
(CNSD) found that the State Security Department (SSD) accounting of funds used to implement
the project was ‘inappropriate’.64 Lithuanian officials also explicitly approved the plan to construct
APPENDIX 1
with money transferred through the development of ‘complex mechanisms’ (presumably to hide
the final black site, after an initial ‘holding cell’ was deemed insufficient to hold multiple detainees, and asked for updates as works progressed.65
Although the Committee Study redacts the names and posts of those in Lithuania who knew
and approved of the site, other investigations have shone light on this. President Rolandas Paksas
country, and SSD Director General Mečys Laurinkus confirmed that he had informed Paksas
about this possibility. Although the President denied permission for the use of Lithuanian territory, it appears that he was not asked about the expanded site (Project No. 2), which eventually
held prisoners. However, SSD officials at the highest level, including Laurinkus, SSD Director
General Arvydas Pocius and SSD Deputy Director General Dainius Dabašinskas had knowledge
of the construction of the black site. In turn, Pocius has testified that President Valdas Adamkus
39
APPENDIX 2
testified to the CNSD that the CIA had requested permission in 2003 to bring detainees into the
Telegram from MI5 to the CIA, confirming the travel plans for Bisher al-Rawi
and Jamil el-Banna. Both were arrested and eventually rendered to Afghanistan
(Circuit 16)
was ‘adequately informed of the project’, while Dabašinskas was clear that the project ‘had been
blessed by the top officials of the State.’66
SSD involvement on the ground was extensive. From 2002 onwards, the SSD led the way in
conditions’ set out by the CIA. From 2004, the SSD worked with the CIA to buy and equip the
facility eventually used as a black site (Project No. 2). SSD had ‘unrestricted access to all the
CHAPTER 1
adapting the initial ‘holding cell’ (so-called Project No. 1), ‘taking account of the requests and
premises of the facility’, and in theory accompanied CIA officials at all times. However, in practice
the SSD did not control the movements of the CIA, did not monitor activities, and did not have
full awareness of operations at the site.67 The CNSD found that ‘the layout of the building, its
enclosed nature and protection of the perimeter as well as the sporadic presence of the SSD staff
by the SSD, and also allowed them to use the infrastructure at their discretion.’68
CHAPTER 2
in the premises allowed for actions to be taken by officers of the partners without being monitored
BRITISH COMPLICITY
As we have described at some length elsewhere, our research has enabled us to establish beyond
ing as part of the CIA’s torture programme. This is true despite a consistent narrative emanating
from government officials that Britain neither uses, condones nor facilitates torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment. Such denials are untenable. We have argued
CONCLUSION
reasonable doubt that Britain was deeply and directly involved in post-9/11 prisoner abuse, includ-
that it is possible to identify a peculiarly British approach to torture in the ‘War on Terror’, which
is particularly well-suited to sustaining this narrative of denial. As part of this, UK officials have
had to operate within a set of constraints – a rhetorical, legal and policy ‘scaffold’ that has enabled
them to demonstrate at least procedural adherence to human rights norms and legal commitparticular approach, driven by two fundamental principles: avoiding the formal legal custody of
prisoners; and the avoiding direct involvement in the abuse of prisoners. However, participation
in detention, rendition and interrogation operations formally operated by partners, regardless of
APPENDIX 1
ments. On the ground, the UK intelligence and security agencies have been guided by a very
whether or not abuse was known to be taking place (or where it was common sense to assume
that abuse would take place), was deemed legitimate by British intelligence and security officials.
Adhering to these principles ensured that the UK could remain full counterterrorism partners of
the US and other allies, while at the same time insulating itself from allegations of abuse.69
been implicated in abuse on a number of levels. First, British intelligence and security agencies
worked hand-in-glove with counterterrorism partners, including the CIA, to identify and apprehend suspects and disappear them into secret detention where torture was endemic. The British
role in this context was either to supply the intelligence needed for the apprehension, or to take
part in capture operations as formal secondary partners, ensuring that they were not directly
responsible for prisoners. In the case of Bisher al-Rawi (#35) and Jamil el-Banna (#36), for
41
APPENDIX 2
Our analysis of the evidentiary material now in the public domain suggests that the UK has
example, the passing of UK intelligence to the CIA regarding the men’s whereabouts was central
to their capture, rendition to Afghanistan, and secret CIA detention before transfer to US military
custody. Crucially, documents show that both men had been detained in the UK in early November
2002, several days before their disappearance, with MI5 providing to the CIA details of the men’s
detention and their travel plans to The Gambia.70
British involvement was widespread. The UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee
(ISC) found that, in at least three cases, British intelligence paid, or offered to pay, for rendition
operations, all of which they found ‘amounts to simple outsourcing of action which they knew
they were not allowed to undertake themselves.’71 In at least 28 other cases, these agencies
‘suggested, helped to plan, or agreed to, a rendition operation proposed by others,’ while in 22
cases they ‘enabled renditions to go ahead by providing intelligence (for example, on the location
of the individual).’72 Although ministerial approval was granted in a number of these cases, this
was not always sought. And regardless, many of these renditions were to countries where the
risk of torture or other mistreatment was significant.73
Although none of the official inquiries into Britain’s role in abuses have published full details
of specific cases, documents obtained by Human Rights Watch from a government building in
Tripoli in September 2011, in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Gaddafi regime, provide
compelling evidence of British involvement in a number of these operations.74 In one such operation, Sami al-Saadi and his family, including his four children, were rendered from Hong Kong to
Libya in March 2004. One memo from the CIA to its Libyan counterpart, dated 23 March 2004,
was clear that they were ‘aware that your service had been cooperating with the British to effect
[al-Saadi’s] removal to Tripoli’, and offered to step in to ‘render [him] and his family into your
custody.’75 Once in Libya, al-Saadi was detained for six years, during which time he was subjected
to beatings with ropes and sticks, as well as electric shocks to the neck, chest and arms.76
In a similar operation, Abdel Hakim Belhadj (also known as Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq) was
rendered with his wife, Fatima Boudchar (who was pregnant at the time), from Malaysia to Libya
(Circuit 40). MI6 were aware of their initial detention in Malaysia, and took an active role in
organising their rendition back to Libya.77 This involved passing the intelligence to the CIA, which
subsequently took the lead.78 That Britain played a key role in the operation was confirmed by a
memo from Mark Allen, then Director of Counterterrorism at MI6. Sent to his counterpart in Libya,
Musa Kusa, the memo explicitly congratulates Kusa on the ‘safe arrival’ of Belhadj and discusses
securing direct British access to the detainee’s interrogations: ‘Most importantly, I congratulate
you on the safe arrival of Abu Abd Allah Sadiq [Belhadj]. This was the least we could do for you
and for Libya to demonstrate the remarkable relationship we have built over the years. I am so
glad. I was grateful to you for helping the officer we sent out last week. Abu ‘Abd Allah’s information on the situation in this country is of urgent importance to us. Amusingly, we got a request
from the Americans to channel requests for information from Abu ‘Abd Allah through the Americans.
I have no intention of doing any such thing. The intelligence on Abu ‘Abd Allah was British. I know
I did not pay for the air cargo. But I feel I have the right to deal with you direct on this and am
very grateful for the help you are giving us.’79
42
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Once suspects were in secret detention, British intelligence and security agencies were, in
many cases, intimately involved in the torture that took place, either by participating in the interrogations, by providing the intelligence that formed the basis of the torture, or by receiving
plied questions or intelligence to partners after they knew, or suspected, that mistreatment of
the detainees in question was taking place. Binyam Mohamed (#95), for example, was tortured
CHAPTER 1
intelligence gained through torture. The ISC found that, in at least 232 cases, UK officials sup-
in Moroccan detention on the basis of intelligence and questions supplied by British agencies.80
In a further 198 cases, British intelligence received information from partners when it was known,
or suspected, that such intelligence came from interrogations under torture. The agencies clearly
knew of the existence of CIA black sites, with internal memos referencing ‘“black” facilities’ and
intelligence and questions continued to be passed to the CIA, including in the case of Khaled
Sheikh Mohammed during his detention and torture at the Polish site, and Abu Zubaydah during
his detention and torture in Thailand.81 In the latter case, British police have, in March 2019,
CHAPTER 2
‘other centres where the chances of complaint from allied representatives are slight.’ Regardless,
opened an investigation into possible violations of UK law as a result of this cooperation.82
The role played by the UK in the CIA torture programme is also highlighted by the degree
to which British territory was used by CIA aircraft as refuelling stops while undertaking rendition
correlation of this with data concerning prisoner transfers, has allowed us to establish that UK
involvement in the rendition programme was much more extensive than previously thought.83
British territory was central to the rendition of at least 28 prisoners between secret prisons,
CONCLUSION
operations. Collation and analysis of flight data associated with CIA rendition aircraft, and the
some of whom were subjected to torture. These include the two prisoners acknowledged to
have passed through Diego Garcia in 2002,84 who we have established as likely being Mohammed
Saad Iqbal Madni (January 2002) and Umar Faruq (#14, September 2002). Likewise, mainland
UK was used to facilitate the rendition of so-called ‘high value detainees’ to secret detention in
Mohammed, all of whom were tortured at the site. Others were taken to CIA black sites in
Afghanistan, Romania and Lithuania. Still more were rendered to proxy detention in Egypt, Jordan
or Morocco on aircraft that used UK territory as a staging post.
APPENDIX 1
Poland, including Abu Zubaydah, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Khaled Sheikh
APPENDIX 2
43
RENDITION OPERATIONS USING UK TERRITORY FOR REFUELLING
44
Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed
Pakistan to Jordan
October 2001
Circuit 1
Mohamed el-Zery,
Ahmed Agiza
Sweden to Egypt
December
2001
Circuit 2
Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni
Indonesia to Egypt
(via Diego Garcia)
January 2002
Circuit 3
Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi (#93)
Pakistan to Jordan
February 2002
Circuit 4
Umar Faruq (#14)
Indonesia to Egypt
(via Diego Garcia)
September
2002
Circuit 9
Pacha Wazir (#38)
UAE to Morocco
October 2002
Circuit 11
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
UAE to Afghanistan
November
2002
Circuit 13
Abu Zubaydah (#1),
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
Thailand to Poland
December
2002
Circuit 15
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41),
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42)
Morocco to Poland,
Egypt to Afghanistan
February 2003
Circuit 17
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45)
Afghanistan to Poland
March 2003
Circuit 19
Zubair (#62)
Thailand to Afghanistan
June 2003
Circuit 24
Hiwa Rashul (#64),
Saifullah Paracha
Iraq to Afghanistan,
Thailand to Afghanistan
July 2003
Circuit 25
Asadallah (#43)
Afghanistan to Egypt
July 2003
Circuit 26
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Circuit 27
Sanad al-Kazimi (#74)
UAE to Afghanistan
August 2003
Circuit 29
Salah Qaru (#75)
Jordan to Afghanistan
September
2003
Circuit 30
Laid Saidi (#57)
Afghanistan to Tunisia
June 2004
Circuit 46
Janat Gul (#110)
Afghanistan to
Romania
July 2004
Circuit 48
Muhammad Ibrahim (#99)
Romania to Jordan or
Afghanistan
October 2004
Circuit 52
Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114),
Abu Munthir al-Magrebi (#115)
Afghanistan to
Romania, Tunisia to
Romania
May 2005
Circuit 57
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45),
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
Romania to Lithuania
October 2005
Circuit 58
There were two branches to the rendition component of the CIA torture programme. The first
comprised aircraft that were owned by the CIA via a shifting array of shell companies. The Agency
APPENDIX 1
THE CIA RENDITION NETWORK
CONCLUSION
July 2003
CHAPTER 2
Afghanistan to Poland
CHAPTER 1
Samr al-Barq (#67),
Ammar al-Baluchi (#55)
is thought to have had at least 26 aircraft in its direct service, with at least 10 purchased since
2001.85 Registered owners of these aircraft existed only on paper as a front for the CIA. They were
occasionally dissolved, with the aircraft ‘sold’ to other shell companies and often reregistered with
new tail numbers to cover their tracks. Meanwhile, the aircraft themselves were operated by a set
details for particular operations. Many of these operating companies, such as Aero Contractors,
Pegasus Technologies and Tepper Aviation, have long existed as an air arm of the CIA.86
Although past investigations have suggested that many of these aircraft and companies
were involved in rendition operations,87 we are less clear that this is the case. Indeed, we have
been able to confirm the clear involvement of just two CIA-owned aircraft in rendition operations.
Both were operated by Aero Contractors: a Gulfstream V jet with registration number N379P
45
APPENDIX 2
of real companies, responsible for maintenance, providing hangers and arranging the logistical
(later reregistered as N8068V, and then again as N44982), and a Boeing 737 with registration
number N313P (later reregistered as N4476S). They were essentially government assets, with
one declassified file referring to the latter as an ‘Agency aircraft’.88 While engaging in rendition
operations, N379P was owned on paper by Premier Executive Transport Services, and N313P
was owned by Stevens Express Leasing. Both were shell companies, and the pilots and crew
flying the two aircraft operated under cover, using passports with false names.89
These two aircraft – N379P and N313P – account for the majority of rendition operations we
have identified, especially during the first years of the CIA torture programme. Between September
2001 and March 2004, over 80% of the operations (68 out of 82) took place on board one of
these two aircraft, involving at least 48 different prisoners.90
A second branch of rendition aircraft, which operated alongside (and to some extent later
than) those aircraft owned by CIA shell companies, comprised a number of aircraft run by commercial on-demand charter aircraft operators. In these cases, the US government was just one
client, and the companies provided the planes, pilots, crew and all other logistical requirements
(so-called ‘wet leasing’). Documents secured from within this contracting network, including quotes,
invoices, billing reconciliations, subcontracts and subcontract task order modifications, have enabled us to build an intricate picture of this outsourced element of the torture programme.
The documents identify two successive prime contractors, DynCorp Systems and Solutions,
LLC (DynCorp) and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), which were operating under a ‘prime
contract’ with the CIA.91 These companies undertook to organise flight operations on behalf of the
US government, and subcontracted this task to two brokering companies: Capital Aviation and
SportsFlight Air (SFA). In turn, these brokers contracted with more than a dozen aircraft operating
companies to secure the services of particular aircraft and the logistics required to mount global,
multiday trips.92 Operating companies included FirstFlight Management, Airborne, Richmor Aviation,
Prime Jet, Premier Aircraft Management, Kookaburra Air, International Group, Clay Lacy Aviation,
Victory Aviation, Aircastle, Jet Alliance, Colt, US Aviation and Integrity Jet Charter.
The CIA’s use of these operating companies expanded over time. In June 2002, DynCorp
entered into a contract with Capital Aviation designated as LT050602,93 while SportsFlight entered
into a contingent agreement with Richmor Aviation to provide one plane, registered N85VM, for
services as required by DynCorp. Richmor was to supply the aircraft ‘as required’, with a guarantee of 250 hours’ work over the duration of the initial contract. Richmor was responsible for
maintaining the aircraft, paying for fuel and the salaries of the pilots and crew. In return, it would
be paid $5,000 per hour for flying to and from Washington, and $4,900 per hour for all other
flight times. If extra crew were needed, they would be charged at $800 per person per day.94
Both these initial contracts were for a six-month term. At the end of this term, the government indicated that it wished to diversify its range of aircraft operators, with the result that the
initial relationship between DynCorp, Capital and SFA continued on an ad hoc but non-exclusive
basis, while other operating companies and aircraft became involved as necessary. In 2003, DynCorp
was taken over by CSC,95 and in 2004 CSC formalised the pre-existing pattern of business with
a new contract, S1007312, stipulated to run from August 2004 to July 2005.96 This new contract
46
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Contract LT050602, between Capital Aviation and Dyncorp, for provision of
rendition aircraft N85VM
was between CSC and SFA (dba Capital), although in June 2005 SFA was removed from the
paperwork and the contract was reassigned simply to Capital, while CSC executed a new contract
with SFA in August 2005 to run through to July 2006. The new contract was designated S1008117.
Under the terms of these two contracts, S1007312 and S1008117, SFA and Capital offered specific
numbered task orders to operating companies to carry out specific trips. Invoices for missions
carried out under these contracts continued to bear the original contract designation of LT050602,
however, demonstrating that they related to a single overarching pattern of business.
Analysis of documents relating to these business relationships, including the tracing of these
contract numbers through the paperwork, has been crucial to enabling us to identify over 60
aircraft operating under the same prime contract with the CIA. Triangulation with other data
allows us to confirm that 16 of these aircraft were involved in specific rendition operations.
Individual operations by these aircraft can be traced back, using invoicing and contractual reference numbers, to the network and thereby to the government, lending further weight to connections
we assert. Full details of our findings in this regard can be found in Appendix 2.
RENDITION AIRCRAFT OPERATING PURSUANT TO THE CIA’S CONTRACT WITH DYNCORP/CSC
N85VM
Gulfstream IV
14 prisoners rendered
N63MU
Gulfstream IV
10 prisoners rendered
N1HC
Gulfstream V
5 prisoners rendered
N308AB
Gulfstream IV
5 prisoners rendered
N248AB
Gulfstream IV
4 prisoners rendered
N368CE
Boeing 733
4 prisoners rendered
N733MA
Boeing 738
4 prisoners rendered
N740EH
Boeing 738
4 prisoners rendered
N787WH
Boeing 737
4 prisoners rendered
N17ND
Gulfstream III
3 prisoners rendered
N740JA
Gulfstream IV
2 prisoners rendered
48
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
2 prisoners rendered
N288KA
Gulfstream III
1 prisoner rendered
N450DR
Dassault Falcon 50
1 prisoner rendered
N614RD
Gulfstream IV
1 prisoner rendered
N724CL
Boeing 721
1 prisoner rendered
N789DK
Gulfstream IV
1 prisoner rendered
CHAPTER 2
Gulfstream III
CHAPTER 1
N982RK
CIA rendition aircraft flew as civilian planes, rather than military or government, thus allowing
them the freedom to navigate airspace and airport landings without formal permission from the
states involved.97 Importantly, however, while on rendition operations individual aircraft would
ticular airports. For example, the Gulfstream IV jet with registration N85VM often carried ‘letters
of public convenience’, on paper issued with Department of State letterheads, declaring that it
was ‘operating under contract with the US government… as Global Support to US Embassies
CONCLUSION
often invoke their connection to the US government in order to expedite their landings at par-
worldwide.’98 These letters of convenience appear to have always been signed by ‘Terry A. Hogan’,
although variations in the signature at the bottom of each letter suggest that they were actually
signed by more than one person.99
Other companies involved in facilitating rendition operations (carried out by both branches)
(UWA). These companies were responsible for ensuring that the required flight plans were filed,
overflight and landing authorisations received and hotel reservations booked.
Analysis of our flight data has enabled us to identify hundreds of circuits by CIA-owned or
APPENDIX 1
include ‘trip planners’, such as Jeppesen Dataplan, Baseops, and Universal Weather and Aviation
CIA-contracted aircraft which involved landings at one or more black site locations during their
period of operation, at locations hosting US military detention facilities, or in countries known
to have received or provided prisoners rendered by the CIA. These circuits are prima facie suspicious. Further traces in the data can alert us to the existence of the particular footprint of rendition
at identifiable ‘rest and relaxation’ points after leaving a black site location, and landings as part
of a documented contract which also encompasses proven rendition operations.
‘Special status’ designations in pre-flight and in-flight communications between aircraft and
air traffic authorities were often used during rendition operations to ensure the prioritisation of
particular flights above others. These included the designation of flights as ‘STS/STATE’, indicating that a flight is ‘specifically required by the State Authorities, e.g., military or civil registered
49
APPENDIX 2
operations. These traces are varied, and include landings at unusual times of the day, landings
aircraft used in military, customs and police services,’ and ‘STS/ATFMEXEMPT’, which indicates
that flights are ‘specifically authorised by the relevant national authority to be exempted from
flow regulations.’100 In addition, false flight plans were often filed to disguise the landings at black
site locations. These can be identified where flight plans list one destination, but where ground
records confirm the actual landing at an airport (often in a different country) near to a black site.
FILING FALSE FLIGHT PLANS: CASE STUDY
On 18 February 2005, the trip planning company Baseops filed a flight plan for a Boeing 737
with registration number N787WH. This notified the relevant air traffic authorities that the
aircraft was due to fly between Bucharest, Romania and Gothenburg, Sweden.101
However, documents at our disposal, including data from the Lithuanian Civil Aviation
Administration and airport documents from Palanga, confirm that the aircraft did not fly to
Sweden, but instead landed in Palanga, Lithuania.102 This is important, given that it connects two
black site locations, Romania and Lithuania, at a key moment in the torture programme’s evolution: the exact time that the Lithuanian site was opened and received its first prisoners.103
In addition, billing documents, including a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between
SFA and CSC, situate this flight within the context of the renditions programme, and explain
the submission of false flight plans by Baseops.104
Landings at black site locations were clearly facilitated by the host governments. In the case of
the European black sites, the ECtHR has found that the authorities ‘knowingly assisted’ in disguising CIA rendition aircraft, and that the use of false flight plans ‘required active cooperation
on the part of the host countries through which the planes travelled. In addition to granting the
CIA rendition aircraft overflight permissions, the national authorities navigated the planes through
the country’s airspace to undeclared destinations in contravention of international aviation regulations and issued false landing permits.’105
In Poland, there was clearly a special procedure for the landing of CIA rendition flights at
Szymany. The airport manager has given a detailed description of this procedure, which has
been confirmed by a range of airport employees, civil servants, security guards, and Border
Guard and military intelligence officials.106
…regarding the flights, we termed them special flights, as none of the procedures
followed in the case of other aircraft, such as civil aircraft, were complied with.
As to the landings, we were under the impression that they involved changeover
of intelligence personnel. The airport manager received information concerning
these flights directly from Border Guard Headquarters, and the army was informed
about the landings at the same time. Two staff from the army unit at Lipowiec were
on duty at the Szymany airport at the time. Events unfolded as follows. Border
Guard Headquarters telephoned me about the planned landing and at the same
50
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
time, I received the same information from one of the staff on duty at the airport...
normal practice was for the Border Guard and the Customs Service to be informed
CHAPTER 1
of civil aircraft landings. When these particular aircraft landed, however, the
Customs Service was not informed, at the request of the Border Guard, who said
they would make all the arrangements themselves. Prior to the landings two highranking Border Guard officers would always appear, a captain or someone of
higher rank…. After they landed, these aircraft generally parked at the end of the
runway, so that the airport workers could not really see what was going on. The
Border Guard would always drive up to the aircraft and return a few minutes later.
Vehicles bearing the Kiejkuty army unit’s registration would then drive up to the
CHAPTER 2
aircraft. It was not possible to tell if anyone did or did not leave the aircraft and
enter these vehicles, as this could not be observed from the airport office which is
located about halfway along the runway. An ambulance was in attendance at one
of these landings, but nobody knew why that was there either. The ambulance
travelled behind the vehicles with tinted windows… It was not possible for anyone
to see what was happening around the aircraft because the aircraft always parked
in such a way that the entrance doors faced towards the wood, so nothing could
CONCLUSION
be seen. No airport workers drove up to the aircraft, only the Border Guard. It was
not even possible to see what was happening from the top of the control tower.107
Ms M.P., director, Szymany Airport
In the context of Romania, several witness statements given to the prosecutor during the criminal
inquiry made clear that special procedures existed. For example, ‘Witness Z’ claimed that ‘from
about 2003 onwards several contacts [relating to CIA flights] had taken place’ and ‘resulted in
concrete agreements that made possible the operation of the special American flights on
should be understood that those flights had a special character and they were not under an
obligation to obey the usual rules imposed on civil flights.’108 Other witnesses have testified to
night-time landings announced as ‘special flights’, with staff asked not to approach the planes.109
APPENDIX 1
Romanian territory, in different conditions than those provided for by international customs. It
Similar provisions were established during rendition flights landing in Lithuania. Planes were
not subject to normal customs or border guard control. State Border Guard Service (SBGS)
officers were prevented from carrying out inspections, and classified letters were sent to the
SBGS on at least two occasions enabling SSD and CIA officials free rein at the airports.110
flights, the ECtHR has ultimately found it ‘implausible that the transportation of prisoners on
land from the planes to the CIA detention site could, for all practical purposes, have been effected
without at least the minimum assistance of the host country’s authorities, if only to secure the
area near and around the landed planes and provide the conditions for the secret and safe
transfer of passengers.’111
Our investigation has also uncovered a further diversionary technique deployed by CIA
51
APPENDIX 2
Although none of the witnesses admitted to seeing prisoners embark or disembark these
aircraft undertaking rendition operations: the use of two aircraft to link two prison sites, meeting for a ‘cargo switch’ on the runway of a third country. Thus, one aircraft would fly from black
site destination A to a third-country runway, where it would meet a second aircraft which had
not visited anywhere suspicious. Both aircraft would be on the ground together for less than
an hour, while prisoners were transferred between the aircraft, before the first aircraft left for
home and the second aircraft flew its cargo to black site destination B. As a result, flight records
document no single flight linking the black sites, making it more difficult to identify potential
rendition operations.
THE ‘CARGO SWITCH’: CASE STUDY
Our flight data shows that two known rendition aircraft – N308AB and N787WH – met on the
ground in Tirana, Albania, between 22:38 and 23:35 on 5 October 2005. While Albania is not
known to have hosted a black site, and individually the flight circuits do not appear particularly
suspicious, N308AB had just come from Bucharest, while N787WH flew onward to Vilnius. The
black site locations in Romania and Lithuania were thereby connected.
Furthermore, flight data shows that the first aircraft, N308AB, was operated by Prime Jet,
known for its involvement in other rendition operations. One email set out the itinerary for the
aircraft, specifying the flight from Romania to Albania, where it was to ‘drop all PAX
[passengers]’.112 A ‘preliminary requirements’ document from CSC situates the operation within
the overall contract, and stated that two passengers were to be picked up in Romania, and also
confirmed that all passengers were to be dropped in Albania. Customs help was to be denied.113
Further billing documents for this circuit include invoices from SFA to CSC,114 and ‘subcontract
task order modifications’ between SFA and CSC.115
Data also shows that the second aircraft, N787WH, was operated by Victory Aviation, with
Baseops International filing the flight plans, including false plans to disguise the landing in
Lithuania.116 The true flight, from Albania to Lithuania on 6 October 2005, was in fact confirmed
by records seen by a Lithuanian Parliament investigation, which noted that the landing was
‘unscheduled’, and that customs officials ‘were prevented from inspecting the aircraft.’
According to one customs officer ‘civil aviation officers prevented the SBGS officer from
approaching the aircraft…. A car drove away from the aircraft and left the territory of the airport
border control point. Upon contacting the civil aviation officers, it was explained that the heads
of the SBGS had been informed of the landing… The letter from the SSD marked as ‘CLASSIFIED’…
was received by the SBGS on 7 October 2005, i.e., post factum.’117 Data from the Lithuanian Civil
Aviation Administration,118 and airport documents from Vilnius,119 also confirm the landing.
Analysis of flight data and subsidiary contracting paperwork can suggest the existence of particular rendition operations. However, it is the triangulation of this data with other information
– locations and known operating periods of black sites, and known dates and locations of capture
52
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Preliminary requirements for the first leg of a two-stage rendition operation
between black sites in Romania and Lithuania, October 2005 (Circuit 58)
or transfer operations involving particular prisoners – which allows us to make clear statements
of fact regarding individual rendition operations by the aircraft involved.
With this in mind, our investigation has confirmed 62 separate rendition operations by CIA
aircraft, involving over 120 individual renditions. The evidence to support our claims is outlined
in Appendix 2, where we have provided detailed profiles for each of the 62 circuits. These profiles
lay out the flight data we have accumulated, and the ways in which we have been able to match
it with individual prisoner movements. Although we are not able to paint a complete picture of
CIA rendition, this is without doubt the fullest account to date of the rendition of prisoners
between black sites and foreign government detention facilities by the CIA. It also provides the
clearest picture to date of the regular involvement of other countries, playing – wittingly or otherwise – a key logistical role in the programme by facilitating the refuelling of aircraft as they
made their way to and from the rendition operations.
COUNTRIES PLAYING A KEY LOGISTICAL ROLE IN THE RENDITION NETWORK
Country
United Kingdom
(incl. Diego Garcia)
No. Circuit
21
Circuits (see Appendix 2)
1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 46, 48,
52, 57, 58
Germany
16
1, 5, 7, 8, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 30, 33, 36, 57
Portugal
10
1, 7, 9, 22, 23, 29, 32, 34, 56, 60
United Arab Emirates
13
4, 7, 11, 13, 15, 28, 29, 33, 49, 50, 52, 61, 62
Uzbekistan
13
5, 6, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29, 31, 56
Ireland
17
6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 18, 28, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 45, 47, 51, 58, 62
Cyprus
10
17, 37, 38, 40, 45, 46, 47, 48, 53, 57
Czech Republic
12
19, 20, 26, 31, 32, 36, 38, 45, 48, 50, 51, 52
Spain
9
35, 37, 39, 40, 44, 46, 47, 49, 55
Iceland
7
45, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60
Canada
6
46, 48, 49, 54, 55, 58
54
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Of the more than 120 individual renditions we have identified, 20 were transfers to foreign custody, either of those who were never held by the CIA or of those who were later moved into the
black site programme. 35 renditions were transfers into CIA custody, generally from foreign
rendered. A further 42 renditions were transfers between CIA black sites, with prisoners shuttled between secret prisons as they opened and closed. 20 renditions were of prisoners being
CHAPTER 1
custody in the location where they had been captured, or to which they had been previously
moved out of CIA custody, either for release or continued detention in foreign or US military
custody. Our data also includes the rendition of four prisoners to US military custody by CIA
aircraft, even though those men were never held by the CIA.
We have compiled a list of more than 200 individuals reported to have been captured, rendered
CHAPTER 2
TRACKING CIA PRISONERS
or detained by the CIA.120 119 of these prisoners are confirmed officially in the Committee Study
as having been held in formal CIA custody in one or more of its black sites. However, this figure
is highly likely to be an undercount, given poor recordkeeping by the CIA, especially at the Dark
also necessarily incomplete, given that the CIA was clearly deeply involved in the rendition, secret
detention and torture of many prisoners who did not come formally under its authority.
In some cases, CIA prisoners have testified to being held in black sites alongside others
CONCLUSION
Prison in Afghanistan (referred to in the Committee Study as DETENTION SITE COBALT). It is
who appear not to be listed in the Committee Study.121 In other cases, prisoners were held in
facilities in Afghanistan or Pakistan which were run by the local intelligence services but where
the CIA clearly had access. For example, four Guantánamo Bay detainees, transferred from
Bagram in May 2003, were captured in Iran in late 2001 or early 2002 and transferred to Afghan
in the same facility during 2002, where the guards were Afghan but the interrogators were
American.122 None of these men appear on the list of formal CIA prisoners, although others held
at the same facilities in 2002 did later come within the CIA programme.123 Reporting collated
APPENDIX 1
custody in early 2002. Testimony by one of these men, Wesam al-Deemawi, places all four men
by NGOs has identified a further 19 individuals as being detained in Pakistan or Afghanistan
with some form of CIA involvement, none of whom seem to appear in the Committee Study.124
Whether that is due to poor recordkeeping, or the fact that these men never came under formal
custody of the CIA, is unknown.
to US military custody in Afghanistan, or directly to foreign government custody. These numbers
are not insignificant: we have identified five men rendered by the CIA directly to US military
custody at Bagram Airbase, and compiled reports of more than 50 men rendered by the CIA to
foreign custody (again, where the CIA continued to have access for interrogations). This includes
at least 14 men rendered to Jordan, nine to Libya, eight to Egypt, eight to Syria and seven to
Morocco.125 This number is a lower-end figure, and the true number of renditions to foreign
55
APPENDIX 2
The 119 men listed in the Committee Study do not include those rendered by the CIA directly
custody will undoubtedly be higher. For example, it is now clear that British intelligence were
actively involved in, or had contemporaneous knowledge of, up to 76 rendition operations.126
Indeed, as early as January 2002 at least one partner service, reported to be Egypt, had received
at least 29 prisoners.127
Other reports have suggested that up to a dozen prisoners were rendered by the CIA out
of Iraq in the months after the US invasion and occupation,128 and the Department of Justice
(DoJ) authorised at least some of these on an individual basis, writing that such men were not
‘protected persons’ under the Geneva Conventions.129 It is also clear that the CIA held ‘ghost
detainees’ in DoD-run facilities in Iraq. One inquiry into detention operations in the country, for
example, found that ‘various detention facilities… routinely held persons brought to them by
Other Government Agencies (OGAs) [i.e., the CIA] without accounting for them, knowing their
identities or even the reason for their detention.’130 Some of these were former CIA prisoners.
Hiwa Rashul (#64), for example, was rendered from DoD control to the CIA in Afghanistan in July
2003 (Circuit 25), before the DoJ ruled that he was in fact a ‘protected person’ under the
Conventions. He was rendered back to Iraq in October 2003 (Circuit 32), but at this point was
kept away from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with one classified military
order directing guards to keep Rashul ‘segregated and isolated from the remainder of the detainee
population. Under no circumstances will his presence be made known to the detainee population... Only military personnel and debriefers will have access to the detainee... Knowledge of
the presence of this detainee will be strictly limited on a need-to-know basis.’131 Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld later acknowledged that he had authorised the secret detention of
Rashul: ‘We were asked [by the CIA] to not immediately register the individual. And we did that...
The decision was made that it would be appropriate not to for a period. And he wasn’t lost in
the system. They’ve known where he was, and that he was there in Iraq, for this period of time.’132
With regards to the 119 men who are documented as coming under formal CIA custody
within the torture programme, our investigation has established the clearest picture yet of their
nationalities, capture locations, detention periods and locations, and fate and whereabouts after
their time in CIA custody.
Our investigation has established the nationalities of 78 of the 119 formal CIA detainees,
which included 18 Yemenis, 8 Libyans, 9 Afghans, 6 Pakistanis, 5 Algerians and 5 Iraqis. Others
came from Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria,
Tanzania, and Tunisia. Although most of the capture operations we know about took place in
Pakistan, at least 18 different countries across the world were involved, including those in Africa
(Djibouti, Egypt, The Gambia, Mauritania, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, South Africa), Europe
(Macedonia, Georgia, Turkey), the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Jordan, UAE), Central/South Asia
(Afghanistan, Pakistan) and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand).
Most prisoners were held by foreign governments before their formal transfer into CIA custody, although – as we have discussed – the CIA often had access to the men during this period.
In 23 cases, prisoners were held for between a week and a month, and in 16 cases between a
month and a year. Three men – Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42), Binyam Mohamed (#95) and Ali al-Hajj
56
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
al-Sharqawi (#93) – were held for more than a year before formal transfer to the CIA.
Once in CIA custody, just ten of the 119 prisoners were held for less than a month, with a
further 30 held for 30-99 days. The majority, 79, were held for more than three months, with 47
than three years.133 Almost all men – 104 – appear to have been held exclusively in Afghanistan,
with only a small number held in other black sites. Overall, 102 prisoners were in CIA black sites
CHAPTER 1
being held for more than a year. 24 were held for two years or more, while 13 were held for more
in Afghanistan between September 2002 and May 2004, and 42 after that time (of course, some
were held in the country across both periods). At least 19 prisoners were held in Afghan-run
facilities or informal ‘safe houses’ in the country, although it appears that only one – Khaled elMasri (#97) – was held exclusively outside of the official black sites. Of those held outside
Bay, twelve in Romania, four in Lithuania, five in Morocco and two in Jordan. These figures only
relate to the period of official CIA custody, and do not include detention locations before or after
this time. Further details of those held at each site are provided in Chapter 2.
CHAPTER 2
Afghanistan, we have identified two detainees held in Thailand, eight in Poland, five in Guantánamo
After their time in CIA secret detention, and with the exception of Gul Rahman (#24), who
was killed while in a black site in Afghanistan, prisoners were released or transferred to either
foreign government or US military custody. We have established that 38 prisoners were transThus, six men were moved in October 2002, six men in December 2002, five in November 2003,
and 18 in May 2004. This last transfer came as the CIA moved to downsize the programme,
after the ICRC had sent notice of its awareness of the use of secret detention in Afghanistan.
CONCLUSION
ferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and it appears that these were often in groups.
22 of those transferred to Bagram were later moved to Guantánamo Bay, on board four
separate military aircraft and alongside other (non-CIA) prisoners who were being transferred
to the island base. The first of these transfers took place on 28 October 2002, and included six
Yemeni prisoners who had been captured together in Karachi in September 2002 and held for
and included Jamil el-Banna and Bisher al-Rawi, who had been captured in December 2002 after
a tip-off from British intelligence. The third transfer took place on 9 May 2003, and included two
of the first CIA prisoners, captured in Georgia in April 2002: Zakariya (#2) and Abbar al-Hawari
APPENDIX 1
around one month by the CIA in Afghanistan. The second transfer took place on 7 February 2003,
(#4). The final transfer took place on 19 September 2004, and included eight former CIA prisoners, all of whom had been transferred to US military custody at Bagram in May 2004. Among this
group were Hassan bin Attash (#10), the two Rabbani brothers, and Binyam Mohamed (#95).
Nine of those transferred to Guantánamo Bay remain there, as of May 2019, while the others
Of the other 16 men sent to Bagram, four escaped in July 2005: Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id
(#5), Umar Faruq (#14), Muhammad al-Qahtani (#60) and Abdullah Ashami (#71). A further nine
were ultimately released, including Ghairat Bahir (#37), Muhammad al-Bakri (#39) and Suleiman
Abdullah (#48), although in some cases (such as Lutfi al-Gharisi, #20) this was more than a
decade after leaving CIA custody. We have yet to establish the fate and whereabouts of three
of those sent to Bagram.
57
APPENDIX 2
were released at various points between 2007-2017.
A further 16 so-called ‘High-Value Detainees’ were transferred directly to Guantánamo Bay
from CIA custody, including 14 in one go in September 2006. This group included the CIA’s first
(and longest-held) prisoner, Abu Zubaydah (#1), as well as the five men since charged with
involvement in the 11 September attacks: Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45), Ramzi bin al-Shibh
(#41), Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46), Ammar al-Baluchi (#55) and Walid bin Attash (#56). Others
include Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26), Majid Khan (#58), Zubair (#62), Lillie (#72), Hambali (#73),
Gouled Dourad (#102), Ahmed Ghailani (#111) and Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114). All remained detained
at Guantánamo Bay as of May 2019, except for Ghailani (who is detained in a US federal prison).
22 men were rendered to foreign custody for continued detention, and were often held for
years before eventual release. This included six men rendered to Libya, four to Yemen, three to
Jordan and two to Egypt. We have also established that at least 13 prisoners were released
directly from the programme, or after a very short period of post-CIA detention, while two were
moved to US military custody in Iraq: Hiwa Rashul (#64) and Abu Ja’far al-Iraqi (#117). We have
been unable to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of 27 individuals after their time in the CIA
programme.
Appendix 1 contains detailed profiles of each of these men, providing the most comprehensive public account to date of the identity, fate and whereabouts of the CIA’s secret prisoners.
Our CIA Prisoner Database, available on The Rendition Project website (www.therenditionproject.
org.uk) can also be used to analyse our data regarding these men.
58
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CASE STUDIES
THE SECRET DETENTION OF ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI, 2002
CHAPTER 1
According to the Committee Study, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri ‘was captured in the United Arab
Emirates in mid-October 2002. He provided information while in the custody of a foreign
government… and was then rendered by the CIA to DETENTION SITE COBALT in Country A
on November 10, 2002, where he was held for five days before being transferred to DETENTION SITE GREEN on November 15 2002. At DETENTION SITE GREEN, al-Nashiri was
interrogated using the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques, including being subjected
to the waterboard at least three times. In December 2002, when DETENTION SITE GREEN
CHAPTER 2
was closed, al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah were rendered to DETENTION SITE BLUE.’134
The first redaction here is one letter (the pseudonym representing the host country of
the black site DETENTION SITE COBALT); the second redaction is a double-digit figure; the
third is clearly a word for a number (e.g., ‘two’); the last is another double-digit figure. An
analysis of the redactions, alongside triangulation with a number of other sources, allows
us to confirm the location of the sites involved:
CONCLUSION
Î billing documents confirm a flight by rendition aircraft N85VM from Dubai to
Afghanistan at some point 8-12 November 2002;135
Î a CIA cable from DETENTION SITE COBALT, which is dated no later than 18
November 2002, documents al-Nashiri’s rendition to the site;136
Î the word ‘five’ gives the exact fit with the third redaction in the above passage;
Î another declassified CIA document establishes that al-Nashiri was rendered to the
APPENDIX 1
same site as Abu Zubaydah on 15 November 2002;137
Î flight data indicates that known rendition aircraft N379P was in Uzbekistan/
Afghanistan on 13 November 2002 and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 16 November
2002, suggesting that it undertook a rendition operation between Afghanistan and
Southeast Asia (Circuit 14);
Î a declassified CIA document confirms that his torture at the new site continued until
4 December 2002;138
APPENDIX 2
Î Billing documents confirm a flight by rendition aircraft N63MU from Bangkok,
Thailand to Szymany, Poland, 4-5 December 2002;139
Î Although the aircraft filed a flight plan to Vienna, Austria, landing records at
Szymany confirm the landing of N63MU at Szymany. The owner of the aircraft’s
registered company has also admitted that it landed at Szymany.140
Î CIA records cited by the Committee Study make it clear that al-Nashiri was tortured
at DETENTION SITE BLUE from 5-8 December 2002.141
59
Invoice from Capital Aviation to Dyncorp, pursuant to contract LT050602, for
rendition operation between black sites in Thailand and Poland (Circuit 15)
On the basis of this evidence, it is possible to confirm that DETENTION SITE COBALT was
in Afghanistan, DETENTION SITE GREEN was in Thailand and DETENTION SITE BLUE was
in Poland (each of these locations are further confirmed multiple times by undertaking the
CHAPTER 1
same process of triangulation in other cases).
It is also possible to confirm that al-Nashiri was:
Î held in Emirati custody until 10 November 2002;
Î rendered to Afghanistan on board known rendition aircraft N85VM on 10 November;
Î held at DETENTION SITE COBALT (which prisoners referred to as the Dark Prison)
CHAPTER 2
from 10-15 November 2002 (where his wrists were tied to a bar in the ceiling, and he
was kept naked in a painful position with his feet just touching the floor);142
Î rendered from Afghanistan to Thailand on 15 November 2002, likely on board known
rendition aircraft N379P;
Î held in Thailand (DETENTION SITE GREEN) alongside Abu Zubaydah until 4 December
2002 (where he was kept naked and shackled, subjected to the waterboard, and
CONCLUSION
threatened with sodomy, and with the arrest and rape of his family);143
Î rendered to Poland on 4-5 December 2002, alongside Abu Zubaydah and on board
known rendition aircraft N63MU;
Î held in Poland (DETENTION SITE BLUE) from 5 December 2002 (where he was
subjected to sustained torture, including extreme stress positions, mock execution
and threats with a power drill).144
APPENDIX 1
THE SECRET DETENTION OF KHALED SHEIKH MOHAMMED, 2005-2006
The Committee Study states that Khaled Sheikh Mohammed ‘was transferred [from DETENTION SITE BLACK] to DETENTION SITE VIOLET on October 5 , 2005, to DETENTION SITE
BROWN on March 26 , 2006, and to US military detention at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on
September 5, 2006.’145
APPENDIX 2
The first redaction here is the pseudonym for the black site (a word, in capital letters);
the second redaction is the name of a month; the third redaction is a single-digit figure; the
last is a double-digit figure. An analysis of the redactions, alongside triangulation with a
number of other sources, allows us to confirm the location of the sites involved:
Î the only black site pseudonym which fits the first redaction is ‘VIOLET’;
Î the only month name which fits the second redaction is ‘October’;
61
Î Mohammed’s transfer from DETENTION SITE BLACK to DETENTION SITE VIOLET
was 1-9 October 2005 (a redaction of a single digit for the date);
Î Eurocontrol flight data shows a flight by rendition aircraft N308AB from Bucharest,
Romania to Tirana, Albania, on 5 October 2005. The aircraft filed a false flight plan to
disguise its landing in Bucharest, and was on the ground at Tirana from 22:38 to 01:08.
Î billing documents confirm the flight between Romania and Albania, with two
passengers to be picked up in Romania and all to be dropped in Albania. Customs
help was to be denied;146
Î flight data from Eurocontrol, the FAA and the Icelandic aviation authority (ISAVIA)
also log a second known rendition aircraft, N787WH, flying from Reykjavík, Iceland
and landing in Tirana on 5 October 2005.147 It was on the ground until 23:35, meaning
that both aircraft were together for around an hour;
Î Eurocontrol and ATC data document a flight by N787WH from Tirana to Tallinn,
Estonia,148 although data from the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration and
airport documents confirm that the aircraft in fact landed at Vilnius, Lithuania;149
Î an investigation by the Lithuanian Parliament confirmed that N787WH landed at
Vilnius on 6 October 2005, that the flight was ‘unscheduled’, and that customs officials
‘were prevented from inspecting the aircraft.’ According to one customs officer ‘civil
aviation officers prevented the SBGS officer from approaching the aircraft…. A car
drove away from the aircraft and left the territory of the airport border control point.
Upon contacting the civil aviation officers, it was explained that the heads of the SBGS
had been informed of the landing… The letter from the SSD marked as ‘CLASSIFIED’…
was received by the SBGS on 7 October 2005, i.e., post factum.’150
Î CIA cables from DETENTION SITE VIOLET document Mohammed’s presence at the
site in December 2005;151
Î the Committee Study confirms that DETENTION SITE VIOLET was closed in March
2006, with all remaining detainees transferred to DETENTION SITE BROWN.152 The
only month name which fits this redaction is ‘March’;
Î Mohammed’s transfer to DETENTION SITE BROWN took place 10-31 March 2006
(double digit redaction);
Î Eurocontrol flight data shows a flight by rendition aircraft N733MA from Porto,
Portugal to Helsinki, Finland on 25 March 2006, although the Lithuanian Parliament
investigation confirmed that it in fact landed in Palanga, Lithuania, and that no
customs inspections were carried out, pursuant to a request from the SSD;153
62
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Î Witnesses in the Lithuanian prosecutor’s investigation confirmed the loading of a
number of coffin-sized boxes onto an aircraft on 25 March 2006;154
CHAPTER 1
Î Eurocontrol and ATC data further confirms that N733MA landed in Cairo, Egypt, and
was on the ground from 02:19 to 03:45 on 26 March 2006;155
Î Eurocontrol data also logs rendition aircraft N740EH on the ground at Cairo until
02:45 on 26 March 2006, meaning that both aircraft were together for around half an
hour;
Î this data then tracks N740EH flying from Cairo to Kabul, Afghanistan.
CHAPTER 2
On the basis of this evidence, it is possible to confirm that DETENTION SITE BLACK was in
Romania, DETENTION SITE VIOLET was in Lithuania and DETENTION SITE BROWN was in
Afghanistan (each of these locations are further confirmed multiple times by undertaking
the same process of triangulation in other cases).
It is also possible to confirm that Mohammed was:
CONCLUSION
Î Held in Romania until 5 October 2005;
Î rendered from Romania to Lithuania on board two rendition aircraft (N308AB and
N787WH) which met in Albania, likely alongside al-Nashiri, on 5-6 October 2005;
Î held in Lithuania, alongside al-Nashiri, Abu Zubaydah, Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46) and
maybe others, until 25 March 2006;
Î rendered from Lithuania to Afghanistan, on board two rendition aircraft (N733MA
APPENDIX 1
and N740EH) which met in Cairo, alongside the other detainees held in Lithuania, on
25-26 March 2006;
Î held in Afghanistan until 5 September 2006, at which point he was rendered for a
final time to DoD custody at Guantánamo Bay (where he remains).
APPENDIX 2
63
Endnotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
64
Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 61-62.
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 27-29.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 154-155; CIA (OIG), Report of
Audit: CIA-Controlled Detention Facilities
Operated Under the 17 September 2001
Memorandum of Notification, 2005-0017-AS, 14
June 2006 (redacted), p. 6.
Khaled el-Masri v. George Tenet et al.,
Declaration of Khaled el-Masri, 6 April 2006, para
14-23.
CIA, Background Paper on CIA’s Combined Use
of Interrogation Techniques, sent as fax to Dan
Levin, DoJ (OLC), 30 December 2004 (redacted),
p. 2.
Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of
Mohammed Abdullah Saleh al-Asad, 15 January
2011, para 32-40.
CIA, Background Paper on CIA’s Combined Use
of Interrogation Techniques, sent as fax to Dan
Levin, DoJ (OLC), 30 December 2004 (redacted),
pp. 4-5.
CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123-IG,
7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 44.
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 17.
Salim v. Mitchell, Declaration of Suleiman
Abdullah Salim, 22 May 2017, para 17-18.
SSCI, Report of the Senate Committee on
Intelligence: 3 January 2013 – 5 January 2015,
report 114-8, 31 March 2015, p. 11.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 8-9.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees from 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), foreword, p. 4.
Ibid., p. 9.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Ibid., pp. 40-45, 67-72, 78-80, 84-93.
As an example, the Study’s extensive discussion
of Abu Zubaydah’s torture during August 2002 is
to be considered in light of the fact that he was
held in secret by the CIA for more than four and a
years, in at least seven different countries. Little
detail of his remaining time in the programme is
provided in the Study.
Indeed, it is now clear that from 2009 onwards,
UK government officials made regular
representation to the SSCI to ensure that
mentions of the UK were redacted from the
report. See, for example: Rowena Mason, UK
Ministers Met Senate Committee During Torture
Inquiry, Papers Reveal, The Guardian, 12
December 2014; FCO, Letter to Reprieve:
Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request Ref:
0672-14, 1 August 2014.
See, for example: Binyam Mohamed et al v.
Jeppesen Dataplan, Declaration of Bisher
al-Rawi, 10 December 2007; Binyam Mohamed et
al v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Declaration of Mohamed
Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, 5 December 2007;
Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of
Mohammed Abdullah Saleh al-Asad, 15 January
2011; Salim v. Mitchell, Declaration of Suleiman
Abdullah Salim, 22 May 2017.
For example: United Nations, Joint Study on
Global Practices in Relation to Secret Detention
in the Context of Countering Terrorism, 19
February 2010; ICRC, Report on the Treatment of
Fourteen ‘High Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody,
February 2007; Human Rights Watch, Delivered
Into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition
of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September
2012; Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two
Years in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007;
Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006; Clara Gutteridge, How the US
Rendered, Tortured and Discarded One Innocent
Man, The Nation, 27 June 2012.
Ahmed Rabbani, Letter to Guantánamo Bay
Interagency Review Taskforce, 1 May 2009, para
27.
The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
See, for example: 2015 Torture FOIA, American
Civil Liberties Union.
See, for example: Leopold CIA Interrogation
Documents.
Other investigations which have tracked aircraft
associated with the torture program include
those undertaken by teams at the Council of
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
28.
30.
32.
34.
35.
65
APPENDIX 2
33.
APPENDIX 1
31.
CONCLUSION
29.
CHAPTER 2
27.
36. See, for example: Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, Committee on Legal Affairs
and Human Rights, Secret Detentions and Illegal
Transfers of Detainees Involving Council of
Europe Member States: Second Report, 11 June
2007, pp. 36-40; ECtHR, Judgment: Abu
Zubaydah v. Poland, 24 July 2014, para 419.
37. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
38. Ibid., pp. 75-76.
39. Ibid., pp. 83-84.
40. See, for example: Dana Priest, CIA Holds Terror
Suspects in Secret Prisons, The Washington
Post, 2 November 2005; Matthew Cole and Brian
Ross, Exclusive: CIA Secret ‘Torture’ Prison
Found at Fancy Horseback Riding Academy, ABC
News, 18 November 2009.
41. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May
2018, para 527; ECtHR, Judgment: Abu
Zubaydah v. Lithuania, 31 May 2018, para 532.
42. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), findings and conclusions, pp. 7, 16-17.
43. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123-IG,
7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 33.
44. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 24.
45. Ibid., pp. 139-142.
46. Council of Europe, Secret Detentions and Illegal
Transfers of Detainees Involving Council of
Europe Member States: Second Report, 11 June
2007, para 112-119.
47. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Poland, 24 July
2014, para 423-428; ECtHR, Judgment: Abu
Zubaydah v. Poland, 24 July 2014, para 425-430.
48. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 74.
49. Council of Europe, Secret Detentions and Illegal
Transfers of Detainees Involving Council of
Europe Member States: Second Report, 11 June
2007, para 128, 142-153.
50. Ibid., para 211-216.
51. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 97.
52. Ibid., p. 97.
53. CIA, cable 5759, April 2003. Cited in: SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 97.
54. CIA, HEADQUARTERS, cable, May 2003; SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 97.
55. Torture in Romania: Former Head-of-State Iliescu
Admits Existence of CIA Prison, Spiegel Online,
22 April 2015; Former Romania President Admits
Allowing CIA Site, Al Jazeera, 27 April 2015.
CHAPTER 1
26.
Europe, European Parliament, North Carolina
Stop Torture Now, the Center for Human Rights
and Global Justice, Open Society Justice
Initiative, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights,
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as
well as journalists such as Stephen Grey.
Much of this came through our work at (or in
partnership with) Reprieve. See, for example,
Reprieve and Access Info Europe, Rendition on
Record, 15 December 2011; FCO, Freedom of
Information Response, 0630-13, 25 October 2013.
Our collaboration with the European Parliament’s
LIBE committee in 2012-13 was also key to a
significant body of disclosures.
Ian Cobain and James Ball, New Light Shed on
US Government’s Extraordinary Rendition
Programme, The Guardian, 22 May 2013.
For more on data from these communication
systems, in the context of CIA rendition, see:
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, Data
String Analysis Submitted as Evidence of Polish
Involvement in US Extraordinary Rendition and
Secret Detention Program, 9 March 2010; PACE,
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights,
Secret Detentions and Illegal Transfers of
Detainees Involving Council of Europe Member
States: Second Report, 11 June 2007, p. 36.
In many cases, individual flights are recorded by
more than one data source.
There are various reasons why an aircraft may
have been included in a data-gathering exercise,
but the fact of inclusion is not in itself indicative
that a plane was involved.
For more on the need for triangulation rather
than narrow quantitative analysis of the flight
data, see: Ruth Blakeley and Sam Raphael,
Human Rights Fact-Finding and the CIA’s
Rendition, Detention and Interrogation
Programme: A Response to Cordell, International
Area Studies Review, vol. 21, no. 2, 2018.
Crofton Black, Exclusive: US Senate Intelligence
Committee Corrects CIA Torture Report After
Bureau Probe, The Bureau of Investigative
Journalism, 13 February 2015.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 115.
Of course, our database does not include every
cable from every field station; just those
referenced by the Committee Study. So while the
series are coherent, they are incomplete.
Indeed, through triangulation with flight data we
have established that he was on board the
rendition flight from Afghanistan to Poland on 25
March 2003.
56. Black Site in Romania: Former Spy Chief Admits
Existence of CIA Camp, Spiegel Online, 13
December 2014; Kate Connolly, Romanian
Ex-Spy Chief Acknowledges CIA had ‘Black
Prisons’ in Country, The Guardian, 14 December
2014.
57. Torture in Romania: Former Head-of-State
Iliescu Admits Existence of CIA Prison, Spiegel
Online, 22 April 2015; Former Romania President
Admits Allowing CIA Site, Al Jazeera, 27 April
2015. See, also: Talpeș’ statement to a European
Parliament delegation, cited in EP Resolution,
2016/2573(RSP), 8 June 2016, para 13.
58. Statements by ‘Witness Z’, 17 September 2013
and 18 June 2015. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri
v. Romania, 31 May 2018, para 301-302.
59. Council of Europe, Secret Detentions and Illegal
Transfers of Detainees Involving Council of
Europe Member States: Second Report, 11 June
2007, para 221.
60. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 97-98.
61. According to the government, ‘the so-called
“evidence” in the case was ambiguous and
dubious and in reality constituted mere
assumptions drawn from the fragmentation and
interposition of various publicly accessible
pieces of information disseminated by the
media. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania,
31 May 2018, para 395-402.
62. Ibid, para 589.
63. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 98-99.
64. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009.
65. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 99.
66. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009.
67. Ibid.
68. Ibid.
69. For a fuller account of our argument in this
regard, see: Ruth Blakeley and Sam Raphael,
British Torture in the ‘War on Terror’, European
Journal of International Relations, vol. 23, no. 2.
70. MI5, Detention of Islamists at Gatwick Airport,
telegram to CIA, 1 November 2002 (redacted).
71. ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition: 20012010, UK Parliament, 28 June 2018, pp. 88-90
66
72. Ibid., pp. 99-101.
73. The Detainee Inquiry, The Report of the Detainee
Inquiry, 19 December 2013, pp. 34-36.
74. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012.
75. CIA, Rendition of Abu Munthir, memo to Libyan
intelligence, 23 March 2004.
76. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
p. 108.
77. MI6, Abdullah Sadeq, fax to the office of al-Sadiq
Karima, Head of Libyan International Relations
Department, 1 March 2004.
78. CIA, Urgent Request Regarding the Extradition of
Abdullah al-Sadiq from Malaysia, memo to Libyan
Security Services, 4 March 2004; CIA,
Clarification Regarding the Rendition of Abu
Abdullah al-Sadiq, memo to Libyan Security
Services, 4 March 2004; CIA, Planning for the
Capture and Rendition of Abdullah al-Sadiq,
memo to Libyan Security Services, 6 March
2004; CIA, Schedule for the Rendition of
Abdullah al-Sadiq, memo to Libyan intelligence, 6
March 2004.
79. MI6, For the Urgent, Personal Attention of Musa
Kusa, memo from Mark Allen, 18 March 2004.
80. Reprieve, Memo: FBI Involvement in the Abuse of
Binyam Mohammed (al Habashi), 24 August
2005, pp. 7-8; ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and
Rendition: 2001-2010, UK Parliament, 28 June
2018, pp. 40-41.
81. ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition: 20012010, UK Parliament, 28 June 2018, pp. 42, 52-55.
82. Owen Bowcott, Police Investigating Role of UK
Officers in Torture of al-Qaida Suspect, The
Guardian, 31 March 2019.
83. For early reporting of our findings, see: Iain
Cobain, UK Provided More Support for CIA
Rendition Flights than Thought — Study, The
Guardian, 22 May 2013.
84. David Miliband, Letter to Reprieve: Diego Garcia
Flights, 21 February 2008.
85. Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams,
CIA Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise of
Charter Flights, The New York Times, 31 May
2005.
86. Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams,
CIA Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise of
Charter Flights, The New York Times, 31 May
2005; European Parliament, Temporary
Committee on the Alleged Use of European
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
90.
91.
93.
94.
95.
96.
98.
99.
100.
67
APPENDIX 2
97.
APPENDIX 1
92.
CONCLUSION
89.
CHAPTER 2
88.
101. Baseops, AFTN/SITA text for N787WH: 18
February 2005.
102. CAA, Landing Records for N8213G, N961BW,
N724CL and N787WH, 2003-2005, 20 June 2011;
Palanga Airport, Invoice to Victory Air Transport,
22 February 2005.
103. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 99.
104. SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
21, 17 February 2005.
105. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May
2018, para 566-567. ECtHR, Judgment: Abu
Zubaydah v. Lithuania, 31 May 2018, para 560561. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Poland, 24
July 2014, para 419-422; ECtHR, Judgment: Abu
Zubaydah v. Poland, 24 July 2014, para 421-424.
106. ECtHR, Judgment: Abu Zubaydah v. Poland, 24
July 2014, para 420.
107. Ibid., para 288.
108. Statement by ‘Witness Z’, 17 September 2013.
ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May
2018, para 301.
109. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May
2018, para 570.
110. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009; ECtHR, Judgment:
Abu Zubaydah v. Lithuania, 31 May 2018, para
304-349. For details of how this worked in
practice, see Circuit 54 and Circuit 59.
111. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May
2018, para 578; ECtHR, Judgment: Abu
Zubaydah v. Lithuania, 31 May 2018, para 564.
112. [Redacted], N308AB Itinerary, 29 September
2005.
113. CSC, Preliminary Requirements: 4-5 October
2005, 28 September 2005.
114. SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS050602-10046, 12
October 2005; SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS05060210038, 12 October 2005.
115. SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1008117, Task Order
54, 25 October 2005; SFA and CSC, Subcontract
Task Order Modification, Subcontract S1008117,
Task Order 53, 25 October 2005.
116. Baseops, AFTN/SITA text for N787WH: 5-6
October 2005.
117. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, p. 5. See, also:
SBGS, Incident Report, 6 October 2005.
CHAPTER 1
87.
Countries by the CIA for the Transport and
Illegal Detention of Prisoners, On the Companies
Linked to the CIA, Aircraft Used by the CIA and
the European Countries in Which CIA Aircraft
Have Made Stopovers, Working Document No. 8,
16 November 2006, pp. 2-6; Deborah M.
Weissman, The North Carolina Connection to
Extraordinary Rendition and Torture, University
of North Carolina School of Law, January 2012;
North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture,
Torture Flights: North Carolina’s Role in the CIA
Rendition and Torture Program, 27 September
2018.
European Parliament, Temporary Committee on
the Alleged Use of European Countries by the
CIA for the Transport and Illegal Detention of
Prisoners, On the Companies Linked to the CIA,
Aircraft Used by the CIA and the European
Countries in Which CIA Aircraft Have Made
Stopovers, Working Document No. 8, 16
November 2006.
CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: The Rendition
and Detention of German Citizen Khalid al-Masri,
2004-7601-IG, 16 July 2007 (redacted), p. 8.
In some cases these fictitious identities have
been penetrated. See, for example, Suspected
Kidnappers Identified, Spiegel Online, 21
September 2006.
In other words, some prisoners were rendered
more than once by Aero Contractors aircraft.
The prime contract is referred to throughout the
documentation, although the text of this remains
classified.
Al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of Crofton Black,
para 10-15.
DynCorp and Capital Aviation, Single Entity
Aircraft Charter Agreement No. LT050602, 17
June 2002.
SFA and Richmor Aviation, Charter Contract, 14
June 2002.
DynCorp International, A Brief History of
DynCorp International.
CSC and Capital Aviation, Single Entity Aircraft
Charter Agreement No. S1007312, 1 August
2004.
Amnesty International, Below the Radar: Secret
Flights to Torture and ‘Disappearance’, 5 April
2006, pp. 22-23.
See, for example: DoS, Letter of Public
Convenience, 26 March 2004.
Mark Thompson, Who is Terry A. Hogan?, Time,
2 September 2011.
Eurocontrol, IFPS Users Manual, pp. 167, 173.
118. CAA, Landing Records for N8213G, N961BW,
N724CL and N787WH, 2003-2005, 20 June 2011.
119. Vilnius Airport, Invoice to Victory Air Transport, 6
October 2005; Vilnius Airport, Ground Handling
Form, 6 October 2005.
120. For previous investigations which have
generated lists of those held or rendered by the
CIA, see, for example: Center for Human Rights
and Global Justice, Fate and Whereabouts
Unknown: Detainees in the ‘War on Terror’, 17
December 2005; Amnesty International, Off the
Record: US Responsibility for Enforced
Disappearances in the ‘War on Terror’, 7 June
2007; Disappearing Act: Rendition by the
Numbers, Mother Jones, 3 March 2008; Open
Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing Torture:
CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013.
121. See, for example, the testimonies of Marwan
al-Jabour and Khaled al-Maqtari regarding their
time at a black site in Afghanistan: Human Rights
Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years in Secret CIA
Detention, February 2007, pp. 21-22; Amnesty
International, A Case to Answer: From Abu
Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, pp. 21-23.
122. The other men were Hussein Salem Muhammed
Almerfedi, Walid Muhammad Shahir al-Qadasi
and Aminullah Baryalai Tukhi. See Open Society
Justice Initiative, Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret
Detention and Extraordinary Rendition, 5
February 2013, pp. 31-32, 38, 51-52, 58, citing
documents on file with Human Rights Watch.
Although al-Deemawi thought they were held in
the Dark Prison, this was likely to have been an
Afghan-run facility (given that the Dark Prison
was not operational until September 2002).
123. Al-Najjar, Qa’id, al-Bihani, al-Hami.
124. See, variously: Human Rights Watch, Ghost
Prisoner: Two Years in Secret CIA Detention,
February 2007; Open Society Justice Initiative,
Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and
Extraordinary Rendition, 5 February 2013; Center
for Human Rights and Global Justice, Fate and
Whereabouts Unknown: Detainees in the ‘War
on Terror’, 17 December 2005; Amnesty
International, Off the Record: US Responsibility
for Enforced Disappearances in the ‘War on
Terror’, 7 June 2007; Disappearing Act: Rendition
by the Numbers, Mother Jones, 3 March 2008.
125. This does not include the rendition of at least
seven of the CIA’s own detainees to Morocco
during their time in CIA custody.
68
126. ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition: 20012010, UK Parliament, 28 June 2018, p. 3.
127. One of these men, reportedly Ibn Sheikh al-Libi,
was rendered from Bagram to Egypt inside a
closed coffin, under the nose of British
intelligence. Ibid., pp. 32, 85. This report hides
the destination of these renditions behind a
codeword, CUPAR, and the identity of coffinbound prisoner behind the codeword CUCKOO.
For reporting linking CUPAR with Egypt and
CUCKOO with Ibn Sheikh, see Ian Cobain and
Clara Usiskin, Exclusive: UK Spy Agencies Knew
Source of False Iraq War Intelligence Was
Tortured, Middle East Eye, 6 November 2018.
128. Dana Priest, Memo Lets CIA Take Detainees Out
of Iraq, The Washington Post, 24 October 2004.
129. DoJ, Status of [redacted], 23 June 2004
(redacted); DoJ, Status of [redacted], 23 June
2004 (redacted).
130. DoD, Article 15-6 Investigation of the 800th
Military Police Brigade, 19 October 2004, p. 26.
131. Edward Pound, Iraq’s Invisible Man: A ‘Ghost’
Inmate’s Strange Life Behind Bars, Nation and
World, 28 June 2004.
132. DoD, Defense Department Regular Briefing, 17
June 2004.
133. These figures exclude pre-CIA detention in other
countries or post-CIA detention in US military
custody or elsewhere.
134. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 66-67.
135. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
41355, 15 November 2002.
136. CIA,Afghanistan, cable 29768, 11-18
November 2002.
137. DoJ (OPR), Investigation into the Office of Legal
Counsel’s Memoranda Concerning Issues
Relating to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Use
of ‘Enhanced Interrogation Techniques’ on
Suspected Terrorists, 29 July 2009, p. 85.
138. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 35-36.
139. UWA, Invoices to Airborne, Various Dates;
AirMarketing, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, No.
22731, 10 December 2002; AirMarketing, Invoice
to SportsFlight Air, No. 23109, 16 January 2003;
Capital Aviation, Invoice to DynCorp Systems
and Solutions, LT050602-1203, 7 January 2003.
140. Straż Graniczna, Landing Records for N379P,
N313P and N63MU, 2002-2003, 23 July 2010;
Tom Hundley, Remote Polish Airstrip Holds
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
141.
143.
144.
145.
146.
148.
149.
151.
152.
154.
155.
APPENDIX 1
153.
CONCLUSION
150.
CHAPTER 2
147.
CHAPTER 1
142.
Clues to Secret CIA Flights, Chicago Tribune, 6
February 2007.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 11.
Ibid., p. 17; SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December
2014 (redacted), p. 67.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 67-72.
Ibid., p. 96.
[Redacted], N308AB Itinerary, 29 September
2005; CSC, Preliminary Requirements: 4-5
October 2005, 28 September 2005.
See, for example: ISAVIA, Letter to Access Info
Europe, 2 March 2012.
Baseops, AFTN/SITA Text for N787WH: 5-6
October 2005.
CAA, Landing Records for N8213G, N961BW,
N724CL and N787WH, 2003-2005, 20 June 2011;
Vilnius Airport, Invoice to Victory Air Transport, 6
October 2005; Vilnius Airport, Ground Handling
Form, 6 October 2005.
CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, p. 5. See, also:
SBGS, Incident Report, 6 October 2005.
CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 31147, 17
December 2005, 19:19.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 154.
CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, pp. 4-5.
Government of the Republic of Lithuania,
Submission to the European Court of Human
Rights, 17 September 2015, para 110, 196.
E.g., Miami Air International, AFTN/SITA Text for
N733MA: 25 March 2006.
APPENDIX 2
69
THE EVOLUTION OF CIA TORTURE
APPENDIX 1
CHAPTER 2
APPENDIX 1
CHAPTER 2:
THE EVOLUTION
OF CIA TORTURE
in isolation. Rather, it took place within the context of a large-scale and long-running covert intelligence programme, global in scope and interconnected with both US military capture and
detention operations and the activities of foreign liaison partners.1 Building a picture of the historical evolution of the programme, from its inception immediately after the terrorist attacks of
11 September 2001 until its closure in January 2009, has been central to our work to understand
how secret detention, rendition and torture played out on the ground. An analysis of data relating
to the programme – such as flight records by aircraft suspected of involvement – which does not
take account of how the programme itself developed, is likely to result in findings which have
little basis in the reality of CIA torture.2 Indeed, the spatial architecture of the torture programme
emerged rather haphazardly in the months and years after 9/11, and remained dynamic throughout
its existence. Individual black sites were often closed at very short notice as their existence was
threatened with exposure. Prisoners were moved between locations as a result of these closures,
and of overcrowding at particular sites, rather than necessarily as a result of assessments of
where best to interrogate those considered to be terror suspects. This chapter tells the story of
how the black site network evolved during the entire period of the programme’s operation, based
on the analysis of all the data at our disposal. Although much still remains unknown, what follows
is the fullest account to date of how the torture programme evolved on the ground, and of where
and when the CIA’s prisoners were rendered, secretly detained, and tortured.
THE FIRST MONTHS: ESTABLISHING THE PROGRAMME
Presidential authorisation for CIA capture and detention operations in the ‘War on Terror’ began
almost immediately after the attacks of 11 September 2001. Less than a week later, on 17
September 2001, President Bush signed a 14-page covert action Memorandum of Notification
(MoN) for the National Security Council, authorising the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI),
George Tenet, to ‘undertake operations designed to capture and detain persons who pose a
continuing, serious threat of violence or death to US persons and interests or who are planning
73
CHAPTER 2
The CIA torture programme, running from 2001 until 2008, was highly dynamic and did not exist
terrorist activities.’3 By then, discussions within the CIA had already begun: on request from the
chief of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center (CTC), CIA stations across Africa were asked to consider appropriate locations for detention facilities, and discussions over the following weeks
centred on four countries in Africa and one in Southeast Asia.4 Authority for managing and
overseeing the programme was quickly delegated by Tenet to James Pavitt, Deputy Director of
Operations (DDO), and Cofer Black, Director of CTC. On the back of discussions by lawyers at
the National Security Council, Tenet established an approval process for each proposed capture
and detention operation. Accordingly, in each case ‘the reasons for the determination that the
individual targeted meets the criteria’ laid down by the MoN were to be set out in writing, for
approval or otherwise by the Principals Committee of the National Security Council. In cases
where time did not permit such prior approval, Pavitt was to have authority to approve all ‘hostile
capture and detention operations’, whereas Black was authorised to approve ‘consented capture
and detention operations’.5
By November 2001 the CIA had paused its search for appropriate locations for black sites,
given the myriad problems that were foreseen in running its own facilities. Senior officials worried about the need for ‘intensive negotiation’ with host governments, the ‘uncontrollable risks’
to facility security posed by having a foreign country involved, the likelihood of exposure as a
result of the lengthy detention of suspects – which already the CIA was suggesting might be
years in some cases – and the adverse media and public reaction which would result from this.6
Given the ways in which the programme eventually unravelled, this list was prescient. The CIA’s
preference at this point was to establish and fund a short-term facility while contracting out
actual operations to other US Government agencies, commercial companies, and foreign governments. Simultaneously, the CIA sought to persuade the Department of Defense (DoD) to host
a long-term facility for detention, ideally at the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay.7
Although the 17 September MoN made no mention of interrogation – ‘enhanced’ or otherwise – by November the CIA was considering possible legal arguments which could be deployed
to defend the use of torture. Discussion of the ‘necessity defence’ – a legal principle which might
exonerate those who commit a crime, if they could demonstrate that such action prevented a
greater harm than would adherence to the law – allowed one draft memo, ‘Hostile Interrogations:
Legal Considerations for CIA Officers’, to suggest that ‘if we follow the Israeli example, CIA could
argue that torture was necessary to prevent imminent, significant, physical harm to persons,
where there is no other available means to prevent the harm.’ Moreover, and regardless of US
legal commitments under international law, other states ‘may be very unwilling to call the US to
task for torture when it resulted in saving thousands of lives.’8 Another memo, sent in February
2002, continued the theme, this time in the context of the possible application of the Geneva
Conventions to CIA detainees: ‘In short, if a detainee were granted POW status, and therefore
is covered by the Geneva convention, there are few alternatives to simply asking questions… the
optic becomes how legally defensible is a particular act that probably violations the convention,
but ultimately saves lives.’9
74
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIA memo, February 2002, articulating the need to ignore the Geneva Conventions
While discussions continued throughout 2001 and early 2002 of how and where to operate
detention facilities, and the legal consequences for the proposed use of torture, CIA capture
operations on the ground were proceeding apace. Starting in October 2001, the CIA worked with
partner governments across the globe to identify, locate and arrest suspects, and render them
to the custody of foreign governments across the Middle East and North Africa. Prisoners were
then detained in secret, tortured and interrogated – often in the presence of CIA officials.10 By
this time, Tenet’s procedure for case-by-case approval by the NSC Principals had been overridden
by Pavitt, who issued a ‘blanket approval’ within DDO for determining those individuals who ‘pose
the requisite “continuing serious threat of violence or death to US persons and interests or who
are planning terrorist activities”,’ and for undertaking subsequent capture and detention operations.11 Operations needed to be recorded in cable traffic, but not preapproved by Headquarters.12
Our analysis of flight data and other information has enabled us to identify specific rendition
operations which transferred at least ten prisoners to foreign custody in Egypt, Morocco and
Jordan in 2001 and 2002,13 although there were undoubtedly others subjected to a similar fate.
Investigations by the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), for example,
have found that at least 29 renditions were undertaken to one particular country, reported to have
been Egypt, by January 2002. One MI6 officer witnessed the rendition of a prisoner from Bagram:
‘About half an hour later [redacted] was sitting with one of the team outside the hanger when a
pick up jeep with a six-foot, sealed box on the back drove past. It was [redacted] on the way to
the waiting plane.’ It has been further reported that Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42) was in the ‘coffin’.14
RENDITIONS TO FOREIGN CUSTODY, 2001– 2002
Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed Pakistan to Jordan
October 2001
Circuit 1
Mohamed el-Zery,
Sweden to Egypt
December 2001
Circuit 2
Indonesia to Egypt
January 2002
Circuit 3
Ahmed Agiza
Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni
(via Diego Garcia)
Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi (#93)
Pakistan to Jordan
February 2002
Circuit 4
Abou Elkassim Britel
Pakistan to Morocco
May 2002
Circuit 7
Binyam Mohamed (#95)
Pakistan to Morocco
July 2002
Circuit 8
Indonesia to Egypt
September 2002
Circuit 9
Umar Faruq (#14)
(via Diego Garcia)
76
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Pacha Wazir (#38)
UAE to Morocco
October 2002
Circuit 11
Maher Arar
United States to Jordan
October 2002
Circuit 12
(via Italy)
in January 2002, on request from the CIA, and passed to CIA and Egyptian personnel at the
airport. There he was beaten severely by Egyptian intelligence, stripped naked and bundled onto
APPENDIX 1
As one example, Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni was detained by Indonesian officials in Jakarta
the plane. During the flight he was bleeding from his nose, mouth and ears, and was unable to
for over three months in an underground cell ‘like a grave’, hung from the ceiling, and repeatedly
tortured with electric shocks and beatings. Although the torture was undertaken by Egyptian
officials, CIA personnel were in the room during at least some of the sessions, and passed questions in silence to the torturers.16
CIA access was also granted to Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi (#93) while he was detained in Jordan,
having been rendered by the CIA from Pakistan in February 2002. During his two years in Jordanian
custody, al-Sharqawi says he was tortured continuously: ‘They beat me in a way that does not
know any limits. They threatened me with electricity, with snakes and dogs. They say we’ll make
you see death.’17 Likewise, Binyam Mohamed (#95) has testified that his torture in Morocco
clearly took place on the back on British questioning and intelligence, and that at least one US
agent was involved in his interrogation.18
We still do not have the full picture of renditions to foreign custody. Binyam Mohamed
reported being rendered to Morocco alongside two other prisoners, whom we have yet to identify.19 Mamdouh Habib was reported to have been rendered from Pakistan to Egypt in November
2001,20 while Mohamedou Ould Slahi was rendered from Mauritania to Jordan in the same month.21
We do not have flight records to allow us to confirm either of these operations. Research by the
Open Society Justice Initiative and Open the Government has identified a further list of individuals reported to have been rendered by the CIA,22 although at present we have been unable to
verify these through flight data matches. We do know, however, that such operations continued
to be a key part of the programme, even as the CIA’s own facilities were established. These
included both renditions to foreign custody for the purposes of interrogation, where the prisoner
has little or no connection with the country concerned, and renditions to the country from which
the prisoner had originally come. In March 2004, for example, British intelligence arranged for
the rendition of Libyans Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Fatima Boudchar from Thailand to custody in
Tripoli, with the CIA supplying the aircraft and rendition crew (Circuit 40).
77
CHAPTER 2
move because shackles wound tightly around his body.15 Rendered to Egypt, he was detained
Cable from the Thai black site, April 2002, describing the cell in which Abu
Zubaydah was held
THAILAND: THE FIRST ‘BLACK SITE’
While the CIA became increasingly involved in renditions to foreign custody, it appears to have
been the anticipation of capturing its first so-called ‘High Value Detainee’, Abu Zubaydah (#1),
which finally tipped the balance in favour of the CIA establishing its own detention facilities. One
cons of a number of possibilities. Guantánamo Bay was described as having a ‘high degree of
physical security’ although the ‘viability of maintaining secrecy of Abu Zubaydah’s presence’ was
an issue, as was risking ‘possible loss of control to US military and/or FBI’ and the ‘possible
APPENDIX 1
March 2002 PowerPoint presentation, ‘Options for Incarcerating Abu Zubaydah’, listed pros and
impact on prisoners if AZ’s presence becomes known’.23 According to reporting at the time, CIA
psychological warfare, and even more aggressive tools may be used.’24 US military custody in
Afghanistan was also highlighted as problematic, given issues around ‘maintaining secrecy’ and
‘poor area security’. Rendition to an existing partner country (likely Morocco) was discounted,
given the poor results of recent interrogations by the liaison partners and the desire to participate
directly in his interrogation.25
Ultimately, the CIA decided to keep Abu Zubaydah away from the US military and other
prisoners, and to establish its own facility in a partner country. Thailand was the chosen location.26
Although there would be ‘diplomatic/policy decisions’ required with this option, and ultimately
it was ‘not a USG-controlled facility’, the benefits included ‘no issues of possible US court
jurisdiction’.27 After authorisation from President Bush on 29 March 2002, the local CIA station
obtained approval from Thai officials, and Abu Zubaydah was rendered to Thailand from Pakistan
on 31 March 2002. The CIA had taken formal custody of its first detainee.
The precise location of the Thai site is unclear. It has been reported as being at least an
hour’s drive from Bangkok,28 although others have suggested locations in the provinces of Udon
Thani or Chiang Mai, both of which are much further away.29 It has also been reported as being
located in a small, disused warehouse on an active airbase,30 and it appears as though this was
within, or adjacent to, a city.31 Ali Soufan, an FBI agent who was present at the site and initially
interviewed Abu Zubaydah there as well as in a nearby hospital, gives a sparse description: it
was a ‘very primitive location’ which had a ‘safe house’ and a ‘makeshift hospital room.’ Soufan
reached the facility on a small plane after arriving in the host country.32 Other reporting has
confirmed that the facility was makeshift, with one senior CIA official acknowledging that ‘it was
just a chicken coop we remodelled.’33 Despite its initial primitive state, the site was transformed
over the next couple of weeks into ‘an actual cell... monitored by hidden cameras and microphones’.34 A fuller picture of the conditions of confinement at the site emerges from CIA cables
sent during April 2002, after Abu Zubaydah had been moved back to the facility following a
period in a local hospital. The cell was described as ‘white with no natural lighting or windows,
but with four halogen lights pointed into the cell. An air conditioner was also in the room. A white
curtain separated the interrogation room from the cell. The interrogation cell had three padlocks.’
Security personnel wore ‘all black uniforms, including boots, gloves, balaclavas, and goggles to
79
CHAPTER 2
officials were clear that ‘it’s imperative to keep him isolated from other detainees as part of
keep Abu Zubaydah from identifying the officers, as well as to prevent Abu Zubaydah from seeing the security guards as individuals who he may attempt to establish a relationship or dialogue
with.’ The officers used ‘hand signals when they were with Abu Zubaydah and used hand-cuffs
and leg shackles to maintain control. In addition, either loud rock music was played or noise
generators were used to enhance Abu Zubaydah’s “sense of hopelessness”.’35 These modifications – which included ‘the sanding of the holding cell bars to reduce AZ’s ability to stimulate
his sensorium via rubbing of the bars’ – were designed, according to the interrogation team,
specifically ‘to create an atmosphere that enhances the strategic interrogation process of AZ.
The deliberate manipulation of the environment is intended to cause psychological disorientation, and… an increased sense of learned helplessness.’36
The black site had no permanent staff, with temporary duty officers taking up the position
of Chief of Base as well as security, medical and communications personnel. Interrogations of
Abu Zubaydah, and later Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26), were led by the two contracted psychologists/interrogators, James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who the CIA had employed to develop
and oversee the ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’.37
Abu Zubaydah was interrogated during April and May 2002,38 and then placed in isolation
for 47 days (from 18 June to 4 August) while the interrogation team departed Bangkok, Thailand
‘for a break and to attend to personal matters.’39 Cables from the site during this time log his
condition during this phase, which was designed ‘to induce doubt and uncertainty about subject’s
disposition. Disrupting the routine to which subject is accustomed and limiting his contact with
people will maximise psychological pressure.’40
It was during this time that CIA Headquarters, working from the contract psychologists’
untested theories on interrogation, developed its set of ‘novel interrogation methods’ for use on
Abu Zubaydah, ostensibly based on techniques deployed by the US military’s SERE (Survival,
Evasion, Resistance and Escape) school. These discussions took place within the context of the
February 2002 Executive Order by President Bush, which had determined that the Geneva
Conventions did not apply to al-Qaeda detainees, that ‘Prisoner of War’ status did not apply to
al-Qaeda or Taliban detainees, and that Common Article 3 (which outlaws inhumane treatment
of prisoners) also did not apply to either.41
Almost immediately after Abu Zubaydah’s capture, some within the CIA were pushing for
an interrogation strategy which should, as one cable put it, ‘be designed to facilitate… psychological dependence. Although Zubaydah’s medical condition will likely require continued attention
from a medical physician in the near term, these medical evaluations will need to be controlled
in a fashion that the dependence with the primary interrogator is not diluted.’42
As a result of these discussions, a list of twelve ‘potential physical and psychological pressures’ was drafted by the CIA for use against Abu Zubaydah: attention grasp; walling; facial hold;
facial slap; cramped confinement; wall standing; stress positions; sleep deprivation; water board;
use of diapers; insects; and mock burial.43
Although most of these techniques were eventually used against a number of detainees,
they were initially developed in the light of what was known about Abu Zubaydah personally.
80
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Thus, the diaper would ‘leverage his concerns’ over being clean and his particular sensitivity ‘to
situations that reflect a loss of status or are potentially humiliating.’ Likewise, the suggested use
of insects was designed to play on Abu Zubaydah’s personal fears, to ‘increase his sense of
dread.’ The use of the ‘mock burial’, although ultimately not passed to the Department of Justice
(DoJ) for authorisation, envisaged the prisoner being ‘placed in a cramped confinement box that
to a prepared site where he hears digging. The site has a prepared hole, dug in such a way that
the box can be lowered into the ground and shovels of dirt thrown in on top of it… This procedure
would be used as part of a threat and rescue scenario where the “burial” is interrupted and the
APPENDIX 1
resembles a coffin. The box has hidden air holes to prevent suffocation. The individual is moved
subject is rescued by a concerned party. The rescuers then use the subject’s fear of being
In attempting to get the legal green light from the DoJ for these techniques, Mitchell and
Jessen were asked to ‘comment on the short and long term psychological effects of the water
board and mock burial,’ and when doing so were asked to ‘keep in mind the statutory definition
that the technique must not cause severe mental pain or suffering.’ This might prove difficult,
the cable implied, given that both techniques ‘are no longer being used [in SERE training] because
they are extremely effective.’45
CIA personnel at the Thai site were also involved in these discussions, up to and including
outlining their plan for dealing with Abu Zubaydah’s possible death under torture: ‘If subject
develops a serious medical condition which may involve a host of conditions including a heart
attack or another catastrophic type of condition, all efforts will be made to ensure that proper
medical care will be provided to subject. In the event subject dies we need to be prepared to act
accordingly keeping in mind the liaison equities involving our hosts. If subject dies, we plan on
seeking [redacted] assistance for the cremation of subject.’46 As the Chief of Base wrote in one
cable: ‘We are a nation of laws and we do not wish to parse words. A bottom line in considering
the new measures proposed for use at [redacted] is that subject is being held in solitary confinement, against his will, without legal representation… [We] will make every effort to ensure that
subject is not permanently physically or mentally harmed but we should not say at the outset of
this process that there is no risk.’47
Given the severity of torture proposed for Abu Zubaydah, site personnel were also keen to
‘get reasonable assurances that subject will remain in isolation.’48 Such assurances were received
from Headquarters, where there was ‘a fairly unanimous sentiment… that AZ will never be placed
in a situation where he has any significant contact with others and/or has the opportunity to be
released…. All major players are in concurrence that AZ should remain incommunicado for the
remainder of his life.’49 Given this risk, and the fact that the proposed methods ‘include certain
activities that normally would appear to be prohibited’ under the torture convention, the Attorney
General was asked to ‘grant a formal declination of prosecution, in advance, for any employees
of the United States, as well as any other personnel acting on behalf of the United States, who
may employ methods in the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah that otherwise might subject those
individuals to prosecution.’50
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returned to the people trying to bury him as a means of pressuring the subject for information.’44
By 18 July 2002, officials at the site were constructing the two confinement boxes, as well
as the ‘walling’ wall, so that ‘it can be quickly pieced together and placed inside subject’s cell.’51
In the following days, Mitchell and Jessen were conducting ‘a walk-through rehearsal with security
staff… which choreographed moving Abu Zubaydah in and out of the large and small confinement
boxes, as well as use of the water board.’52 By 24 July 2002 the Attorney General was approving
the use of the so-called ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ proposed by the CIA (supported
by Mitchell and Jessen), and the DoJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) circulated its classified
legal opinion on 1 August.53 From this point on, CIA torture was firmly on the table, and interrogators led by Mitchell and Jessen quickly began to apply these techniques to Abu Zubaydah.
Cables describing Abu Zubaydah’s torture at the black site in Thailand during August 2002
provide excruciating detail of near-24/7 abuse to which he was subjected, as well as the clear
physical and psychological effects it had on him.54 We have reproduced some of these cables in
full here, to illustrate the ways in which black site personnel and interrogators recorded the daily
use of severe torture on those held within the programme. These sessions were videotaped,
with 12 tapes recording 83 separate applications of the waterboard. The use of the waterboard
in practice deviated from the authorised technique: rather than applying small amounts of water
in a controlled manner, interrogators ‘continuously applied large volumes of water.’55 This resulted
in vomiting and ‘involuntary spasms of the torso and extremities’, as well as ‘hysterical pleas’
from the prisoner. At one point, he needed medical resuscitation after becoming ‘completely
unresponsive, with bubbles rising through his open, full mouth.’ When not being interrogated,
he was left strapped to the waterboard with a cloth over his face, placed in a stress position, or
locked in confinement boxes. Overall, Abu Zubaydah spent a total of more than 11 days in a coffinsized box, and 29 hours in a box which measured just 75cm x 75cm x 55cm.56
He then dragged me to another very tiny squared box. With the help of the guards
he shoved me inside the box. It was so painful. As soon as they locked me up inside
the box I tried my best to sit up, but in vain, for the box was too short. I tried to take
a curled position but to no vain, for it was too tight. It was a serious problem. I
spent long countless hours inside. I felt I was going to explode from bending my
legs and my back…
When they pulled me outside it took me a long time before I was able to stand on
my feet. They were shoving me thinking that I was deliberately refusing to stand
up… They restrained me to a metal bed that had many belts in every direction… I
suddenly felt water being poured. It shocked me because it was very cold. But the
water didn’t stop…. They kept pouring water and concentrating on my nose and my
mouth until I really felt I was drowning and my chest was just about to explode from
the lack of oxygen. Indeed that was the first time and the first day that I felt I was
going to die from drowning… All I know or remember is that I started vomiting water
but also rice and string beans.57
82
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Abu Zubaydah’s torture in the Thai black site - Day 1
Day 1
Day 1
Day 1
Day 1
Day 2
Day 2
Day 2
Day 2
Day 3
Day 3
Day 3
Day 3
Day 4
Day 4
Day 4
Day 5
Day 5
Day 5
Day 5
Cable traffic describing the torture of Abu Zubaydah was clear that practice at the site may not
be in full compliance with the legal authorisations from the DoJ, with Jose Rodriguez, Director
of CTC, emailing midway through to ‘strongly urge that any speculative language as to the legality of given activities or, more precisely, judgment calls as their legality vis-à-vis operational
guidelines… be refrained from in written traffic (email or cable traffic). Such language is not
likely violation of the approved guidelines, the interrogators were urging that ‘the aggressive
phase at [DETENTION SITE GREEN] should be used as a template for future interrogation of
high value captives.’59
APPENDIX 1
helpful.’58 Nonetheless, despite the devastating effects of the torture on Abu Zubaydah, and its
Officials did not have to wait long. Abu Zubaydah was joined by a second detainee, Abd
Thailand, al-Nashiri was kept naked and shackled, and was ‘threatened with sodomy, and with
the arrest and rape of his family.’60 By this point, Gina Haspel (now Director of the CIA) was in
post as Chief of Base for the Thai site, and oversaw al-Nashiri’s torture.61 CIA records document
his torture at this site, including the use of the waterboard on multiple occasions from 27 November.62
Authorisation for this was granted for use immediately upon his arrival, and was conducted by
Mitchell and Jessen, who had ‘successfully used these measures against Abu Zubaydah.’63 Cables
recently released document al-Nashiri’s torture in some detail, including the use of confinement
boxes and the waterboard over a number of days.64
By 1 December 2002, the cables relating to al-Nashiri’s torture had taken on an absurd
theatricality. One noted that interrogators and linguists ‘strode, catlike, into the well-lit confines
of the cell at 0902hrs. [Redacted] deftly removed the subject’s black hood with a swipe, paused,
and in a deep measured voice said that subject… should reveal what subject had done to vex his
guards to the point of rage.’65
Guidance from Headquarters, issued in December 2002, instructed the black sites to ‘fully
document in advance any decisions to employ any enhanced techniques’, in order to evidence
‘good faith’ that there was no specific intent to cause ‘severe physical or mental pain or suffering’
(i.e., torture) during these sessions. Furthermore, the guidance continued, ‘the critical need for
such documentation is reinforced by the concern that a detainee may suffer a heart attack, for
example, and die in the course of his detention. The documentation serves a number of functions, not the least of which is to protect the officers on our interrogation teams.’66 Ultimately,
the videotapes of the torture of Abu Zubaydah and al-Nashiri were destroyed, with one CIA email
making clear that ‘the heat from destroying is nothing compared to what it would be if the tapes
ever got into public domain… out of context, they would make us look terrible; it would be devastating to us.’67
Meanwhile, during 2002, the CIA’s detention operations in Afghanistan were gaining momentum, with the use of Afghan-run facilities over the summer complemented by the opening of the
dungeon-like ‘Dark Prison’ in or near Kabul in September, and a consequent expansion of secret
prisoner numbers.
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al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who was rendered to the site on 15 November 2002 (Circuit 14). While in
DETENTION OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
The Thai black site was the only CIA prison to be established during the spring and summer of
2002, and Abu Zubaydah was the only prisoner held within an official CIA facility during these
months. Nevertheless, it was soon after Abu Zubaydah’s capture that the CIA determined that
it would open a ‘specialised detention facility’, totally under CIA control, in Afghanistan. Planning
began in April 2002 and $200,000 of costs were approved in June.68
While this new site was under construction, the CIA took custody of at least five prisoners
captured outside Afghanistan and rendered them to Afghan-run facilities to which ‘the CIA had
unlimited access.’69 Three men, Zakariya (#2), Jamal Eldin Boudraa (#3) and Abbar al-Hawari
(#4), were captured by Georgian security forces on 28 April 2002, held in a warehouse for four
days, before being driven to another location, examined, then taken to an airport and put on a
plane (Circuit 6).
The Americans didn’t capture me. The Mafia captured me. They sold me to the
Americans… When I was first captured, a car came around and people inside were
talking Russian and Georgian. I also heard a little Chechnya. We were delivered to
another group who spoke perfect Russian. They sold us to the dogs. The Americans
came two days later with a brief case full of money. They took us to a forest, then a
private plane to Kabul, Afghanistan… There was four of us. Myself, my friend Abdal
Haq [Boudraa], a Yemeni guy name Zackria [Zakariya], and a Chechnya driver, who
was killed.70
Abbar al-Hawari (#4)
Two further men, Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5) (better known as Abu Yahya al-Libi) and Ridha
Ahmad al-Najjar (#6), were captured alongside a number of others in Karachi, Pakistan, on 22
May 2002.71 Both men were held and interrogated in a Pakistani facility, which sent reports from
the interrogations to the CIA.72 They were then flown to Afghanistan on 6 June 2002, and held
at a site referred to by the guards as ‘Intelligence 2’. Al-Najjar reports being held in an underground cell with a window high up at street level, and believes it was in Kabul.73 Qa’id was likely
held at the same site (which he referred to as ‘Rissat 2’).74
CIA records document the formal custody of just six men before September 2002: Abu
Zubaydah plus the five held in proxy facilities in Afghanistan. However, the CIA were clearly
involved in the detention and torture of others at Afghan-run sites during the summer of 2002,
including those held at ‘Rissat 2’. For example, Rafiq al-Hami (#18) and Tawfiq al-Bihani (#19)
were both captured in Iran on 29 January 2002 and transferred to Afghan custody in mid-March.75
As al-Hami has testified: ‘I was in an Afghan prison but the interrogation was done by Americans.
I was there for about a one-year period, transferring from one place to another.’76 According to
al-Bihani, while in the first Afghan prison they were hidden from Red Cross representatives until
one of their fellow prisoners informed them of their existence.
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
I was handcuffed behind and they put a hood on my head so that I could not see
anything. When I entered the interrogation room, the American guards pushed me
down to the ground in a very savage manner. They started to cut my clothing with
scissors. They undressed me completely and I was nude. They made me sit on a
chair and it was very cold. I was also afraid and terrorized because the guards were
forehead threatening to kill me.77
Tawfiq al-Bihani (#19)
APPENDIX 1
aiming their weapons towards me. The interrogator put his personal gun on my
Al-Bihani says that he was held at this site for around 10 weeks, and then moved to a second
‘Rissat 2’, given that Qa’id has said that he was held there alongside al-Bihani in June 2002.78
Al-Najjar reports being tortured at the Afghan-run site throughout August and September
2002,79 and CIA records document that this involved CIA personnel directly. One cable, dated
16 July 2002, was sent to the CIA station in Afghanistan, suggesting utilizing ‘Najjar’s fear for
the well-being of his family to our benefit’; using ‘vague threats’ to create a ‘mind virus’ that
would cause him to believe that his situation would continue to get worse; manipulating his
environment using a hood, restraints, and music; and employing sleep deprivation through the
use of round-the-clock interrogations.80
By 26 July 2002, CIA officers in Afghanistan were proposing ‘breaking Najjar’ through the
use of isolation, ‘sound disorientation techniques’, ‘sense of time deprivation’, limited light, cold
temperatures, and sleep deprivation.81 This is also likely to have been the facility where the CIA
applied a ‘pressure point technique’ in July 2002, as reported to the CIA’s Office of Inspector
General (OIG). With both his hands on the prisoner’s neck, the officer repeatedly ‘manipulated
his fingers to restrict the detainee’s carotid artery’, and then ‘watched his eyes to the point that
the detainee would pass out; then [redacted] shook the detainee to wake him.’82
THE DARK PRISON OPENS
The ‘specialised CIA detention facility’ in Afghanistan, authorised in June 2002, officially opened
in August 2002,83 although it did not receive its first prisoners until xx September.84 By this point,
the site manager described it as ‘not complete [but] functional.’85 Prisoners who passed through
it have commonly referred to it as the ‘Dark Prison’, while the Committee Study gave it the pseudonym DETENTION SITE COBALT. It has also been referred to as the ‘Salt Pit’ in some reports,
although prior confusion has meant that that name has also been applied to ‘Rissat 2’, an Afghanrun facility in Kabul which held detainees on behalf of the CIA throughout 2002-2004.86 The Dark
Prison was also seemingly in or near Kabul, not far from the airport. All the rendition operations
we have identified as transferring prisoners to and from the site landed in Kabul, and the prisoners themselves often speak of a 15-20 minute journey by road after landing.87 Some CIA staff
105
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site where he was held in solitary confinement for over five months. This appears to have been
working there in 2002 were referring to it as Afghan facility,88 and reports suggest that it was
housed within the grounds of an Afghan intelligence base.89
The prison consisted of 20 cells, described as ‘stand-alone concrete boxes’ with a metal ring
attached low to the wall to which prisoners were shackled. Four of the cells were designed specifically for sleep deprivation, with bars high up between two walls to which prisoners could be
secured. Although cells had windows, these were blacked out with two coats of black paint and
heavy curtains. Each cell had speakers.90 Overall, the prison had been established ‘with isolation
of the detainee being the primary goal. Each detainee’s interaction with the outside world was
intended to be limited to brief contact with the guards and more extensive contact with his CIA
interrogators. This allows CIA personnel to control almost all aspects of the detainees’ existence.’91
According to the prison’s site manager, this control was exercised through maximising the
isolation and disorientation of prisoners, which was achieved through both continual darkness, ‘so
the detainees would not know the passage of time’, and continual loud music, ‘to prevent communications among the prisoners so they are given the sense that they exist in isolation.’92 These
conditions were extreme, and ‘WOW-ed’ a delegation from the Federal Bureau of Prisons who
arrived in November 2002 to assess practices, provide training and make recommendations. Reports
from the delegation make clear that they had ‘never been in a facility where individuals are so
sensory deprived, i.e., constant white noise, no talking, everyone in the dark, with the guards wearing a light on their head when they collected and escorted a detainee to an interrogation cell,
detainees constantly being shackled to the wall or floor, and the starkness of each cell (concrete
and bars).’ There is, the delegation reported, ‘nothing like this in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.’93
Prisoners were initially shackled with one hand to the wall in a seated position; sometimes
after the passage of some weeks (‘if the prisoner is older, or otherwise non-threatening’) this
might be reassessed.94 Prisoners were fed just once a day.95 They were held naked or clothed in
diapers.96 There was no drainage in the cells, and there were ‘buckets for human waste’.97 Presumably
as a result of the lack of sanitary provision, guards at the site complained of smells; the CIA’s
solution was to provide them with surgical masks.98 Officials from the CIA Renditions Group,
visiting the site in December 2002, concluded that the facility’s ‘“baseline conditions” involved
so much deprivation that any further deprivation would have limited impact on the interrogations.’99
Instead, guards provided comforts as incentive to cooperate, such as lights, blankets, or a mat
to sleep on.100 The site also had a cell referred to as the ‘luxury suite’, containing a rocking chair
and ‘foamies’ for prisoners’ ears to block out the noise.101
Temperature at the site was a contentious issue.102 ‘In warm weather, keeping prisoners up
(i.e., awake) was general SOP [Standard Operating Procedure],’103 the site manager noted, but
‘now [i.e. December 2002] nothing can be taken away, on account of the temperature. There are
a variety of things that have been modified as a result of the temperature... For example, we do
not chain the detainees by both hands because they could not pull their clothes over their bodies. For the same reason, there is no standing up at night. These softening conditions are getting
in the way, and we need to be concerned about them. There is no central heating. There are now
about 15 heaters in the cell area, spaced out... There is no insulation.’104
106
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Regarding medical care, the site manager noted that ‘the doc tries to get out to the facility
at least every two weeks, and as needed.’105 Guidelines stated that prisoners with ‘significant
health problems’ should not be rendered to the site.106 In November 2002, however, it was reported
that ‘approximately a fourth of the prisoners have one or more significant pre-existing medical
problems upon arrival.’107
rogated and guards congregated.’108 This consisted of three interrogation rooms, a staff room,
a guardroom and a ‘conditioning room’, which was used for water dousing and which had a
waterboard.109 This layout has been independently confirmed by several prisoners who were
APPENDIX 1
In addition to the concrete cells, the site had a second ‘section’ where ‘prisoners were inter-
held there. Mohammed Al-Shoroeiya, for example, has described the facility as comprising several
he was interrogated. Another set of rooms were freezing cold and were used to submerge the
prisoners in icy water while lying on plastic sheeting on the ground. A third set of rooms he called
the “torture rooms,” where they used specific instruments. One of these instruments was a wood
plank that they used to abuse him with water.’110
The Dark Prison soon became the heart of the CIA’s black site network. It functioned as ‘a
detention, debriefing and interrogation facility for high and medium value detainees,’111 a holding
facility for assessing the potential ‘value’ of prisoners before deciding their final disposition, and
as a transit point for detainees going to Thailand, Poland and Romania.112 Its 20 cells were at full
capacity by mid-October 2002, as the programme’s pace increased. The site held almost everyone taken into CIA custody by that time, with the exception of Abu Zubaydah (still in Thailand)
and Hassan bin Attash (#10), who had been held at the Dark Prison for 2-3 days in mid-September
2002 then rendered to proxy detention in Jordan (Circuit 9).
DETAINEES IN THE DARK PRISON, OCTOBER 2002
Zakariya (#2)
Jamal Boudraa (#3)
Abbar al-Hawari (#4)
Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5)
Ridha al-Najjar (#6)
Ayub Marshid Salih (#7)
Bashir al-Marwalah (#8)
Ha’il al-Mithali (#9)
Musab al-Mudwani (#11)
Said Saleh Said (#12)
Shawqi Awad (#13)
Umar Faruq (#14)
Abd al-Salam al-Hilah (#15)
Asat Sar Jan (#16)
Zakaria Zeineddin (#17)
Rafiq al-Hami (#18)
Tawfiq al-Bihani (#19)
Lutfi al-Gharisi (#20)
Hikmat Shaukat (#21)
Yaqub al-Baluchi (#22)
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different types of rooms used for interrogation and torture: ‘One was a group of rooms where
Throughout its period of operation, the Dark Prison held more than half of all CIA prisoners. Internal
records document 64 prisoners at the site,113 although the Committee Study’s scathing assessment
of the site’s management suggests this is just a lower-end estimate: ‘The CIA maintained such
poor records of its detainees in [Afghanistan] during this period that the CIA remains unable to
determine the number and identity of the individuals it detained. The full details of the CIA interrogations there remain largely unknown, as DETENTION SITE COBALT was later found to have not
reported multiple uses of sleep deprivation, required standing, loud music, sensory deprivation,
extended isolation, reduced quantity and quality of food, nudity, and “rough treatment”.’114
Some prisoners, such as Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, and Khaled
Sheikh Mohammed (#45), were held there for just the first few days of their time in CIA custody,
before being rendered to sites outside of Afghanistan. Even in such cases, detainees report
being tortured at the site. Al-Nashiri says his wrists were tied to a bar in the ceiling, and he was
kept naked in a painful position with his feet just touching the floor.115 Mohammed was subjected
to sustained torture during his time at the site, including facial and abdominal slaps, the facial
grab, stress positions, standing sleep deprivation (with his hands at or above head level), nudity,
water dousing and rectal rehydration.116
Others were held at the Dark Prison for months on end, and there are extensive, multiple
prisoner accounts which confirm the conditions of confinement and torture to which they were
subjected. For the first few months, there were no interrogation guidelines provided to staff at
the site. Officers were ‘left to their own devices in working with detainees’, and developed their
own ‘standard operating procedures’ – including ‘the use of darkness, sleep deprivation, solitary
confinement, and noise… [as well as] standing sleep deprivation, nakedness and cold showers.’
Much of this was based on the ‘model’ provided by Headquarters in July 2002, in relation to the
treatment of al-Najjar in the Afghan-run site.117 Techniques were also developed haphazardly in
response to the facts on the ground. The decision to use darkness, for example, ‘was arrived at
simply (as an almost necessary expedient), since there was only one light switch for all lights in
the cell areas…. Faced with the choice to keep them on all the time or off all the time, [the site
manager] chose the latter.’118
From the outset, I was held in complete darkness and isolation and kept in leg
shackles twenty-four hours a day. I was given very little water and fed only once
every one or two days. My toilet was a very small bucket, which was difficult to use,
especially in the continuous darkness. Despite the extreme cold, I was not provided
with adequate clothing or blankets. Strange music and loud man-made sounds
were played around the clock, which – in addition to the constant screams of the
other prisoners around me – made sleeping extremely difficult and very disturbed.
When I did manage to fall asleep I often had nightmares.119
Bisher al-Rawi (#35)
The procedures in situ at the Dark Prison were further developed during November 2002, as the
result of both the Bureau of Prisons visit and the fact that Bruce Jessen travelled to the site to
108
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
lead on interrogations under torture.120 This included the torture of Gul Rahman (#24), who died
in custody on 20 November 2002 after being subjected to several days of sleep deprivation,
water dousing and so-called ‘hard takedowns’. Eventually, Rahman had his hands and feet shackled together with a short chain, and was then shackled to the ring on the floor of his cell. As the
OIG found, the position ‘forced Rahman, who was naked below the waist, to sit on a cold concrete
Overall, 38 prisoners entered the CIA programme in 2002. They included Abu Zubaydah and
al-Nashiri (both held in Thailand); the three captured in Georgia, who had been held in Afghan
proxy facilities since the summer of 2002; a group of seven captured in Pakistan who came under
APPENDIX 1
floor and prevented him from standing up’. He was found dead the next morning.121
CIA control on 14-15 September; and Jamil el-Banna (#36) and Bisher al-Rawi (#35), captured
during the same period, the majority of whom were transferred to Bagram.
FROM THAILAND TO POLAND
Throughout 2002, as the scale of detention operations in Afghanistan ratcheted up, the ongoing
utility of the black site in Thailand was becoming increasingly uncertain. Over the course of the
year, local officials responsible for supporting the site were replaced by ‘different officials whom
the CIA believed were not supportive’. Calls for the site to be closed gathered pace, and it survived only as a result of ‘continued lobbying’ by the CIA’s Station Chief.122 However, word of the
prison had already leaked out. By April, numerous local officials, as well as an unidentified media
organisation, knew of Abu Zubaydah’s presence in the country. By November, The New York
Times was aware. Pressured by the CIA, neither outlet published the story, but the media’s
knowledge resulted in the decision to close the facility.123
On 4 December, Abu Zubaydah and al-Nashiri were flown to a new site, in northern Poland
(Circuit 15). Both Mitchell and Jessen accompanied them, in order to ‘ensure continuity to the
interrogation/debriefing process.’124 From this point until March 2006, the black site programme
was bifurcated. Prisoners of perceived ‘high value’ were moved between a group of smaller sites
in Poland, Romania, Guantánamo Bay, Lithuania and Morocco (this last an overflow site maintained by the Moroccan government, not run by the CIA). Others were kept in Afghanistan, initially
in the Dark Prison and a number of Afghan-run or informal facilities, and latterly in two modern
facilities (referred to by the Committee Study as DETENTION SITE ORANGE and DETENTION
SITE BROWN).
The Polish site consisted of two buildings within a military intelligence training base, located
in the woods outside the village of Stare Kiejkuty in the lakes region of north-eastern Poland. It
has been reported that the CIA paid at least $300,000 for improvements at the site, including
the installation of security cameras and the conversion of the two buildings. One of these was
a two-storey villa, the other a shed. Both were used to detain prisoners, and there was also a
gym for detainees to use a treadmill or exercise bike if they proved cooperative.125 Polish officials
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in The Gambia after a tip-off from British intelligence. Between 14-16 prisoners left the programme
provided perimeter security for the site, as well as operational security during prisoner transfers
to and from the airport at Szymany (13 miles from the site). They could visit the staff canteen,
although they had no access to the prisoners.126
The facility was initially intended to hold a maximum of two high-value detainees, but a lack
of detention facilities elsewhere led to the construction of five cells. Three of these were purposebuilt ‘holding units’, and it may be that the other two were cages supplied by a local contractor.127
By April 2003 these cells were full,128 and overall a total of eight prisoners were held in the site
at various points.129
DETAINEES HELD IN POLAND (FROM/TO)
Abu Zubaydah (#1)
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41)
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45)
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47)
Walid bin Attash (#56)
Ammar al-Baluchi (#55)
Samr al-Barq (#67)
December 2002
September 2003
(Circuit 15)
(Circuit 31)
December 2002
June 2003
(Circuit 15)
(Circuit 23)
February 2003
June 2003
(Circuit 17)
(Circuit 23)
March 2003
September 2003
(Circuit 19)
(Circuit 31)
March 2003
September 2003
(Circuit 20)
(Circuit 31)
June 2003
September 2003
(Circuit 23)
(Circuit 31)
July 2003
September 2003
(Circuit 27)
(Circuit 31)
July 2003
September 2003
(Circuit 27)
(Circuit 31)
Not all eight prisoners were held at the site at the same time, as al-Nashiri and bin al-Shibh were
rendered to Morocco on the same day as bin Attash was brought from Afghanistan (Circuit 23).
Nevertheless, officers were concerned that it had become overcrowded.130 There were also
110
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
ongoing tensions with the Polish authorities, who were clearly aware of the activities taking place
on Polish soil. Local officials proposed a written Memorandum of Understanding with the CIA,
delineating relative roles and responsibilities, which the CIA refused to sign. In turn, the Polish
authorities refused to approve the transfer of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed to the site in March, a
decision that was only overturned after diplomatic intervention by the US ambassador. Ultimately,
relations, and the political leadership in the country from that point ‘was now flexible with regard
to the number of CIA detainees at the facility and when the facility would eventually be closed.’131
The Polish site was run by a Chief of Base who ‘oversaw interrogations and debriefings,
APPENDIX 1
a multi-million dollar payment by the CIA to its Polish counterparts appears to have smoothed
released cables and reports, and communicated daily with the local Station and Headquarters.’132
for monitoring detainees and the site perimeter, maintaining detainee records, and preparing
three meals daily for the detainees ‘which generally consisted of beans, rice, cheese sandwiches,
vitamins, fruit, water, and Ensure nutritional supplement’.134 One CIA review of its black sites,
conducted in early 2003, concluded that prisoners in Poland ‘received bi-weekly medical evaluations, brushed their teeth once a day, washed their hands prior to each meal, and could bathe
once a week. Amenities such as solid food, clothing (sweatshirts, sweatpants, and slippers),
reading materials, prayer rugs, and Korans were available depending on the detainee’s degree
of cooperation with interrogators.’135
Although the conditions of confinement appear to have been a slight improvement on the
dungeon-like conditions in Afghanistan, torture at the site was routine. The Chief of Base participated in the torture of al-Nashiri during December 2002 and January 2003, alongside an
untrained and unqualified interrogator referred to in the Committee Study as CIA OFFICER 2
(about whom there were significant concerns, given his temper and ‘security issues’).136 Al-Nashiri
was subjected to sustained torture during four discrete periods in December and January,137
which involved being placed in a standing stress position for days, followed by a mock execution
with a hand gun and the use of a cordless power drill. According to the OIG investigation into
these incidents, as the officer racked the handgun and pointed the barrel at al-Nashiri’s temple,
al-Nashiri began to cry. Later, when the power drill was revved, ‘al-Nashiri stood naked and
hooded; he flinched and shook, but did not cry.’138 He was placed in stress positions so extreme
that a medical officer had to intervene due to concerns that his shoulders would dislocate.139
Later interrogation plans for al-Nashiri, drafted by Bruce Jessen, prompted concerns to be
expressed at Headquarters. One cable, drafted by the CIA’s chief of interrogations to the Polish
site, made clear that ‘we have serious reservations with the continued used of enhanced techniques with Nashiri (subject) and its long term impact on him. Subject has been held for three
months in very difficult conditions, both physically and mentally…. Continued enhanced methods
may push subject over the edge psychologically.’140 On the same day, the CIA’s chief of interrogations announced his early retirement, given his severe concerns over the torture programme:
‘This morning I informed the front office of CTC that I will no longer be associated in any way
with the interrogation program due to serious reservation I have about the current state of affairs.
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There were half a dozen or so security personnel at the facility,133 and these were responsible
Instead, I will be retiring shortly. This is a train wreak (sic) waiting to happen and I intend to get
the hell off the train before it happens.’141
The death of Gul Rahman in the Dark Prison in November 2002, and the use of unauthorised
techniques against al-Nashiri in Poland, prompted the CIA Director to issue the first set of highlevel guidelines for interrogations and conditions of confinement in the black sites. These made
a clear distinction between ‘standard techniques’ – which included the use of isolation, white
noise or loud music, reduced calorific intake, and sleep deprivation and the use of diapers for
up to 72 hours – and ‘enhanced techniques’, most (but not all) of which had been approved by
the DoJ. However, in making such a clear distinction between the two sets of techniques, and
mandating greater oversight of the use of ‘enhanced techniques’, the guidelines in fact protected
the considerable autonomy which had developed at each black site. Interrogators were able to
employ ‘standard techniques’ without prior authorisation, as this was only required ‘when feasible’. Sleep deprivation was now defined as a standard technique, as long as detainees were
permitted a small amount of sleep every three days. Medical and psychological staff did not
need to be present, as long as they were ‘readily available for consultation and travel to the
interrogation site.’142
The guidelines do not appear to have had significant effect on practice at the Polish site,
where detainees continued to be subjected to sustained torture throughout 2003. Walid bin
Attash (#56) was hung, naked, from a ring in the ceiling of his cell for a month after his arrival in
June 2003, needing to defecate into an unchanged diaper. He was subjected to water dousing,
threats of sexual assault (rectal rehydration), and 110 hours of sleep deprivation.143 Likewise,
Ramzi bin al-Shibh was subjected to ‘sleep deprivation, nudity, dietary manipulation, facial holds,
attention grasps, abdominal slaps, facial slaps and walling.’ His torture began immediately upon
arrival at the Polish site, alongside ‘sensory dislocation’ which included ‘shaving [his] head and
face, exposing him to loud noise in a white room with white lights, keeping him unclothed and
subjected to uncomfortably cool temperatures, and shackling him hand and foot with arms outstretched over his head.’144
CIA records also document the extreme treatment of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who was
rendered to Poland on 7 March 2003 (Circuit 19). He was tortured immediately upon his arrival,
and ultimately subjected to 15 separate waterboarding sessions throughout March, with at least
183 applications of water. As a result, Mohammed ingested so much water that his ‘abdomen
was somewhat distended and he expressed water when the abdomen was pressed.’ One medical officer present suggested that ‘we are basically doing a series of near drownings.’145
I was kept for one month in the cell in a standing position with my hands cuffed and
shackled above my head and my feet cuffed and shackled to a point in the floor. Of
course during this month I fell asleep on some occasions while still being held in
this position. This resulted in all my weight being applied to the handcuffs around
my wrists resulting in open and bleeding wounds….
For the interrogation I was taken to a separate room…. If I was perceived not to be
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Email from Chief of Interrogations, January 2003, outlining early
retirement plans
cooperating I would be put against a wall and punched and slapped in the body,
head and face. A thick flexible collar would also be placed around my neck so that it
could then be held at the two ends by a guard who would use it to slam me
repeatedly against the wall. The beatings were combined with the use of cold
water, which was poured over me using a hosepipe.146
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed
THE RESHUFFLE
The Poland facility was closed in September 2003, as had been agreed with the Polish authorities.147 This provided the occasion for a major reshuffle of the CIA’s perceived high-value detainees,
which appears to have taken place on board one rendition aircraft: between 20-25 September
2003, N313P completed a global circuit which included stopovers in Afghanistan, Poland, Romania,
Morocco and Guantánamo Bay. One CIA official, speaking off the record, labelled this circuit as
a ‘five-card straight revealing the program to outsiders: five stops, five secret facilities, all documented’ (Circuit 31).148
The Romanian black site had been negotiated with the Romanian government during 2002
and 2003. By January 2003 the local CIA station had been asked to consider ways to demonstrate
to the Romanian government ‘that we deeply appreciate the cooperation and support’ for the
black site,149 and in April 2003 the station provided an ‘$8 million “wish list”.’150 By May 2003
Headquarters had provided significantly more funds than suggested, and by the fall of 2003 the
site had received its first five prisoners.151 We have established that these were five of the six
men held in Poland at its point of closure: Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47),
Walid bin Attash, Samr al-Barq (#67) and Ammar al-Baluchi (#55).
The sixth prisoner in Poland, Abu Zubaydah, stayed on the aircraft as it continued to
Morocco, and then onto the two new black sites which were opening at the US Naval Station
at Guantánamo Bay.
GUANTÁNAMO BAY
While the Romanian site was to remain a central hub for high-value prisoners until November
2005 (see below), the Guantánamo sites were less successful. Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim
al-Nashiri arrived there in September 2003 (Circuit 31), and were joined by Mustafa al-Hawsawi
(#46) and Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42) in November 2003 (Circuit 33). A fifth prisoner, Ramzi bin
al-Shibh (#41), was rendered to the island in December 2003 (Circuit 34).152
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
DETAINEES HELD IN GUANTÁNAMO BAY (FROM/TO)
Abu Zubaydah (#1)
Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46)
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41)
(Circuit 31)
(Circuit 42 or Circuit 43)
September 2003
April 2004
(Circuit 31)
(Circuit 42)
November 2003
April 2004
(Circuit 33)
(Circuit 42 or Circuit 43)
November 2003
April 2004
(Circuit 33)
(Circuit 42 or Circuit 43)
December 2003
April 2004
(Circuit 34)
(Circuit 42 or Circuit 43)
CHAPTER 2
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42)
April 2004
APPENDIX 1
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
September 2003
Little is known about the sites themselves or their relationship to one another, although it has
been reported that they comprised a new facility, entirely separate from the DoD prison on the
base.153 These five prisoners were held here until spring 2004. CIA lawyers became increasingly
worried about the possible consequences of the upcoming ruling of the US Supreme Court in
the case of Rasul v. Bush, which looked likely to grant habeas corpus rights to DoD prisoners at
Guantánamo. The concern was that this ruling might apply to the CIA’s own prisoners as well,
making them both visible and eligible for legal representation if they remained on the base.154
Ultimately, the DoJ recommended that the CIA move four of the prisoners off the island pending
the Supreme Court judgement (Ibn Sheikh al-Libi had earlier been held under DoD authority and
declared to the ICRC, and so was thought able to remain at Guantánamo Bay).155 In the event,
the CIA transferred all five prisoners out of the Guantánamo facilities to Romania and Morocco,
with two rendition operations on 12 and 13 April 2004. The first was on board the aircraft N85VM,
which flew to Romania and then Morocco (Circuit 42). The second was on board the aircraft
N368CE, flying direct to Morocco (Circuit 43).
AFGHANISTAN FROM 2003
As high-value prisoners were flown out of Afghanistan into Poland, and onwards to Romania and
Guantánamo, the general prison population in Afghanistan continued to expand. Some were
flown in from far afield. After a lengthy period in Egyptian custody (during which he fabricated
information linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda that proved critical in the Bush administration’s
115
Email from Scott Muller, CIA General Counsel, concerning secret prisoners at
’
GuantanAmo
Bay
public relations push around the Iraq war) Ibn Sheikh al-Libi was brought into Afghanistan in
February 2003 (Circuit 17). Tanzanian national Suleiman Abdullah (#48) was flown in from Djibouti
in March (Circuit 21). Several men captured in Pakistan were also transferred into Afghanistan,
including Libyan anti-Gaddafi fighters Khaled al-Sharif (#51) and Mohammed al-Shoroeiya (#52),
Asadallah (#43) (the son of the imprisoned Egyptian ‘blind sheikh’ Omar Abd al-Rahman), and
Although the DDO had, in December 2001, issued blanket approval to the field for capture
and detention operations,156 it appears that by April 2003 there was some nervousness about
the resultant scope of the programme. A further guidance note was issued to the field, clarifying
APPENDIX 1
Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
that the requisite standards for capture and detention under the MoN meant that ‘there must
propose to capture and/or detain pose a “continuing serious threat” of violence or death to US
persons or interests or that the person is planning a terrorist activity.’ In practice, this meant that
‘we [must] possess reliable intelligence that identifies the reasons we conclude that the person
poses the requisite threat.’ Although the guidance acknowledged that the capture and detention
authorities under the MoN were ‘unprecedented’, it took the time to make clear that, ‘even so,
the authority is not without limits. For example, we are not permitted to detain someone merely
upon a suspicion that he or she has valuable information about terrorists or planned acts of terrorism… Similarly, the mere membership in a particular group, or the mere existence of a particular
familial tie, does not necessarily connote that the threshold of “continuing, serious threat” has
been satisfied.’157
These concerns were valid. The majority of detainees were held in Afghanistan, yet CIA
officers in the field conducted no written assessment of whether or not each of these men met
the criteria laid down in the MoN. Indeed, contemporaneous recordkeeping in the country was
so poor that the CIA has never been able to provide a full picture of who it detained there.158
Nonetheless, we have identified that the numbers detained in the programme increased throughout 2003, topping 40 in August 2003 and staying at or above this level until May 2004. The high
point in prisoner population at the black sites came in October 2003, when 55-57 men were
being held. During this period, a handful of prisoners were held in sites outside of Afghanistan,
but probably no more than ten at any one time. By May 2003 there were six held outside Afghanistan
(five in Poland, one in Jordan), and by October 2003 this number had risen to nine (five in Romania,
one Morocco, two in Guantánamo Bay, one in Jordan). By February 2004 there were ten held
outside Afghanistan (five in Romania and five in Guantánamo Bay), and these numbers stayed
level throughout the spring of 2004.
Although conditions improved a little after the death of Gul Rahman in November 2002, the
Dark Prison continued to exist as little more than a dungeon, with unauthorised torture of prisoners routine throughout 2003. Detainees at the site were subjected to water dousing, where
they were ‘held down, naked, on a tarp on the floor, with the tarp pulled up around them to form
a makeshift tub, while cold or refrigerated water was poured on them.’159 Others were subjected
to ‘group torture’, and to ‘rectal rehydration’ without evidence of medical necessity, whereby
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be an articulable basis on which to conclude that the actions of a specific person whom we
large tubes were used to pump pureed food through the anus. In the case of Mustafa al-Hawsawi,
the ‘rectal exams’ were conducted with such force that they left him with ‘chronic haemorrhoids,
an anal fissure and symptomatic rectal prolapse.’160 Sanad al-Kazimi (#74), meanwhile, reported
being ‘subjected to severe physical and psychological torture’ during 2003 and 2004, including
by being ‘suspended with his arms above his head for extended periods of time and beaten with
electric cables.’161
Waterboarding was clearly used at the site, despite CIA denials that this took place in
Afghanistan. The Committee Study makes reference to a photo from the site which shows ‘the
waterboard device… surrounded by buckets, with a bottle of unknown pink solution (filled two
thirds of the way to the top) and a watering can resting on the wooden beams of the waterboard.’162
Multiple prisoner testimony also suggests the use of the waterboard at the site. For example,
Mohammed al-Shoroeiya told Human Rights Watch that he was repeatedly strapped to a board
made of wood that could spin him around while he was wearing a hood that covered his nose
and mouth. They would then pour buckets of extremely cold water over his nose and mouth to
the point that he felt that he was going to suffocate: ‘They wouldn’t stop until they got some
kind of answer from me.’163 Likewise, Mustafa al-Hawsawi has testified that he was strapped to
the board, which was ‘a rotating table made of wood with a bed of shiny metal.’ According to
his account, ‘his head was tilted in the down position’ and ‘several bottles of water were poured
on his chest so that the water ran into his face and nose and he thought he was drowning. He
said he was put on the table many times during that interrogation period, with multiple bottles
of water each time.’164 The OIG investigated these allegations, interviewing a number of CIA
officials who were present at the site. Although some upheld official denials that the waterboard
was ever used, and claimed that it was ‘located in the back of the conditioning room collecting
dust and used by the analysts to sit on or lean on during water dousing,’ one official did admit
to its use on either al-Hawsawi or Khaled Sheikh Mohammed during March 2003, and claimed
that ‘several personnel witnessed this usage.’165
From at least May 2003 onwards, the prison population in Afghanistan exceeded the capacity of the Dark Prison, with around 30-50 held in the country at any one time from June 2003
– May 2004. Although poor record-keeping makes it hard to be certain, it appears that the population of the Dark Prison never exceeded capacity,166 suggesting that 10-30 men were held at
other sites in the country during this time.
The Committee Study has only acknowledged the existence of one other CIA-run black site
in Afghanistan before April 2004: DETENTION SITE GRAY, which held eight prisoners between
January and December 2003.167 Very little is known about this facility. Another solution to the
overcrowding problem was to use Afghan facilities for prisoners deemed not sufficiently important for the Agency’s own sites. In these cases there was no independent reason for Afghan
forces to detain these individuals, who were held solely at the behest of the CIA.168 At least four
prisoners were farmed out to Afghan sites in this way, including Hamid Aich (#49) and Mohamed
Dinshah (#59). As the Dark Prison’s manager wrote: ‘They [Afghan officials] also happen to have
3 or 4 rooms where they can lock up people discretely (sic). I give them a few hundred bucks a
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
month and they use the rooms for whoever I bring over – no questions asked. It is very useful
for housing guys that shouldn’t be in [the Dark Prison] for one reason or another but still need
to be kept isolated and held in secret detention.’169
At least two of the CIA’s prisoners, Laid Saidi (#57) and Majid Khan (#58), were held at a
‘safehouse’ in Afghanistan during May 2003, where they were subjected to ‘ice baths’.170 Declassified
was a form of waterboarding: ‘Shackled and hooded, they placed Khan feet-first into the freezing
water and ice. They lowered his entire body into the water and held him down, face-up in the
water. An interrogator forced Khan’s head under the water until he thought he would drown. The
APPENDIX 1
notes from Khan’s lawyer in Guantánamo Bay, made public in June 2015, make clear that this
interrogator would pull Khan’s head out of the water to demand answers to questions, and then
onto Khan’s mouth and nose when his head was not submerged.’171
In Saidi’s case, detention at this site appears to have been for a relatively short period of
time (around five days).172 Likewise, Hassan Ghul (#98), although only in Afghanistan for two
days in January 2004, was moved from the Dark Prison to a ‘[redacted] facility for portions of
his interrogations’.173 However, throughout 2003 and 2004 prisoners also continued to be held
for more extended periods of time in the Afghan facility known by some as ‘Rissat 2’. It appears
that Majid Khan was here from May 2003, and Laid Saidi from early June 2003. Abdul Rabbani
(#23) and Ahmed Rabbani (#25) were also moved from the Dark Prison to this facility at about
this time. All four men were held at the site for around a year (although Khan also spent some
of this time in the Dark Prison). They were joined in January 2004 by Khaled el-Masri (#97), who
had been rendered from Macedonia and who was held at the site until May 2004.
The prisoners describe the site as having Afghan guards, although the CIA clearly had full
access to, and control of, the prisoners. There were two rows of six underground cells, each with
a small opening in the door.174 El-Masri has said that prisoners at the site ‘slept on the floor, wore
diapers and were given tainted water that made them vomit’.175
Here another era of torture, humiliation and abuse began. The place is underground;
a room in the basement that does not see the sun, foul smells and breathing air is
below normal. It is an old room like animals’ bin, the walls are cracked and dirty, the
food is inhumane, and the treatment is cruel with beating, nudity, and threats by the
Afghanis once when the Americans are absent and once by the Americans…. [T]his
place is not better than the graveyard of the living (the darkness prison). I do not
want to go in length describing it and the torture we received in it; yet, it is enough
for you to know that we were under two managements; American and Afghani and
each one practiced whatever they chose from the types of torture. It is enough to
tell you that all the prisoners and I had a hunger strike nine times or more
demanding the Americans to take us back to the darkness prison because it was
easier and better than this prison…176
Ahmed Rabbani (#25)
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force his head back under the water, repeatedly. Water and ice were also poured from a bucket
Despite the death of Gul Rahman and the investigation that resulted from it, CIA Headquarters
remained ill-informed about events in Afghanistan. In autumn 2003, personnel in Afghanistan
provided a list of 44 detainees held there at that point, prompting Headquarters to observe that
they had not previously been aware of all these names. The Afghanistan station then carried out
‘an exhaustive search of all available records in an attempt to develop a clearer understanding
of the [CIA] detainees’.177 The search resulted in an ‘unsettling discovery’ that: ‘We are holding
a number of detainees about whom we know very little. The majority of [CIA] detainees in
[Afghanistan] have not been debriefed for months and, in some cases, for over a year. Many of
them appear to us to have no further intelligence value for [the CIA] and should more properly
be turned over to the [US military], to [Afghan] authorities or to third countries for further investigation and possibly prosecution. In a few cases, there does not appear to be enough evidence
to continue incarceration, and, if this is in fact the case, the detainees should be released.’178
This ‘unsettling discovery’ was followed by another blow: in January 2004 the International
Committee of the Red Cross informed US authorities of their discovery that CIA prisoners in
Afghanistan were being held ‘incommunicado for extensive periods of time, subjected to unacceptable conditions of internment, to ill treatment and torture, while deprived of any possible
recourse.’ The letter, which included a ‘fairly complete list’ of CIA prisoners, ‘prompted CIA
Headquarters to conclude that it was necessary to reduce the number of detainees in CIA custody’.179
As a result, the CIA released eight detainees between January-August 2004, and transferred
another seven to foreign custody around the same time. In May 2004, 18 prisoners were transferred to US military custody in Bagram.180 According to one of the men, Binyam Mohamed, ‘we
were transferred to Bagram Air Base by helicopter, tied like hens going for slaughter.’181 Eight of
these prisoners were sent onwards to Guantánamo Bay in September 2004, while ten remained
at Bagram.
It was also at this time that the CIA closed down the Dark Prison and moved its remaining
occupants to a new site in Afghanistan, which the Committee Study refers to as DETENTION
SITE ORANGE. This facility was billed as a ‘quantum leap forward’ in relation to the Dark Prison,
given its ‘heating/air conditioning, conventional plumbing, appropriate lighting, shower, and
laundry facilities.’ Nevertheless, it remained the case that ‘detainees undergoing interrogation
were kept in smaller cells, with waste buckets rather than toilet facilities.’182 An OIG audit of the
CIA’s black sites between July 2005 and February 2006, which included DETENTION SITE ORANGE,
found that prisoners were ‘held in solitary confinement in climate-controlled, lighted, aboveground, window-less cells... that are equipped with a mattress, a sink and toilet.’183 The facility
had an exercise room, and detainees were provided access to books, movies, and games.184
This new site opened in April 2004, and the first prisoners arrived in an en-masse transfer
from the Dark Prison on 24 April 2004. At least nine men were moved at this point. They were
medically examined, subjected to the standard rendition procedure, then moved in several vehicles to a large plane with benches along each side. The flight lasted for several hours, although
it seems likely that the plane was circling to disorientate the prisoners. The men were then
transferred to helicopters and flown to another location, then driven to the facility.185 They were
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
held in the new black site for anywhere from four months to nearly two-and-a-half years, and
were later joined by others (either transferred from other facilities, or newly-captured).
DETAINEES HELD AT DETENTION SITE ORANGE, APRIL 2004 – SEPTEMBER 2006
APPENDIX 1
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47)
Sayed Habib (#50)
Khalid al-Sharif (#51)
Mohammed al-Shoroeiya (52)
Laid Saidi (#57)
Majid Khan (#58)
Salah Qaru (#75)
Mohamed Bashmilah (#89)
Majid al-Maghrebi (#91)
Mohammed al-Asad (#92)
Saleh Di’iki (#94)
Khaled al-Maqtari (#96)
Abd al-Bari al-Filistini (#106)
Mustafa al-Mehdi (#107)
Marwan al-Jabour (#108)
Qattal al-Uzbeki (#109)
Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114)
CHAPTER 2
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41)
Although in some ways the site was an improvement on the Dark Prison, DETENTION SITE
ORANGE remained the location of severe mistreatment for those held there. Mohammed alShoroeiya and Khalid al-Sharif say they were chained to the wall of their cells throughout, and
that there was constant noise at the facility, including loud music and sounds played through
speakers in the cells.186 Some of the sounds, such as that of an electric shock, were used to wake
the detainees up.187 Khaled al-Maqtari has said that the temperature was controlled, through
heating and air conditioning, but that these were used as reward and punishment rather than
to keep the cells at a comfortable temperature.188
By this time, some of the detainees who had been held for extended periods of time had
begun to display evidence of profound psychological trauma. Acts of self-harm became more
common, including slashing wrists, banging heads against the wall, and refusing food. The response
from prison staff was brutal. Mohamed Bashmilah reports that: ‘The guards untied my hands and
sat me in a chair and strapped my arms to the arms of the chair. They then used a chain to connect the shackles on my feet to a metal ring in the floor. I saw blue cans on the table that contained
what looked like pink coloured liquid. There were also tubes like those used for IVs and a metal
IV pole. After I was strapped to the chair and chained to the floor they shoved a tube up into my
nose and I began screaming because of the pain. I resisted because I was beginning to choke
and the guards held my head back. In this way they forced the tube all the way into my stomach.’189
So anyway, my worst day in [DETENTION SITE ORANGE] was December 31, 04.
They had to send some kind of report that day… First they put so much food in me,
through my rectum, that I didn’t have any option but to dump it out… They nose fed
121
me, but this time I threw up by putting my finger in my throat. So now that was the
big problem for them. So now they decided to feed me again, but this time they put
me on one chair, hands cuffed behind, and taped me and my whole body with duct
tape… then they overdosed me forcefully by injection. So I passed out until they sent
reports but since then I was in so much pain, I get up in pain and go back to sleep,
then get up, then back to sleep. So I broke my strike the next day, but still they kept
me in the cold, freezing cell for another week or so to teach me a lesson.190
Majid Khan (#58)
After its rapid growth in 2003, and the upheavals which followed this – the swift exit from the
undisclosed Guantánamo sites, the wholesale transfer from the Dark Prison to DETENTION SITE
ORANGE and the shedding of prisoners prompted by the ICRC’s intervention – the programme’s
volume levelled off. In late June 2004 there were 34 prisoners spread between Afghanistan,
Romania and the re-established temporary holding unit in Morocco. This number had dropped to
29 by the end of December. After the switch from the Dark Prison only eight prisoners entered
the programme in the rest of 2004.191 Most of these are known to have been captured in Pakistan.
The following year, only four prisoners entered the programme, two of whom were probably held
in Afghanistan.192
MOROCCO
Morocco played a key role in the secret detention and torture of CIA detainees from mid-2002
until February 2005. At least six prisoners – Abou Elkassim Britel, Binyam Mohamed, Pacha Wazir
(#38), Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Saleh Di’iki (#94) and Mustafa al-Madaghi – were rendered by the CIA
to Morocco and held in Moroccan custody. The CIA was granted access to all these prisoners,
and participated in their interrogation (often under torture), although it is clear that Morocco
retained ultimate authority over these men.193 Some of these prisoners were later rendered to
CIA custody at other black sites.194
Glenn Carle, a CIA officer who interrogated Pacha Wazir while he was in Moroccan custody,
has described the facility as located in the countryside, and clearly run by local officials. Moroccan
personnel were in charge of Wazir’s detention, and were also present during interrogations.195
Al-Madaghi thought that the facility was on or near to a military base, given that he could hear
military training exercises outside. His cell was below ground level but had a small window. Arabic
poetry was written all over the walls. He could hear the shouts and screams of other prisoners.196
Likewise, according to Di’iki, his cell was made of stone, and had a window and a mattress. On
the wall were written the names of many people who eventually ended up at Guantánamo Bay,
including one of the CIA’s key prisoners: ‘For the one who is going to read this, I am Ramzi bin
al-Shibh and for anyone who can read these lines, I ask him to please inform my family in Yemen
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that I believe that on this date I will be transferred to Guantánamo tomorrow.’197 This was likely to
have been written in February 2003, several months before Di’iki found himself in the same cell.
Torture was routine at the site. Abou Elkassim Britel has testified that, during his repeated
interrogations: ‘I was handcuffed, blindfolded, and severely beaten on all parts of my body. I was
threatened with worse torture, including having my genitals cut off and “bottle torture” (a torture
his detention in Morocco tells a similar story. He was held initially in ‘a series of houses which
were dug down, almost underground. There were six rooms per house, and at least five houses
in a group, with more further away. Three of the rooms were for prisoners, one for interrogation,
APPENDIX 1
technique whereby a bottle is forced into the victim’s anus).’198 Binyam Mohamed’s account of
one for the guards and one empty.’199 Binyam was tortured on numerous occasions during his
CHAPTER 2
time in the prison:
They came in and cuffed my hands behind my back. Then three men came in with
black ski masks that only showed their eyes…one stood on each of my shoulders
and the third punched me in the stomach. The first punch…turned everything inside
me upside down. I felt I was going to vomit. I was meant to stand, but I was in so
much pain I’d fall to my knees. They’d pull me back up and hit me again. They’d kick
me in the thighs as I got up. They just beat me up that night…I collapsed and they
left. I stayed on the ground for a long time before I lapsed into unconsciousness.
My legs were dead. I could not move. I’d vomited and pissed on myself.200
Detainee accounts of the layout of the prison, and the abuse to which they were subjected,
matches with what is known about the Témara facility, 15km south of Rabat on the Moroccan
coast. This centre is run by the National Surveillance Directorate (DST), and is reported to have
received prisoners from a number of foreign authorities, including Pakistan, Syria and the US.201
DETAINEES HELD IN MOROCCO
Abu Zubaydah (#1)
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
Pacha Wazir (#38)
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41)
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42)
Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46)
Saleh Di’iki (#94)
Binyam Mohamed (#95)
Abou Elkassim Britel
Mustafa al-Madaghi
In addition to Moroccan detention on behalf of the CIA, discussions regarding the construction
of the CIA’s own black site in Morocco began in January 2003. By April 2003, CIA Headquarters
had instructed the local station to ‘think big’ about how it could support Moroccan intelligence
123
services, and by May local officials had surveyed potential sites. In June 2003 the CIA station in
Morocco had proposed a multimillion-dollar subsidy package, designed to compensate its allies
for support for the secret detention programme.202
While arrangements were being made for the CIA’s own facility in Morocco, the CIA reached
two separate agreements with its Moroccan counterparts. The first, struck in May 2003, involved
a ‘temporary patch’ to enable the CIA to hold al-Nashiri and bin al-Shibh in a Moroccan facility
while the black site was being built. This was clearly a short-term agreement, with the CIA promising to conclude its detention activities in the country by July 2003. In the event, both men were
rendered from Poland on 6 June 2003 (Circuit 23), and held in Morocco for several months before
eventually being rendered to the CIA sites at Guantánamo Bay. Al-Nashiri was transferred in
September 2003 (Circuit 31), with bin al-Shibh following in December 2003 (Circuit 34), by
which point there were no CIA detainees left in the country.203
The second agreement, reached in January 2004, referred to the five CIA detainees being
held at Guantánamo Bay. Moroccan officials agreed to this arrangement for ‘a limited period of
time’, and the detainees were transferred to the facility in April 2004 (Circuit 42 and Circuit
43).204 Shortly thereafter, the CIA’s detainees were reporting that they could hear the torture of
other detainees at the site. Tensions began to rise between the two countries as the CIA reported
these allegations to its Moroccan counterparts. In August 2004 the CIA was asked to remove all
its prisoners from the country, and further reporting of allegations in October 2004 led to a
significant deterioration in intelligence cooperation. By January 2005, Moroccan intelligence
was insisting that the political leadership needed to be briefed on the ‘more permanent and
unilateral CIA detention facility’ under construction, but in February 2005 all remaining CIA
detainees were transferred out of the country. Despite the fact that the political leadership ultimately approved the construction of the facility, by February 2006 it was being decommissioned,
and was described as an ‘aborted’ project.205
ROMANIA
The black site in Romania held at least 12 prisoners between September 2003 and November
2005. A number of locations have been suggested for the facility. The Council of Europe investigation focused on a secure area on the Black Sea coast which encompassed ‘several current
and former military installations, including all those facilities named in the Access Agreement of
2005, which have been used by the United States under a “special regime of access” since late
2001.’ In particular, the report drew attention to the dual military-civil Mihail Kogalniceanu airport
at Constanţa, which played a key role in the broader ‘War on Terror’.206
While the Council of Europe team felt unable to pinpoint the exact location of the black site
in 2007, by December 2011 investigative journalists working for Associated Press and the German
ARD news programme Panorama revealed that they had spoken to ‘former US intelligence officials familiar with the location and inner working of the prison.’ According to these reports, the
124
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Email from Chief of Interrogations, January 2003, outlining early
retirement plans
Invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air, for rendition operation
’
between black sites in GuantanAmo
Bay, Romania and Morocco (Circuit 42)
site was located in the basement of a building in northern Bucharest used by the National Registry
Office for Classified Information (ORNISS) to store sensitive EU and NATO files. The basement
was ‘one of the most secure rooms in all of Romania,’ with detainees flown to Bucharest’s airport,
loaded into vans, then driven to the building. The site was just a 15 minute drive from the airport.
Once there, they would be taken down a side road, and through a rear gate that led into the
compound. They would then be taken underground, where six prefabricated cells had been built,
on springs in order to keep detainees off-balance and disorientated.207 The internal layout of the
site has also been reported by The New York Times, which described ‘a renovated building on a
busy street in Bucharest’ built to house half a dozen prisoners in isolated cells.208
One of the men held at the site, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, has described how ‘they kept
our clothes on, but our feet shackled. The rooms were about four feet wide by nine feet long.
The walls were ceramic, there was a hook in the ceiling and two hooks on the floor, and there
was a drain in the floor. From time to time I would hear other detainees screaming.’209
Although the exact location of the facility has not been independently confirmed, the fact
that a building was leased to the CIA in Bucharest has been, by both Ioan Talpeș (former Presidential
Advisor on National Security) and ‘Witness Z’.210
According to the Committee Study, the first detainees arrived in Romania in September
2003, and this included a batch of five prisoners.211 We have established the identities of these
five men, plus at least seven others held there before it was closed.
DETAINEES HELD IN ROMANIA (FROM/TO)
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed
September 2003
October 2005
(#45)
(Circuit 31)
(Circuit 58)
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri
September 2003
October 2003
(#47)
(Circuit 31)
(Circuit 32)
Walid bin Attash
September 2003
November 2005 (max)
(#56)
(Circuit 31)
Ammar al-Baluchi
September 2003
(#55)
(Circuit 31)
Samr al-Barq
September 2003
October 2003
(#67)
(Circuit 31)
(Circuit 32)
Hassan Ghul
January 2004
November 2005 (max)
(#98)
(Circuit 37)
126
November 2005 (max)
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
January 2004
October 2004
(#99)
(Circuit 37 or Circuit 39)
(Circuit 52)
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
April 2004
October 2005
(#26)
(Circuit 42)
(Circuit 58)
Janat Gul
July 2004
November 2005 (max)
(#110)
(Circuit 48)
Ramzi bin al-Shibh
October 2004
(#41)
(Circuit 51)
Abu Faraj al-Libi
May 2005
(#114)
(Circuit 57)
Abu Munthir al-Magrebi
May 2005
(#115)
(Circuit 57)
APPENDIX 1
Muhammad Ibrahim
November 2005 (max)
CHAPTER 2
November 2005 (max)
November 2005 (max)
Hambali and Lillie may also have been detained at the site, although the evidence for this is not
conclusive.
Detainees who arrived in Romania shortly after their capture were often subjected to sustained torture. In January 2004, for example, Hassan Ghul was rendered to the site and immediately
‘shaved and barbered, stripped, and placed in the standing position against the wall’ with ‘his
hands above his head.’212 He was then subjected to one session of 59 hours’ sleep deprivation,
whereupon he experienced hallucinations, followed by further deprivation and other techniques,
alongside further hallucinations.213 Cables also describe the use of sleep deprivation on Muhammad
Ibrahim for three days straight, from 27-30 January 2004,214 exceeding the 48 hours authorised
by CIA Headquarters at the beginning of this period.215
Once in Romania, Janat Gul (#110) was subjected to ‘extensive, customised application of
“enhanced interrogation techniques”.’216 CIA cables from the Romanian site document that Gul
was tortured from 3-10 August 2004 and again from 21-25 August 2004,217 and that this included
continuous sleep deprivation, facial holds, attention grasps, facial slaps, stress positions, and
walling, until he experienced auditory and visual hallucinations.218 Gul became hugely disorientated, and could see ‘his wife and children in the mirror and heard their voices in the white
noise.’219 After continued torture, Gul ‘asked to die, or just be killed.’220 This torture took place
throughout August 2004, and included a 47-hour session of standing sleep deprivation, after
which he was returned to his cell, allowed to remove his diaper, given a towel and a meal, and
permitted to sleep.’221
Abu Faraj al-Libi was also tortured on arrival in Romania, and throughout June 2005,222 with
127
two key periods: from 28 May until 2 June, and then again from 17-28 June.223 This treatment
continued even after he complained of loss of hearing (he was eventually fitted with a hearing
aid after his transfer to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay).224
Some of the detainees who had been held by the CIA for longer before transfer to Romania
also appear to have been interrogated at the site.225 Although the sustained use of interrogation
under torture appears not to have been used against these prisoners while in Romania, mistreatment clearly continued. Walid bin Attash has testified that he was placed in a standing stress
position for several days while at the site, and forced to defecate into a diaper.226 Likewise, Ramzi
bin al-Shibh has testified that he was ‘restrained on a bed, unable to move, for one month,
February 2005 and subjected to cold air-conditioning during this period.’ Referring to the prison
as his ‘eighth place of detention’, he has also testified that he was forcibly but partially shaved
in order to humiliate him.227
CIA cables from the site document severe psychological problems experienced by the detainees as a result of their torture and prolonged isolation, including depression, anxiety and insomnia.228
In at least one case this led to a hunger strike. This was quashed in May 2004, when Abd al-Rahim
al-Nashiri was subjected to rectal feeding, with Ensure infused while he was ‘in a forward-facing
position (Trendlenberg) with head lower than torso.’229
By the time that Abu Faraj al-Libi and Abu Munthir al-Magrebi (#115) were transferred to
Romania in May 2005 (Circuit 57), the site’s own manager considered the prison to be dysfunctional. He was troubled by the ‘natural and progressive effects of long-term solitary confinement
on detainees,’ and was exasperated by the personnel deployed there, many of whom were ‘basically incompetent’. The quality of debriefers and security officers being sent to the site was
degenerating, while the information coming out of it was ‘mediocre or, I dare say, useless’.230
The Romanian site operated until November 2005. In the days before its closure, the CIA
had learned that The Washington Post knew of the prison’s existence. While seeking to prevent
the paper from publishing the details, it also proposed moving the prisoners into DoD custody.
When the Pentagon refused, the National Security Council directed the CIA to prepare other
options.231At least two prisoners – Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and al-Nashiri – were rendered to
the Lithuanian black site on 5 October 2005, via a plane switch in Albania (Circuit 58), although
it is unclear if this took place before or after the CIA had learned of the newspaper’s story.
The Washington Post published its story on 2 November 2005.232 This caused significant
tension with allies. US representatives to the European Union worried that public knowledge of
the programme would cause ‘considerable ramifications’ for relations with the the European
Union, and bilateral counterterrorism relations with European allies were clearly impacted as a
result. From this point onwards, at least one government refused to provide information that
could lead to US custody and interrogation of terror suspects, whether by the CIA or the DoD.233
Although The Washington Post story withheld the names of the ‘Eastern European democracies’ which hosted black sites, Human Rights Watch followed up quickly to identify Poland and
Romania.234 As a result, the Romanian authorities demanded the closure of the black site within
xx hours, and the CIA ‘transferred the remaining three prisoners out of the facility shortly thereafter.’235
128
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
We have identified the rendition circuit which completed this transfer, with all prisoners moved
to Afghanistan (via a plane switch in Jordan) (Circuit 59).
The CIA now had only two active prison sites: one in Lithuania, the other in Afghanistan. At
this point the programme held 27, with Abu Ja’far al-Iraqi (#117) added later in November once
he had been transferred to Afghanistan from DoD custody in Iraq.
APPENDIX 1
LITHUANIA
Discussions with Lithuanian officials regarding the construction of a black site started in 2002, and
1. This involved equipping a facility ‘suitable for holding detainees… taking account of the requests
and conditions’ set out by the CIA.236 The site was on Z. Sierakausko gatvė, according to subsequent
government disclosures.237 According to the Committee Study, this had been completed by mid2003, although by that time it was considered too small given the requirement to hold multiple
prisoners at once.238 It appears that Project No. 1 was never used as a detention site.239
The construction of a new, expanded facility was approved by Lithuanian officials, with
awareness at the highest political levels and coordination by top-level officials in the SSD.240 The
implementation of Project No. 2 began in 2004 with the purchase of a former horse riding school
located in the village of Antaviliai, on the edge of woodland 15 miles from Vilnius.241 Journalists
obtained real estate records showing that the site had been sold by a local family in March 2004
to a Panamanian company, Elite LLC.242 Locals have testified to significant construction activity
during the summer of 2004, with the excavation of large amounts of earth and the conversion
of existing buildings into a secure facility, with security cameras, fencing and no windows. Accounts
exist of multiple shipping containers arriving by road throughout this time, carrying raw building
materials and also prefabricated components. According to ABC News, citing unnamed Lithuanian
and US officials: ‘The riding academy originally consisted of an indoor riding area with a red
metallic roof, a stable and a cafe. The CIA built a thick concrete wall inside the riding area. Behind
the wall, it built what one Lithuanian source called “a building within a building”. On a series of
thick concrete pads, it installed what a source called “prefabricated pods” to house prisoners,
each separated from the other by five or six feet. Each pod included a shower, a bed, and a toilet.
Separate cells were constructed for interrogations. The CIA converted much of the rest of the
building into garage space. Intelligence officers working at the prison were housed next door in
the converted stable, raising the roof to add space. Electrical power for both structures was
provided by a 2003 Caterpillar autonomous generator. All the electrical outlets in the renovated
structure were 110 volts, meaning they were designed for American appliances.’243
The construction of this building was confirmed by the Lithuanian Parliament’s Committee
for National Security and Defence (CNSD), which found that ‘the necessary acquisitions were
made for the purposes of implementation of the project, construction works were carried out
to equip the facility, with the progress of works ensured by the partners [i.e., the CIA] themselves.
129
CHAPTER 2
the Lithuanian intelligence service (SSD) began implementing what became known as Project No.
The building was reconstructed to meet certain security requirements’. Although the Committee
could not confirm that detainees were actually held in the prison, they were clear that ‘the layout
of the building, its enclosed nature and protection of the perimeter’ was designed for such a
function.244 Likewise, a delegation from the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of
Torture completed a site visit in June 2010, and confirmed key aspects of the facility. The final
report concluded that, although by that time (over four years since the prison had closed) the
site in Antaviliai ‘did not contain anything that was highly suggestive of a context of detention’,
it could ‘be adapted for detention purposes with relatively little effort’. Specifically, the delegation noted the existence of two interconnected buildings, one with a brown roof and one with a
red roof. The latter building had a layout which ‘resembled a large metal container enclosed
within a surrounding external structure. Two parts of this building (a fitness room and a technical
area) contained apparatus, machinery and spare parts of US origin as well as instructions and
notices written in English.’245
According to the Committee Study, the Lithuanian black site received its first prisoners in
February 200x.246 This is confirmed by our investigation, which has identified a rendition circuit
connecting Morocco (from where the CIA had removed all its detainees by February 2005247),
Romania and Lithuania on 18 February 2005 (Circuit 55). This circuit displays the characteristics
of a rendition flight, including the filing of false flight plans to disguise the landings at Bucharest
(Romania) and Palanga (Lithuania) and the absence of any customs inspection on the ground in
Lithuania. The aircraft was recorded as carrying three crew members and five passengers.248
Based in part upon the findings of our investigation, the European Court of Human Rights
(ECtHR) has found it proven that Abu Zubaydah was rendered to Lithuania in February 2005.249
Our new analysis of CIA cables confirms Abu Zubaydah’s presence at the facility in March 2005,
and thus his rendition the month previously.250 The Committee Study also notes that the site
received multiple detainees at that time,251 suggesting that others were brought on the flight
from either Morocco or Romania. They may have included Mustafa al-Hawsawi, who was held
in either Morocco or Romania (or both) from April 2004. Our analysis of CIA cables has confirmed
that al-Hawsawi was held in Lithuania, with one cable from the site documenting his medical
complications after the earlier use of rectal rehydration.252
We have also established that at least two detainees, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and Abd
al-Rahim al-Nashiri, were rendered from Romania to Lithuania on 5 October 2005 on board two
separate aircraft which met in Tirana, Albania. This circuit involved the filing of flight plans to
disguise the landings in Bucharest and Vilnius, and the prevention of customs and border guards
in Lithuania from approaching the plane (Circuit 58). Our analysis of CIA cables confirms that
al-Nashiri was in Romania up until at least 30 September 2005,253 and that he was later held in
Lithuania.254 Likewise, the Committee Study explicitly states that Mohammed was held in Romania
and then transferred to DETENTION SITE VIOLET on x October 2005.255 Our analysis of cables
confirms his presence in Lithuania during December 2005.256
130
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Landing records from Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, 17 February 2005, including a
landing by N724CL from Jordan (Circuit 54)
DETAINEES HELD IN LITHUANIA (FROM/TO)
Abu Zubaydah (#1)
Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46)
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45)
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
February 2005
March 2006
(Circuit 55)
(Circuit 60)
February 2005
March 2006
(Circuit 55)
(Circuit 60)
October 2005
March 2006
(Circuit 58)
(Circuit 60)
October 2005
March 2006
(Circuit 58)
(Circuit 60)
Little is known about the treatment of detainees in Lithuania. Mohammed has stated that the
conditions were better, with bigger cells and better food, and a gym.257 We know that Lithuanian
officers refused to admit al-Hawsawi to a local hospital, and as such care for his serious medical
issues was delayed.258 He was ultimately transferred to a third-party country for treatment, which
in turn received payment from the CIA.259 Indeed, an OIG audit of the Romanian and Lithuanian
black sites, as well as DETENTION SITE ORANGE in Afghanistan, found that they did not have
facilities for dealing with serious mental or physical problems in-house. Guidelines from the CIA’s
Office of Medical Services recommended that ‘in situations where a detainee’s medical condition
cannot be adequately treated at the detention facility, detention facility staff and local CIA station
personnel arrange access to the host country’s health care system.’ However, attempts to obtain
support from host country officials had had ‘limited success’, and foreign partners had ‘reneged
on previous assurances that they would arrange inpatient treatment or have declined to become
involved in providing medical treatment for CIA detainees’. Other issues identified include the
‘unacceptable quality’ of some of the medical facilities offered by partners.260 As an alternative
to relying on host or third-party medical facilities, the CIA built its own hospital in another country
between May and December 2005. This facility was not used. The final possibility – to use DoD
medical facilities – was also off the table because DoD had refused access.261
These problems resulted in the closure of the Lithuanian site in March 2006, and the transfer
of the remaining detainees to a new site in Afghanistan, which the Committee Study calls DETENTION
SITE BROWN.262 This took place on a rendition operation using two aircraft: the first rendering
the prisoners from Palanga to Cairo; the second taking them onwards to Afghanistan (Circuit 60).
Investigation by the Lithuanian Prosecutor’s Office in 2010, subsequently disclosed during
litigation at the ECtHR, offers granular detail of actions carried out by Lithuanian officers in support of the CIA.263 They had discussed with the CIA the provision of locations to house ‘secret
collaborators’. They had been assigned to assist the CIA in locating site for various uses. Regarding
132
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Project No. 2, in Antaviliai, the CIA led the construction works, and no operation file was initiated
for the building. Although Lithuanian officials had access to the building, they did not visit all of
it, and were ‘not aware of the contents of the operations that were carried out.’ They were under
the impression, they told the Prosecutor, that the building was an ‘intelligence support centre’,
but that it was used ‘minimally as the partners [i.e. the CIA] were slow to take any decisions’
officers assisted in transporting ‘boxes’ to Palanga airport in March 2006: the boxes were ‘of not
less than 1 metre length. They were carried by two persons... there were not less than three of
them.’ They had also escorted cargo coming from Vilnius International Airport on another occa-
APPENDIX 1
about it. The CIA ‘changed their plans’, ‘stalled’ and did not ‘fully exploit’ the building. Lithuanian
sion. The Prosecutor’s Office concluded that ‘notwithstanding the fact that there is no data... of
been communication equipment.’
ENDGAME
DoD’s reservations about engaging with the black site programme extended to accepting former
black site detainees. The CIA had identified problems with the ultimate disposition of its captives
as early as January 2003, when officials drafted a set of ‘lessons for the future’ on the back of
initial experience in Thailand. While suggesting that immediate legal issues in relation to host
countries mean that ‘particular care needs to be taken with respect to the selection of future
interrogation sites,’ this cable was also clear that, ‘as an alternative to indefinite incarceration at
temporary locations, [redacted] needs to revisit the issue of establishing and staffing at least one
secure and well-designed facility at a location outside the United States, where there is a high
degree of confidence in the ability to remain at the location for an open-ended period of time.’264
By 2004, officials were highlighting a series of ‘drawbacks of ongoing indefinite detention,’ including the need for regular relocation of detainees, the ‘tiny pool of potential host countries’ that
was available to hold them, the ‘high risks’ that these countries ran in offering this assistance, the
fact that ‘prolonged detention without legal process increases likelihood of [prisoner] health,
psychological problems [and] curtails intel flow’, criticism of the US government if legal processes
were delayed or denied, and the likelihood that such a delay would ‘complicate, and possibly
reduce the prospects of successful prosecutions of these detainees’.265
Six months later, an appraisal of problems facing the detention programme was prepared
for CIA Director Porter Goss’s meeting with the National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice.
This stressed the need to ‘establish a long-term disposition policy for the 12 High-Value Detainees
we hold in overseas detention sites’, given in particular the fact that ‘liaison partners who host
these sites are deeply concerned by [redacted] press leaks, and they are increasingly skeptical
of the [US government’s] commitment to keep secret their cooperation.’ Existing black site hosts
were considered likely to eventually ‘ask us to close down our facilities on their territory,’ while
‘few countries are willing to accept the huge risks associated with hosting a CIA detention site,
133
CHAPTER 2
a precise purpose of the cargo... it might be concluded that “some specific cargo” could have
so shrinkage of the already small pool of willing candidates could force us to curtail our highly
succesful interrogation and detention program’. As such, the ‘establishment of a clear, publicly
announced [detainee] “endgame” – one sanctioned by [the President] and supported by Congress
– will reduce our partners’ concerns and rekindle their enthusiasm for helping the US in the War
on Terrorism.’266
These worries mounted throughout 2005, and were thrown into sharp relief by The Washington
Post’s revelations that November.267 In January 2006, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conveyed the message that he would not accept any CIA detainees at Guantánamo Bay.268 CIA
officials viewed this prospect with alarm, arguing that the ‘only viable “endgame” for continued
US Government custody of these most dangerous terrorists is a transfer to GTMO... absent the
availability of GTMO and eventual DoD custody, CIA will necessarily have to begin transferring
those detainees no longer producing intelligence to third countries, which may release them, or
[the CIA itself may need to] outright release them.’269 As Rumsfeld remained intransigent, Porter
Goss was advised to take the matter to President Bush, and to ‘stress that absent a decision on
the long-term issue (so called “endgame”) we are stymied and the program could collapse of its
own weight.’270
Starting in February, the CIA gradually began to disperse the prisoners that it was willing
to send to foreign custody. Those it kept began to be treated a little more humanely. For example,
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed has stated that, towards the end of his time in CIA custody (which
would have been in DETENTION SITE BROWN) there was a gym with an opening in the roof,
where he could see the sun for the first time.271 Some prisoners began to be afforded ‘social
visits’ with another detainee ‘for approximately one hour in a controlled and monitored setting’,
which was seen to have ‘a positive impact on detainees’ behavior and coping skills.’272 Marwan
al-Jabour (#108), for example, says that from the end of February 2006 he was allowed to meet
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri, and the two would talk either weekly or monthly until he was transferred
out of CIA custody.273
DETAINEES IN FINAL BLACK SITES, AFGHANISTAN, MARCH-SEPTEMBER 2006
Abu Zubaydah (#1)
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26)
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41)
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (#42)
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45)
Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46)
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47)
Ammar al-Baluchi (#55)
Walid bin Attash (#56)
Majid Khan (#58)
Zubair (#62)
Lillie (#72)
Hambali (#73)
Khaled al-Maqtari (#96)
Hassan Ghul (#98)
134
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Gouled Dourad (#102)
Abu ‘Abdallah (#103)
Abd al-Bari al-Filistini (#106)
Marwan al-Jabour (#108)
Qattal al-Uzbeki (#109)
Janat Gul (#110)
Ahmed Ghailani (#111)
Abdi Rashid Samatar (#113)
Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114)
Abu Munthir al-Magrebi (#115)
Ibrahim Jan (#116)
APPENDIX 1
Saud Memon (#100), possibly
Abu Ja’far al-Iraqi (#117)
a Memorandum of Agreement for delineating duties and responsibilities concerning the CIA
prisoners to be transferred to Guantánamo Bay. Although much of the Agreement remains classified, it is clear that former-CIA prisoners were to be held solely under military jurisdiction,
including ‘detainees’ registration, movement, release, transfer, continued detention, treatment,
interrogation, medical care and trial before military commissions.’274 14 ‘High Value Detainees’
were sent to Guantánamo at the start of September 2006. On their arrival, President Bush
announced to the world that in addition to those held in military detention, ‘a small number of
suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence
Agency.’275 The speech was the US government’s first acknowledgement of what had by then
become an open secret.
After September 2006 the programme was dormant. It was revived sporadically for the detention of the last two CIA prisoners: Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi (#118) (held November 2006 to April 2007)
and Muhammad Rahim (#119) (July 2007 to March 2008). After Rahim was sent to Guantánamo
the CIA continued to maintain two prison sites, empty but ready to be reactivated. They were
managed by a contracting company, Mitchell Jessen Associates (MJA). The company had been
set up in 2005 by James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, the two psychologists who had engineered
the blueprint for the interrogation programme. A letter from the CIA’s Director, Leon Panetta, in
April 2009, obtained by Vice News, stated that MJA had a contract ‘for services related to the
two remaining CIA detention facilities.’276 Previously MJA had provided ‘interrogation services,
security teams for renditions, facilities, training, and other services.’ By 2009, however, the CIA
had informed them that their services would be reduced to providing security teams for the empty
facilities, ‘given that the agency would not be engaging in interrogation or operating black sites.’
The contract – due to run until March 2010 – was terminated early, but not before MJA had
received more than $81 million for its work with the torture programme.277 But – Panetta told
congressional overseers – the Agency retained the authority to carry out renditions and ‘to detain
individuals on a short-term, transitory basis.’
135
CHAPTER 2
By September 2006, Rumsfeld’s objections were finally overcome, and the CIA and DoD signed
10.
Endnotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
136
See, also: Crofton Black, ‘Foreign Liaison
Partners and the CIA’s Economy of
Detention’, in Elspeth Guild, Didier Bigo and
Mark Gibney, eds, Extraordinary Rendition:
Addressing the Challenges of Accountability,
Abingdon: Routledge, 2018.
For more on this, see: Ruth Blakeley and
Sam Raphael, Human Rights Fact-Finding
and the CIA’s Rendition, Detention and
Interrogation Programme: A Response to
Cordell, International Area Studies Review,
vol. 21, no. 2, 2018.
President of the United States,
Memorandum of Notification (MoN), 17
September 2001, para 4. Although the full
MoN remains classified, some relevant
sections have been discussed here: CIA,
Delegation of Authorities, Memorandum
from George Tenet to James Pavitt, 8
October 2001 (redacted), para 2; SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 11; CIA, Sixth Declaration of
Marilyn A. Dorn, ACLU et al v. DOD et al, 5
January 2007, pp. 34-40.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 11.
CIA, Delegation of Authorities, Memorandum
from George Tenet to James Pavitt, 8
October 2001 (redacted), para 4-6. See, also:
CIA, Approval to Capture and Detain Taliban
and al-Qa’ida Personnel [Redacted], cable
from DIRECTOR, 17 December 2001, 14:10
(redacted), para 3.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 12.
Ibid., pp. 11-12; CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and
Interrogation Activities (September 2001
- October 2003), 2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004
(redacted), para 28.
CIA, Hostile Interrogations: Legal
Considerations for CIA Officers, draft, 26
November 2001 (redacted), pp. 6, 8.
CIA, POWs and Questioning, email, 1
February 2002 (redacted).
For some early reporting on these rendition
operations to foreign custody, see Rajiv
Chandrasekaren and Peter Finn, US Behind
Secret Transfer of Terror Suspects, The
Washington Post, 11 March 2002.
11. CIA, Approval to Capture and Detain Taliban and
al-Qa’ida Personnel [Redacted], cable from
DIRECTOR, 17 December 2001, 14:10 (redacted).
12. CIA, Approval to Capture and Detain Taliban and
al-Qa’ida Personnel [Redacted], cable from
DIRECTOR, 17 December 2001, 14:10 (redacted),
para 7; CIA, Guidance on Scope of Capture and
Detention Authorities, cable from DIRECTOR, 7
April 2003, 22:16 (redacted), para 7.
13. Some of these men were later rendered by the
CIA to Afghanistan, where they were held in
either US military custody or at a CIA black site.
14. ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition:
2001-2010, UK Parliament, 28 June 2018, pp. 32,
85. This report hides the destination of these
renditions behind a codeword, CUPAR, and the
identity of coffin-bound prisoner behind the
codeword CUCKOO. For reporting linking
CUPAR with Egypt and CUCKOO with Ibn
Sheikh, see Ian Cobain and Clara Usiskin,
Exclusive: UK Spy Agencies Knew Source of
False Iraq War Intelligence Was Tortured, Middle
East Eye, 6 November 2018.
15. Jane Perlez, Raymond Bonner and Salman
Massood, An Ex-Detainee of the US Describes a
6-Year Ordeal, The New York Times, 5 January
2009.
16. Reprieve, Ghost Detention on Diego Garcia, May
2009, pp. 10-11.
17. Human Rights Watch, We’ll Make You See
Death, 9 April 2008; Human Rights Watch,
Double Jeopardy: CIA Renditions to Jordan,
April 2008, p. 24.
18. Reprieve, Memo: FBI Involvement in the Abuse
of Binyam Mohammed (al Habashi), 24 August
2005, pp. 5-9.
19. Ibid., p. 4.
20. Reprieve, Ghost Detention on Diego Garcia, May
2009, p. 11.
21. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Mohamedou Ould Salahi, 3 March 2008, p. 4.
22. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013; Open the
Government, Re: Wrongful Classification of
Information Regarding CIA Torture, in Violation
of Executive Order 13526, Complaint to the
Information Security Oversight Office, 15
September 2015, pp. 31-37.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
137
CHAPTER 2
38. See, for example: CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Updated Interrogation Plan for Abu Zubaydah,
cable 10116, 25 April 2002, 07:28 (redacted); CIA,
IMMEDIATE: Turning Up the Heat in the AZ
Interrogations, email, 30 April 2002 (redacted);
CIA, Approval for Request to Use [Redacted]
Box for Psychological and Behavioral [Redacted]
Process, cable, April 2002 (redacted); CIA, ALEC,
Summary of Abu Zubaydah Interrogation Status,
cable, May 2002 (redacted); CIA, CTC/UBL,
Plans to Increase Pressure on Abu Zubaydah,
cable, May 2002 (redacted).
39. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 30-31.
40. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, [Redacted] on
[Abu Zubaydah] as of 2300 Hours (Local Time)
19 June 2002, cable, June 2002 (redacted). See,
also: CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, [Redacted]
on [Abu Zubaydah] as of 1900 Hours (Local
Time) 22 June 2002, cable, June 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
[Redacted] on [Abu Zubaydah] as of 1900 Hours
(Local Time) 25 June 2002, cable, June 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
[Redacted] [Abu Zubaydah] as of 1900 Hours
(Local Time) 27 June 2002, cable, June 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
[Redacted] [Abu Zubaydah] as of 1900 Hours
(Local Time) 30 June 2002, cable 10507, June
2002 (redacted).
41. President of the United States, Humane
Treatment of al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees, 7
February 2002. See, also: DoJ, Application of
Treaties and Laws to al Qaeda and Taliban
Detainees, memorandum from Jay S. Bybee,
Assistant Attorney General, to Alberto R.
Gonzales, Counsel to the President, and William
J. Haynes II, General Counsel of the DoD, 22
January 2002.
42. CIA, [Redacted] Interrogation Strategy for Abu
Zubaydah, cable, 3 April 2002, 12:27 (redacted).
43. CIA, Description of Physical Pressures, email, 9
July 2002, 10:58 (redacted).
44. Ibid.
45. CIA, HQS Feedback on Status of Enhanced
Interrogation Approval, cable, July 2002
(redacted).
46. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Additional
Operational and Security Considerations for the
Next Phase of Abu Zubaydah Interrogation,
cable 10536, 15 July 2002, 10:06 (redacted).
47. CIA, Comments on Proposed Enhanced
Interrogation Process, cable 73208, 23 July
2002, 10:45 (redacted).
APPENDIX 1
23. CIA, Options for Incarcerating Abu Zubaydah,
PowerPoint Presentation, 27 March 2002
(redacted).
24. ABC News, 2 April 2002, as cited in ECtHR,
Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May 2018,
para 232.
25. CIA, Options for Incarcerating Abu Zubaydah,
PowerPoint Presentation, 27 March 2002
(redacted); SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December
2014 (redacted), p. 22.
26. It has been reported that Cambodia also offered
to help, but that its proposed site was infested
with snakes. Adam Goldman, The Hidden
History of the CIA’s Prison in Poland, The
Washington Post, 23 January 2014.
27. CIA, Options for Incarcerating Abu Zubaydah,
PowerPoint Presentation, 27 March 2002
(redacted).
28. Adam Goldman, The Hidden History of the CIA’s
Prison in Poland, The Washington Post, 23
January 2014.
29. CIA Director Gina Haspel’s Thailand Torture Ties,
BBC News, 4 May 2018; Matt Apuzzo, Sheri Fink
and James Risen, How US Torture Left a Legacy
of Damaged Minds, The New York Times, 9
October 2016.
30. Brian Ross and Richard Esposito, Sources Tell
ABC News Top al Qaeda Figures Held in Secret
CIA Prisons, ABC News, 5 December 2005.
31. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 24.
32. Ali Soufan, The Black Banners: The Inside Story
of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda, London:
Allen Lane, 2011, p. 375.
33. Adam Goldman, The Hidden History of the CIA’s
Prison in Poland, The Washington Post, 23
January 2014; David Johnston and Mark
Mazzetti, A Window into CIA’s Embrace of
Secret Jails, The New York Times, 12 August
2009.
34. Ali Soufan, The Black Banners: The Inside Story
of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda, London:
Allen Lane, 2011, p. 396.
35. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, cable 10053,
16 April 2002, 20:29; CIA, DETENTION SITE
GREEN, Updated Interrogation Plan for Abu
Zubaydah, cable 10116, 25 April 2002, 07:28
(redacted).
36. CIA, Behavioral Interrogation Team SIT Report,
cable 69500, 7 April 2002, 00:09 (redacted).
37. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 34-35.
48. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Additional
Operational and Security Considerations for the
Next Phase of Abu Zubaydah Interrogation,
cable 10536, 15 July 2002, 10:06 (redacted).
49. CIA, ALEC, HQS Feedback on Issues Pending for
Interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, cable, 18 July
2002, 23:21 (redacted).
50. CIA, Eyes Only: Draft, letter from OGC to
Attorney General, 8 July 2002 (redacted).
51. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, [Redacted] on
Abu Zubaydah as of 1900 Hours (Local Time) 18
July 2002, cable, July 2002 (redacted).
52. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, [Redacted] on
Abu Zubaydah as of 1900 Hours (Local Time) 26
July 2002, cable, July 2002 (redacted).
53. DoJ (OLC), Interrogation of al Qaeda Operative,
Memorandum by Jay S. Bybee for John Rizzo, 1
August 2002.
54. CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Details re Initial
Cycle of Interrogations of 04 August 02 of Abu
Zubaydah, cable 10586, 4 August 2002, 15:59
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details re 05 August 02 Cycle of Interrogations
of Abu Zubaydah, cable, August 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details re 06 August 02 Cycle of Interrogations
of Abu Zubaydah, cable 10594, 6 August 2002,
15:58 (redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details re 07 August 2002 Cycle of
Interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, cable, August
2002 (redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details of 8 August 2002 Cycle of Interrogations
of Abu Zubaydah, cable, August 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details of 9 August 02 Cycle of Interrogations of
Abu Zubaydah, cable, 9 August 2002 (redacted);
CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Details of 11
August 2002 Cycle of Interrogations of Abu
Zubaydah, cable 10615, 12 August 2002, 06:16
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details of 12 August 2002 Cycle of Interrogations
of Abu Zubaydah, cable 10618, 12 August 2002,
14:48 (redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN,
Details of 15 August 2002 Cycle of Interrogations
of Abu Zubaydah, cable, August 2002
(redacted).
55. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 36-37.
56. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 41-44.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
138
Abu Zubaydah, Torture Testimony: Thailand,
February 2008.
Jose Rodriguez, Re: [Redacted], email, 12 August
2002 (redacted).
CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Status of
Interrogation Phase, cable 10644, 20 August 2002,
12:35 (redacted).
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007, p.
17.
Tim Golden, Stephen Engelberg and Daniel
DeFraia, A Prisoner in Gina Haspel’s Black Site,
ProPublica, 7 May 2018.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67; CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 - October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 36.
CIA, ALEC, Application of Enhanced Measures to
‘Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, cable, circa 11 November
2002 (redacted).
CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Details of
[Redacted] November 2002 Debriefing of ‘Abd
al-Rahim al-Nashiri, cable 11246, circa 15
November 2002 (redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE
GREEN, Details of Second [Redacted] November
2002 Interrogation Session with ‘Abd al-Rahim
al-Nashiri, cable 11258, circa 15 November 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Details
of [Redacted] November 2002 Interrogations of
‘Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, cable 11263, circa 16
November 2002 (redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE
GREEN, Details of [Redacted] November 2002
Interrogation Session with ‘Abd al-Rahim
al-Nashiri, cable 11270, circa 17 November 2002
(redacted); CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Details
of [Redacted] November 2002 First Interrogation
Session with of ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, cable
11284, circa 19 November 2002 (redacted).
CIA, DETENTION SITE GREEN, Details of
[Redacted] December 2002 Interrogation Sessions
with ‘Abd al-Rahim Husayn Muhammad ‘Abdu
Nashir, cable 11359, circa 1 December 2002
(redacted).
CIA, Legal Background on the Use of Enhanced
Interrogation Techniques, cable, December 2002
(redacted), para 8.
CIA, email to Dusty Foggo, Short Backgrounder, 10
November 2005, 17:48 (redacted). For a detailed
account of the decision to destroy the tapes, see
Tim Golden, Haspel, Spies and Videotapes,
ProPublica, 9 May 2018.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 49.
Ibid., p. 49.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
87.
88.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
139
CHAPTER 2
89.
which we now know took place in the Dark
Prison, see: Adam Goldman and Kathy Gannon,
Death Shed Light on CIA ‘Salt Pit’ Near Kabul,
NBC News, 28 March 2010. For reporting
referring to events in ‘Salt Pit’ which we now
know took place in ‘Rissat 2’, see: Amrit Singh,
European Court of Human Rights Finds Against
CIA Abuse of Khaled el-Masri, The Guardian, 13
December 2012.
See, for example, Binyam Mohamed et al v.
Jeppesen Dataplan, Declaration of Bisher
al-Rawi, 10 December 2007, para 46-48.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 53.
Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of the
CIA Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March
2016.
CIA, Death Investigation – Gul Rahman, Memo
for Deputy Director for Operations, 28 January
2003 (redacted), pp. 2-3. See, also: SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 49; CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum:
Alleged Use of Unauthorized Interrogation
Techniques, 2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006
(redacted), p. 9.
CIA, Death Investigation – Gul Rahman, Memo
for Deputy Director for Operations, 28 January
2003 (redacted), p. 2.
CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 3.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 60.
CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 4.
CIA, Rahman Death Investigation - Interview of
[Dark Prison Officer], December 2002
(redacted), p. 2.
CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), pp. 6-7.
Ibid., p. 6; SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December
2014 (redacted), p. 49.
CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 15.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 60-61.
CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 5.
Ibid., pp. 5-6.
CIA, Death Investigation – Gul Rahman, Memo
for Deputy Director for Operations, 28 January
2003 (redacted), pp. 7-8.
CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 9.
APPENDIX 1
70. DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 6.
71. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 51; CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 – October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 81; Laura
Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported CIA
Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October 2016.
72. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 382.
73. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
74. Andy Worthington, Judge Denies Guantánamo
Prisoner’s Habeas Petition, Ignores Torture in
Secret CIA Prisons, 22 October 2010. The term
‘Rissat’ seems likely to come from the Arabic
word for ‘directorate’, a term used for the
departments of Afghan intelligence, NDS. See,
also: Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information
on Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
75. DoD (ARB), Unclassified Summary, Round 2:
Rafiq al-Hami, 27 January 2006, p. 2; DoD (JTFGTMO), Detainee Assessment: Tawfiq Nassar
al-Bihani, 15 February 2008, p. 4.
76. DoD (ARB), Round 1 Transcript, Detainee
Statement: Rafiq al Hami, 25 January 2005, p. 13.
77. Andy Worthington, Judge Denies Guantánamo
Prisoner’s Habeas Petition, Ignores Torture in
Secret CIA Prisons, 22 October 2010.
78. Ibid.
79. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
80. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 52.
81. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 25107, 26 July 2002,
09:03.
82. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 69-70.
83. CIA (OIG), Report of Audit: CIA-Controlled
Detention Facilities Operated Under the 17
September 2001 Memorandum of Notification,
2005-0017-AS, 14 June 2006 (redacted), p. 16.
84. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 51.
85. CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 1.
86. For reporting referring to events in ‘Salt Pit’
104. Ibid., p. 8.
105. Ibid., p. 17. See, also: CIA, Death Investigation
– Gul Rahman, Memo for Deputy Director for
Operations, 28 January 2003 (redacted), pp.
9-11.
106. CIA, Death Investigation – Gul Rahman, Memo
for Deputy Director for Operations, 28 January
2003 (redacted), p. 11.
107. CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: Death of a
Detainee in [Redacted], 2003-7402-IG, 27 April
2005 (redacted), p. 25.
108. CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 3.
109. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), pp.
9, 17.
110. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 45-47.
111. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 9.
112. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 4-5.
113. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 61.
114. Ibid., p. 51.
115. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 11.
116. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34491, 5 March 2003,
14:00; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34573, 6 March
2003, 17:51; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34575, 6
March 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34614, 7
March 2003, 15:51. See, also, ICRC, Report on
the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High Value
Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007, pp.
33-34.
117. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 52.
118. CIA, [Redacted] Interview of [Redacted],
December 2002 (redacted), p. 2.
119. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Bisher al-Rawi, 10 December
2007, para 47.
120. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 54. See, also: Ken Silverstein, The
140
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
Charmed Life of a CIA Torturer, The Intercept, 15
December 2014.
CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: Death of a
Detainee in [Redacted], 2003-7402-IG, 27 April
2005 (redacted), pp. 2-3.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 24.
Ibid. The New York Times was persuaded not to
publish the story at the time. See James Risen,
The Biggest Secret, The Intercept, 3 January
2018.
CIA, Transfer of Detainees from [Redacted] to
[Redacted], cable 2002 (redacted). See, also:
CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: Unauthorized
Techniques at [Redacted], 2003-7123-IG, 29
October 2003 (redacted), p. 2.
Adam Goldman, The Hidden History of the CIA’s
Prison in Poland, The Washington Post, 23
January 2014.
Ibid.
CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 38; SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 62; ECtHR, Judgment: Abu Zubaydah v.
Poland, 24 July 2014, para 297; Randy Kreider,
CIA Wanted ‘Torture’ Cage for Secret Prison:
Official, ABC News, 22 June 2012.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 62.
CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 37, 80.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 62; CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 - October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 38.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 74. Further reporting has
suggested that the CIA paid Polish intelligence
$15 million in cash (contained in two large
cardboard boxes). See Adam Goldman, The
Hidden History of the CIA’s Prison in Poland, The
Washington Post, 23 January 2014. Elsewhere,
one CIA official admitted during a CIA oral
history interview to handing over millions of
dollars in $100-dollar bills, contained in a
number of boxes. This official did not name the
recipient. See SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), p. 140.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
141
CHAPTER 2
150. CIA, cable 5759, April 2003. Cited in: SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 97.
151. CIA, HEADQUARTERS, cable, May 2003; SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 97.
152. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 140, 143.
153. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, CIA Flight
Carried Secret from Gitmo, Associated Press, 7
August 2010.
154. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 140-1.
155. CIA, CIA Detainees at GITMO, email from Scott
W. Muller to James L. Pavitt, February 2004
(redacted).
156. CIA, Approval to Capture and Detain Taliban and
al-Qa’ida Personnel [Redacted], cable from
DIRECTOR, 17 December 2001, 14:10 (redacted).
157. CIA, Guidance on Scope of Capture and
Detention Authorities, cable from DIRECTOR, 7
April 2003, 22:16 (redacted).
158. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 50-51.
159. Ibid., p. 105.
160. Ibid., p. 100.
161. Amnesty International, Who Are the
Guantánamo Detainees? Case Sheet 25: Sanad
Ali Yislam al-Kazimi, 1 May 2008.
162. Ibid., p. 51.
163. Human Rights Watch interview with Shoroeiya,
18 March 2012. Human Rights Watch, Delivered
Into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition
of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September
2012, pp 48-49.
164. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 6.
165. Ibid., pp. 17-18.
166. For example, the population fluctuated between
8-20 during the first year of its operation. CIA
(OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 48.
167. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 61.
168. Ibid., p. 17.
169. Ibid., p. 61.
170. Ibid., p. 104.
171. Center for Constitutional Rights, Former CIA
Detainee Majid Khan’s Torture Finally Public, 2
June 2015.
172. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
APPENDIX 1
132. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 39.
133. Adam Goldman, The Hidden History of the CIA’s
Prison in Poland, The Washington Post, 23
January 2014.
134. CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 39.
135. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 62.
136. Ibid., pp. 68-70.
137. 5-8 December 2002, 27 December 2002-1
January 2003, 9-10 January 2003, 15-27 January
2003. See SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December
2014 (redacted), p. 67.
138. CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: Unauthorized
Techniques at [Redacted], 2003-7123-IG, 29
October 2003 (redacted), pp. 20-23.
139. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 69-70; CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 - October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), pp. 41-44.
140. CIA, Concerns Over Revised Interrogation Plan
for Nashiri, email, 22 January 2003 (redacted).
141. CIA, Retirement Notice, email, 22 January 2003
(redacted).
142. CIA, Guidelines on Interrogations Conducted
Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of
Notification of 17 September 2001, George
Tenet, 28 January 2003 (redacted).
143. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 32-33; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable
12371, 21 July 2003, 21:21; CIA, DETENTION
SITE BLUE, cable 12385, 22 July 2003, 20:45;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 12389, 23
July 2003, 20:40.
144. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 77-79.
145. Ibid., pp. 84-86
146. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 35.
147. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 74.
148. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, CIA Flight
Carried Secret from Gitmo, Associated Press, 7
August 2010.
149. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 97.
173. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 371.
174. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
175. Carol Leonnig and Eric Rich, US Seeks Silence
on CIA Prisons, The Washington Post, 4
November 2006.
176. Ahmed Rabbani, Letter to Guantánamo Bay
Interagency Review Taskforce, 1 May 2009, para
48.
177. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 110.
178. Ibid.
179. Ibid., p. 119.
180. It appears that at least some of the planning for
this transfer took place in March 2004. SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 120.
181. Reprieve, ‘Human Cargo’: Binyam Mohamed and
the Rendition Frequent Flyer Programme, 10
June 2008, p. 37.
182. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 62-3.
183. CIA (OIG), Report of Audit: CIA-Controlled
Detention Facilities Operated Under the 17
September 2001 Memorandum of Notification,
2005-0017-AS, 14 June 2006 (redacted), p. 1,
and Exhibit A: Objectives, Scope and
Methodology.
184. Ibid., pp. 4-5.
185. See, variously, the first-hand accounts from
prisoners in this group: Amnesty International, A
Case to Answer: From Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA
Custody; the Case of Khaled al-Maqtari, March
2008, pp. 26-27; Human Rights Watch, Ghost
Prisoner: Two Years in Secret CIA Detention,
February 2007, pp. 22-23; Human Rights Watch,
Delivered Into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and
Rendition of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya,
September 2012, pp. 53, 72-73; DoD (CSRT),
Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, p. 27; Amnesty
International, Secret Detention in CIA ‘Black
Sites’, 8 November 2005, pp. 11-13; Binyam
Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 84-164.
186. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 53-56.
187. Ibid., p. 73.
188. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
142
189.
190.
191.
192.
193.
194.
195.
196.
197.
198.
199.
200.
201.
202.
203.
204.
205.
206.
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 28.
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 116-19.
DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, p. 29.
Ayyub al-Libi, Qattal al-Uzbeki, Abd al-Bari
al-Filistini, Marwan al-Jabbur, Janat Gul, Ahmed
Khalfan Ghailani, Sharif al-Masri, Abdi Rashid
Samatar.
Ibrahim Jan, Abu Ja’far al-Iraqi.
See, for example: Glenn Carle, The Interrogator:
An Education, New York: Nation Books, 2011, p.
18. ‘Our liaison partners were running the
interrogation because it was occurring on their
turf, even though the case, and [Wazir], were
ours. It was a matter of sovereignty. Our hosts
were willing to help, not do our bidding.’
Wazir was transferred to the Dark Prison in
Afghanistan in December 2002 (Circuit 16), and
Mohammed and Di’iki followed in January 2004
(Circuit 37). Bin al-Shibh was rendered to Poland
in February 2003 (Circuit 17).
Glenn Carle, The Interrogator: An Education,
New York: Nation Books, 2011, pp. 60-64.
Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
p. 80.
Ibid., pp. 68-69.
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Abou Elkassim Britel, 2 November
2007, para 17.
Reprieve, ‘Human Cargo’: Binyam Mohamed and
the Rendition Frequent Flyer Programme, 10
June 2008, pp. 10-11.
Ibid., p. 12.
Amnesty International, Morocco/Western
Sahara, Torture in the ‘Anti-Terrorism’ Campaign
– The Case of Témara Detention Centre, 23 June
2004.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 139-140.
Ibid., pp. 139-140, 143.
The Committee Study states that the site held
CIA detainees ‘beginning in April 2004.’ SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 143. Another flight between Guantánamo Bay
and Morocco, on 27 March 2004, may therefore
have been logistical.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 141-142.
Council of Europe, Secret Detentions and Illegal
Transfers of Detainees Involving Council of
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
207.
209.
210.
212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
143
CHAPTER 2
211.
217. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 346.
218. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1512, 2-8
August 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 1519, 2-8 August 2004; CIA, DETENTION
SITE BLACK, cable 1521, 2-8 August 2004;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1530, 8
August 2004, 16:33; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1537, 8-10 August 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1541, 10
August 2004, 12:28; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1542, 10-11 August 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1603, [21
August] 2004.
219. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1541, 10
August 2004, 12:28.
220. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1567, 16
August 2004, 17:30.
221. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1622, 25
August 2004.
222. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2336, 28
May 2005, 20:03; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 2499, 26 June 2005, 21:23.
223. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 388. See, for example: CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2499, 26 June
2005, 21:23.
224. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 148.
225. E.g., al-Barq: CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 10172, 16 October 2003, 08:21.; al-Jaza’iri
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 10172, 16
October 2003, 08:21.
226. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 11-12.
227. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 16, 17.
228. See, for example, bin al-Shibh: CIA, DETENTION
SITE BLACK, cable 1878, 14 November 2004,
09:15; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable
1930, 6 December 2004, 16:20; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2207, 11 April
2005, 13:19; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 2535, 5 July 2005, 18:05; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2830, 29
August 2005, 13:04. Al-Nashiri: CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1356, 1 July
2004, 16:44; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 1543, 11 August 2004, 16:00; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1716, 18
September 2004, 07:42; CIA, DETENTION SITE
APPENDIX 1
208.
Europe Member States: Second Report, 11 June
2007, para 223-225.
Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo, Inside
Romania’s Secret CIA Prison, Associated Press,
8 December 2011; John Goetz and Kristopher
Sell, CIA-Geheimgefängnis is Bukarest Enttarnt,
Panorama, ARD, 7 December 2011.
David Johnston and Mark Mazzetti, A Window
into CIA’s Embrace of Secret Jails, The New York
Times, 12 August 2009.
DoD (CRST), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Written
Statement Regarding Alleged Abuse, 21
February 2007, p. 2.
Torture in Romania: Former Head-of-State
Iliescu Admits Existence of CIA Prison, Spiegel
Online, 22 April 2015. See, also, Talpeș’
statement to a European Parliament delegation,
cited in EP Resolution, 2016/2573(RSP), 8 June
2016, para 13. Statements by Witness Z, 17
September 2013 and 18 June 2015. ECtHR,
Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania, 31 May 2018,
para 301-302. Talpeș has also stated that the
CIA operations he had approved involved the
detention of individuals in ‘one or two locations
in Romania.’ Black Site in Romania: Former Spy
Chief Admits Existence of CIA Camp, Spiegel
Online, 13 December 2014. The Romanian
government has continued to deny the
existence of a secret prison on its territory in
general, and at the ORNISS building in
particular, and Witness R (who worked at the
site) has denied that it was ever used as a
prison. ECtHR, Judgment: Al Nashiri v. Romania,
31 May 2018, para 325.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 97, 143.
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1285,
26-31 January 2004.
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1299,
27-31 January 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1308, 27-31 January 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1312, 27-31
January 2004.
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1298,
27-31 January 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1303, 27-31 January 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1311, 27-31
January 2004.
CIA, HEADQUATERS, cable, 27 January 2004,
21:55.
See, also: Thomas Hammarberg, Advancing
Accountability in Respect of the CIA Black Site
in Romania, memo, Council of Europe,
CommDH(2012)38, 30 March 2012, p. 15.
229.
230.
231.
232.
233.
234.
235.
236.
237.
238.
239.
240.
241.
242.
243.
BLACK, cable 1959, 11 December 2004, 17:00;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2038, 21
January 2005, 15:58; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 2474, 25 June 2005, 16:22; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2673, 2
August 2005, 14:51; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 3051, 30 September 2005, 12:35.
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1203, 23
May 2004, 17:09.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 143-4.
Ibid., pp. 151-152.
Dana Priest, CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret
Prisons, The Washington Post, 2 November
2005.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 152-153.
Human Rights Watch, Statement on US Secret
Detention Facilities in Europe, 6 November 2005.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 153.
CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009.
Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of
Lithuania, Record of Inspection on Premises, 17
March 2010.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 98.
CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 98-99.
Matthew Cole and Brian Ross, Exclusive: CIA
Secret ‘Torture’ Prison Found at Fancy
Horseback Riding Academy, ABC News, 18
November 2009. The CNSD found that Project 2
‘was commenced by the SSD in the beginning of
2004.’ CNSD, Findings of the Investigation
Concerning the Alleged Transportation and
Confinement of Persons Detained by the Central
Intelligence Agency, 22 December 2009.
Craig Whitlock, Lithuania Investigates Facility
That May Have Been CIA ‘Black Site’, The
Washington Post, 19 November 2009.
Matthew Cole and Brian Ross, Exclusive: CIA
Secret ‘Torture’ Prison Found at Fancy
Horseback Riding Academy, ABC News, 18
November 2009.
144
244. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, pp. 6-7.
245. Council of Europe, Report to the Lithuanian
Government on the Visit to Lithuania Carried Out
by the European Committee for the Prevention
of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment (CPT) from 14 to 18 June 2010, 19
May 2011.
246. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 99.
247. Ibid., p. 142.
248. This figure does not include prisoners. CNSD,
Findings of the Investigation Concerning the
Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009.
249. ECtHR, Judgment: Abu Zubaydah v. Lithuania, 31
May 2018, para 141-143, 548.
250. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 2166, 7
March 2005, 06:47.
251. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 99.
252. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3223,
date redacted.
253. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 3051, 30
September 2005, 12:35.
254. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3910, 24
January 2006, 18:52.
255. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 95-96.
256. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 31147, 17
December 2005, 19:19.
257. DoD (CRST), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Written
Statement Regarding Alleged Abuse, 21
February 2007, p. 2.
258. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 493.
259. Al-Hawsawi was one of five CIA prisoners
transferred to third-party countries for medical
care, the others being Janat Gul (#110), Gouled
Dourad (#102), Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), and
Khaled al-Maqtari (#96). SSCI, Committee
Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted), p. 154, 493.
260. CIA (OIG), Report of Audit: CIA-Controlled
Detention Facilities Operated Under the 17
September 2001 Memorandum of Notification,
2005-0017-AS, 14 June 2006 (redacted), p. 8.
261. Ibid.
262. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 154.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
APPENDIX 1
263. Government of the Republic of Lithuania,
Submission to the European Court of Human
Rights, 17 September 2015, para 100-131,
183-199.
264. CIA, Lessons for the Future, cable 10640, 8
January 2003.
265. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 143.
266. Ibid., p. 150.
267. Ibid., pp. 150-155.
268. Ibid., p. 156.
269. Ibid., pp. 156-7.
270. Ibid., p. 157.
271. DoD (CSRT), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Written
Statement Regarding Alleged Abuse, 21
February 2007, p. 2.
272. CIA (OIG), Report of Audit: CIA-Controlled
Detention Facilities Operated Under the 17
September 2001 Memorandum of Notification,
2005-0017-AS, 14 June 2006 (redacted), p. 5.
273. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, pp.
22-23.
274. DoD and CIA, Memorandum of Agreement
Concerning the Detention by DOD of Certain
Terrorists at a Facility at Guantánamo Bay Naval
Station, 1 September 2006 (redacted), p. 1.
275. White House, President Discusses Creation of
Military Commissions to Try Suspected
Terrorists, 6 September 2006.
276. Jason Leopold, Here’s the CIA’s Letter to
Congress Saying the Agency Was Quitting the
Torture Business, Vice News, 5 August 2015. The
initials MJA were left unredacted at one point in
the disclosed letters, as was the fact that there
were two remaining facilities.
277. CIA, Mitchell and Jessen Contract Q&A, 23
January 2009 (redacted); SSCI, Findings and
Conclusions of the Committee Study, 9
December 2014, p. 11.
CHAPTER 2
145
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
CIA Torture Unredacted and its accompanying appendices provide the most comprehensive
account of the CIA torture programme to date. This work considerably advances previous findings on the scale and reach of the programme, and overcomes some of the most significant
weaknesses of what has been, up until now, the most detailed account of CIA torture: the
Executive Summary to the ‘Committee Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program’.
As we have set out here, the redacted version of the Executive Summary provided almost no
detail on the majority of the prisoners held. It offered a patchwork account of the programme’s
sites and other detention facilities. It presented no real insights into the complex arrangements
of outsourcing aspects of the programme to private companies in the hope of evading detection.
With its reliance on CIA records only, which were incomplete through poor record-keeping
practices and wilful destruction by the CIA, the Committee Study provides only a partial account.
The Committee Study’s findings, as published, were further diminished by the process of declassification, which severely hampered any real insights into where prisons were hosted and where
prisoners were detained. Indeed, as Senator Feinstein indicates in her Foreword to the Committee
Study, she opted to agree to non-disclosure of the full report because the process that would
be required to negotiate declassification would be too lengthy and ran the risk of none of the
findings ever seeing the light of day.1
It is lamentable that it has taken the painstaking work of a group of human rights investigators, litigators, investigative journalists and academics, over many years, to provide a more
complete account. But this needs to be understood in context: whereas parliamentary efforts
such as that by the Senate Committee in the US and the Intelligence and Security Committee
(ISC) in the UK can significantly advance public knowledge of this shameful episode, those holding executive power have sought, at all turns, to shut down a full investigation. The Senate
Committee’s team, led by Daniel Jones, worked against significant resistance from the CIA, the
White House, and other agencies – including, it transpired, the CIA’s spying on their work. On
publication of the Committee Study, and subsequently, key officials have campaigned to suppress the full report, perhaps for ever. A significant protagonist on this front has been Senator
Richard Burr, appointed Chair of the SSCI in 2015, who considered the Committee Study to be
149
CONCLUSION
overall architecture, withholding crucial details regarding the location and operation of the black
‘shoddy’ and ‘excessively critical of the CIA and the administration of President George W. Bush’.2
On taking up his new position, he wrote to President Obama to request that all copies of the full
Committee Study be returned to the Committee, in an attempt to prevent its release through
the Freedom of Information Act. Senator Feinstein was highly critical of Burr’s move, arguing
that insisting the US administration relinquish its copies would ‘limit the ability to learn lessons
from this sad chapter in America’s history and omit from the record two years of work, including
changes made to the Committee’s 2012 report following extensive discussion with the CIA’.3 Her
protests made little difference to the Trump administration, and in June 2017 Congressional
officials confirmed that the administration had been returning its copies in response to Burr’s
request. As The New York Times reported, this has raised the possibility that ‘most of the copies
could be locked in Senate vaults indefinitely or even destroyed – and increases the risk that
future government officials, unable to read the report, will never learn its lessons.’4
Those who would halt further investigation and disclosure are, in part, seeking to prevent
legal action against the perpetrators of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
There has been very little political will to bring those responsible to justice. In fact, many of those
in senior positions in the CIA and Department of Justice (DoJ) continue to hold office following
publication of the Committee Study, and some have been elevated by the Trump administration.
One example is Gina Haspel. Declassified CIA cables reveal she was directly involved in the
torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri while he was held in Thailand, yet, despite considerable opposition, President Trump appointed her as CIA Director in May 2018.5 No actions have been taken
against Mitchell and Jessen, or the numerous CIA and DoJ officials who colluded in efforts to
legitimise torture. Indeed, Mitchell and Jessen received $81 million from the CIA prior to the
programme’s termination, and were subsequently offered protection through CIA-funded, multiyear indemnification agreements to protect their company and its employees from legal liability
ensuing from the programme.6
Many of the same limitations that shaped the Committee Study have also hampered efforts
to investigate the UK’s role, despite the fact that it is now clear how deeply implicated UK intelligence agencies were. Indeed, attempts to hold UK authorities to account for their role in the
RDI programme have been thwarted at every turn. Successive governments have repeatedly
denied any involvement of UK security service or military personnel in torture or CIDT. Even as
credible evidence mounted, officials were slow to fully investigate, were reticent about holding
anyone to account, and have done very little to offer meaningful redress.
In 2010, the incoming UK Coalition government led by David Cameron finally launched a
judge-led inquiry chaired by Peter Gibson, the purpose of which was to examine whether Britain
was implicated in the improper treatment of detainees, held by other countries, that may have
occurred in the aftermath of 9/11. Yet the Gibson Inquiry was closed down before witnesses
were even called, in part because of the considerable constraints placed on the Inquiry by government. Leading human rights organisations and litigators representing victims boycotted the
Inquiry because of concerns about transparency, and because they were to be denied the right
to question intelligence officials about mistreatment.7
150
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Similar constraints were placed on the scope of the subsequent investigation by the UK
Parliament’s ISC, which was denied access to key intelligence officers with knowledge of British
involvement.8 This meant that, despite providing the most detailed account to date of UK complicity in this programme, the ISC’s work was unavoidably hamstrung. Indeed, successive UK governments
have gone to great lengths to suppress vital evidence, including passing legislation precisely for
this purpose. At the time of writing, the current UK government continues to resist repeated calls
for a judge-led inquiry, following the damning findings of the ISC. This posture must change, if
we are to have true accountability for the violations which took place in the ‘War on Terror’.
The absence of any kind of government effort, both in the US and UK, to hold specific individuals to account for their roles in torture has two implications. First, it emphasises the unwillingness
of both states to totally outlaw torture and prevent it from happening in the future. Second, it
accelerates the decline of the global governance of human rights. The US and UK pride themselves on their human rights records and play significant roles in holding other states to account,
including making the delivery of aid contingent on compliance with international human rights
treaties. Yet both states have severely undermined their international reputations, and have
contributed to increases in torture and human rights violations by other state and non-state
actors, as a direct result of the CIA’s torture programme.
Persistent efforts by litigators, human rights organisations and some dedicated parliamentar‘War on Terror’, making it impossible for the US or UK governments to continue to deny how farreaching the torture programme was, or how devastating its effects. The need to publicise state
perpetrated human rights abuses, and to pursue justice against those responsible, is also more
urgent than ever. In this light, we hope that CIA Torture Unredacted will play a meaningful role in
facilitating efforts to seek redress and reparation for victims. We also hope that it can contribute
to holding executive power to account, and to bringing about reform in the security practices of
powerful liberal democratic states, including through reinstating the absolute prohibition of torture
and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment at all times and in all circumstances.
Endnotes
.
1
2.
3.
4.
SSCI, Foreword to the Committee Study, 9
December 2014, p. 3.
Mark Mazzetti, Matthew Rosenberg, and Charlie
Savage, Trump Administration Returns Copies of
Report on CIA Torture to Congress, The New
York Times, 2 June 2017.
Steven Aftergood, SSCI Wants Copies of Full
Torture Report Returned, Federation of American
Scientists, 21 January 2015.
Mark Mazzetti, Matthew Rosenberg, and Charlie
Savage, Trump Administration Returns Copies of
Report on CIA Torture to Congress, The New
York Times, 2 June 2017.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Andrew Buncombe, Torture of Terror Suspect at
CIA Black Site Operated by Current Director
Gina Haspel Detailed in Newly Declassified
Cables, The Independent, 10 August 2018.
SSCI, Findings and Conclusions of the
Committee Study, 9 December 2014, p. 11.
James Meikle, Human Rights Groups to Boycott
Inquiry into British Torture and Rendition, The
Guardian, 4 August 2011.
ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition:
2001-2010, UK Parliament, 28 June 2018, pp. 1-3.
151
CONCLUSION
ians in the US and the UK have attempted to hold executive power to account for torture in the
APPENDIX 1
THE PRISONERS
APPENDIX 1
153
APPENDIX 1:
THE PRISONERS
This appendix provides detailed profiles of the 119 men listed as CIA prisoners in the Committee
Study. In each case, we have established where possible the prisoner’s nationality, the date and
location of their capture, the location of their initial detention (often by the government in the
country of capture), the dates when they were held formally by the CIA, the black site locations
during this time, and what happened to them after their time in the torture programme.
By mining the first-hand accounts of individuals held within the programme, alongside declassified US government documents, CIA cables, flight data and a range of other sources, we are
able here to build the most comprehensive picture to date of the fate and whereabouts of these
119 men. In some cases, the experiences of an individual have been extensively documented
beforehand, and we do not necessarily reproduce every bit of testimony here. However, we do
cite to all relevant past investigations and court cases where these have provided such detail,
and we provide here enough evidence to support our assertions regarding where and when
individuals were held by the CIA, and how they were treated.
As we have discussed in the main body of this report, the CIA undoubtedly held more than
these 119 men, and were also clearly involved in the rendition, detention and torture of others
of some of these men. However, we restrict our focus in this appendix to the 119 prisoners listed
in the Committee Study, given that they have been the primary focus of our investigation.
For the most part, profiles are listed in order that the men formally entered the CIA programme, starting with Abu Zubaydah (#1). However, where two or more prisoners were subjected
to essentially similar treatment and movement within the programme, we have combined their
profiles to avoid repetition. There are also three sets of prisoners which we treat in larger group
profiles, mainly because there is still relatively little known about each. These group profiles
come at the end of the appendix, and include seven men transferred to US military custody at
Bagram Airbase, ten men released directly from CIA custody, and 20 men whose fate after their
time in the torture programme we have been unable to identify.
155
APPENDIX 1
held by allied intelligence and security agencies. Appendix 2 provides an account of the rendition
ABU ZUBAYDAH (#1)
Nationality: Palestinian
Capture: Pakistan, 28 March 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 31 March 2002
Period of CIA custody: 1619 days
Left CIA custody: 5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Thailand; Poland; Guantánamo Bay; Morocco; Lithuania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Abu Zubaydah was captured on 28 March 2002, alongside more than 30 other suspects, in joint
US-Pakistani raids on safe houses in Faisalabad, Pakistan.1 During the course of his arrest, he
was seriously injured and flown to a military hospital in Lahore, where he was treated by Pakistani
and US doctors.2 He was the first suspect to be taken into the CIA detention programme. The
CIA rejected the idea of passing him to the US military, given that they wished to keep his
detention secret from the ICRC. They settled on establishing a secret detention site in Thailand,
and by 29 March 2002 President Bush had authorised Abu Zubaydah’s transfer to Thailand.3
His rendition took place shortly thereafter, and we have established that he entered CIA custody
on 31 March 2002.
We have provided a detailed account of Abu Zubaydah’s treatment while in Thailand in
Chapter 2, given that the CIA developed many aspects of its overall programme in relation to his
detention and interrogation, and do not repeat these details here. Abu Zubaydah was held at
the Thai site until December 2002. At that point the site was closed, and he was rendered to the
newly-opened Polish black site alongside Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26).4 Our investigation has
confirmed this rendition operation, which took place between 4-5 December 2002 on board the
aircraft N63MU (Circuit 15).
Abu Zubaydah was held for over 9 months in Poland, although little is known about his treatment during this time. By July 2003, the two interrogator/psychologists, Mitchell and Jessen, had
assessed him as compliant: ‘he completely cooperates with all explicit requests and implicit routines. He proactively provides useful unsolicited and novel information… he strives to please and
tries to anticipate demands.’5 In September 2003, the Polish site was closed, and all detainees
were transferred out. Abu Zubaydah was transferred to the black sites at Guantánamo Bay. This
rendition operation took place on 22-23 September 2003 on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 31).
Abu Zubaydah was held secretly in Guantánamo Bay from September 2003 until April 2004,
at which point all five CIA detainees there were rendered to other detention locations.6 Our
investigation has identified two rendition operations which transferred prisoners to Morocco
and Romania, on 12 and 13 April 2004. The first was on board the aircraft N85VM, which flew to
Romania and then Morocco (Circuit 42). The second was on board the aircraft N368CE, which
flew direct to Morocco (Circuit 43).
156
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Some reporting has placed Abu Zubaydah in Morocco from this point, and if correct he could
have been on either of these two flights.7 Subsequently, in March 2005, a cable documents his
presence at the Lithuanian black site.8 It is likely that he was rendered to Lithuania in February
2005, when the Moroccan site closed (Circuit 55).
Little is known about Abu Zubaydah’s treatment in Lithuania. He was held at the site for over
a year, until it was closed in March 2006.9 At that point, all CIA prisoners at the site were transferred to DETENTION SITE BROWN in Afghanistan.10 Our investigation has identified this rendition
operation, which took place on 25-26 March 2006 on board two aircraft, N733MA and N740EH
(Circuit 60).
Abu Zubaydah continued to be held in Afghanistan until September 2006. He was then
transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September 2006, as one
of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, he remains detained
at Guantánamo Bay.
ZAKARIYA (#2)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Georgia, 28 Apr 2002
Captured alongside: Jamal Boudraa (#3)
Pre-CIA detention: Georgia
Entered CIA custody: 1-2 May 2002
Period of CIA custody: 370-373 days
Left CIA custody: 6-9 May 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: Transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
APPENDIX 1
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
ABBAR AL-HAWARI (#4)
Nationality: Algerian
Capture: Georgia, 28 Apr 2002
Captured alongside: Jamal Boudraa (#3)
Pre-CIA detention: Georgia
Entered CIA custody: 1-2 May 2002
Period of CIA custody: 370-373 days
Left CIA custody: 6-9 May 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: Transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to Algeria, 10 November 2008.
157
Zakariya (also known as Omar al-Rammah) and Abbar al-Hawari (also known as Abu Sufiyan)
were two of three men captured in Georgia on 28 April 2002 and handed over to the CIA.11 The
third man was Jamal Boudraa (#3), who was held for much longer by the CIA before being transferred to his native Algeria.
DoD documents identify Georgian security forces as those involved in the capture operation.12 According to Zakariya, all three were captured by men who drove into the car they were
driving in. He fainted, and awoke handcuffed and being beaten in the back of another vehicle.
He was then held in a warehouse for four days, before being driven to another location, examined,
then taken to an airport and put on a plane to Afghanistan, where he was immediately interrogated by Americans.13 Abbar al-Hawari’s account confirms these sequence of events.14
Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place between 1-2 May
2002 on board the aircraft N63MU (Circuit 6).
Once in Afghanistan, Zakariya and al-Hawari were held by the CIA for over a year. Given that
the first formal CIA detention facility in Afghanistan did not open until September 2002, they
would have been held in an Afghan-run site for at least the first four months of their custody.
We have established that they were held at the Dark Prison during October 2002.15 At some point
between 6-9 May 2003, they were transferred to US military control at Bagram Airbase, and then
to Guantánamo Bay on 9 May 2003 on board a military aircraft with call-sign RCH594Y.16
Al-Hawari was transferred out of Guantánamo Bay on 10 November 2008, and returned to
Algeria.17 As of May 2019, Zakariya remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
158
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
JAMAL BOUDRAA (#3)
Nationality: Algerian
Capture: Georgia, 28 April 2002
Captured alongside: Zakariya (#2), Abbar al-Hawari (#4)
Pre-CIA detention: Georgia
Entered CIA custody: 1-2 May 2002
Period of CIA custody: 630-631 days
Left CIA custody: 22 January 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Algerian custody. Released, 2010.
Jamal Boudraa (also known as Abdul Haq) is an Algerian national who was one of three men
captured in Georgia on 28 April 2002 and handed over to the CIA.18 He was captured alongside
Zakariya (#2) and Abbar al-Hawari (#4), who were both eventually rendered to US military custody
at Guantánamo Bay. According to Zakariya, the men were initially held in a warehouse for four
days, before being driven to another location, examined, then taken to an airport and put on a
plane.19 Al-Hawari has testified that this flight landed in Kabul, Afghanistan,20 and our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place between 1-2 May 2002 on board
the aircraft N63MU (Circuit 6).
Boudraa was held in CIA custody for around 21 months (630-631 days). Given that the first
formal CIA detention facility in Afghanistan did not open until September 2002, he will have been
held in an Afghan-run site for at least the first four months of his custody (likely alongside Zakariya
and al-Hawari). We have established that he was held at the Dark Prison during October 2002.21
It also appears that he was held at a site in the Panjshir Valley during February 2003, from which
he and Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5) briefly escaped.22
2004.23 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 22 January
2004 on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 37).
Once in Algeria, Boudraa was prosecuted for the crime of membership of a terrorist group
active abroad and, in 2005, sentenced to five years of imprisonment. He was released in 2010.24
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Open Society Justice Initiative has reported that Boudraa was transferred to Algeria in January
HASSAN ABU BAKR QA’ID (#5)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 22 May 2002
Captured alongside: Ridha al-Najjar (#6)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 6 June 2002
Period of CIA custody: 520-529 days
Left CIA custody: 8-17 November 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Escaped, 10 July
2005.
Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (also known as Abu Yahya al-Libi) was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in
late May 2002, alongside Ridha al-Najjar (#6) and a number of other individuals. It appears that
the raids were conducted by Pakistani forces, although the exact details are redacted from CIA
documents.25 Al-Najjar himself has testified that their capture came on 22 May 2002.26
Qa’id and al-Najjar were detained in Pakistan for a number of days. One CIA cable from
Pakistan documents that at some point between 5-9 June 2002 both men were rendered to CIA
custody at a proxy detention facility in Afghanistan to which the CIA had access and effective
control.27 Al-Najjar has confirmed this date of transfer, giving it as 6 June 2002.28
This proxy detention facility has been described by al-Najjar as being underground, with a
window at the top of his cell showing street level. His captors referred to the site as ‘Intelligence
2’, and al-Najjar believes it was in Kabul.29 Qa’id was likely to have also been held at this site, and
he has claimed that he was held at a site called ‘Rissat 2’ between June and September 2002.30
Al-Najjar was transferred to the Dark Prison in September 2002,31 and our investigation has
established that Qa’id was also held at this site during October 2002.32 While al-Najjar was then
moved between a number of facilities, Qa’id’s location during his time in CIA custody is unknown.
Qa’id was held by the CIA for nearly 18 months, and was transferred out of CIA custody
between 8-17 November 2003. He was sent to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and was
one of four men who escaped on 10 July 2005 (the others were also ex-CIA prisoners, Umar
Faruq, #14, Muhammad al-Qahtani, #60, and Abdullah Ashami, #71).33
The United Nations Security Council added Qa’id to its al-Qaeda Sanctions List in September
2011, on the basis that he was a ‘senior al-Qaeda leader who, as of late 2010, was responsible
for the supervision of other senior al-Qaeda officials.’34 It has been reported that Qa’id was killed
in a US drone strike in Pakistan in June 2012.35
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
RIDHA AL-NAJJAR (#6)
Nationality: Tunisian
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 22 May 2002
Captured alongside: Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 6 June 2002
Period of CIA custody: 700-709 days
Left CIA custody: 6-15 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then Afghan
custody. Released, June 2015.
Ridha al-Najjar is a Tunisian national who was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, on 22 May 2002,
alongside Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5) and a number of others.36 Qa’id and al-Najjar were detained
in Pakistan for a number of days, during which time the CIA received intelligence reports from
al-Najjar’s interrogations.37 One CIA cable from Pakistan then documents that, between 5-9
June 2002, both men were rendered to CIA custody at a proxy detention facility in Afghanistan,
to which the CIA had access and effective control.38 Al-Najjar himself has testified that this
transfer took place on 6 June 2002,39 and Qa’id has testified that they were held in the facility
known as Rissat 2.40
The CIA discussed its interrogation strategy for al-Najjar during June and July, at the same
time as debating how to manage Abu Zubaydah’s interrogations. One cable, dated 16 July 2002,
was sent to the CIA station in Afghanistan, suggesting possible interrogation techniques to use
against al-Najjar, including: utilizing ‘Najjar’s fear for the well-being of his family to our benefit’;
using ‘vague threats’ to create a ‘mind virus’ that would cause him to believe that his situation
and employing sleep deprivation through the use of round-the-clock interrogations.41 By 26 July
2002, CIA officers in Afghanistan were proposing ‘breaking Najjar’ through the use of isolation,
‘sound disorientation techniques,’ ‘sense of time deprivation,’ limited light, cold temperatures,
and sleep deprivation.42
CIA Headquarters authorised the interrogation plan for al-Najjar on 5 August 2002, the day
after Abu Zubaydah had become the first prisoner to be subjected to the CIA’s ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’. The authorisation included the use of loud music, worse food, sleep deprivation
and hooding.
Al-Najjar was detained in Rissat 2 until September 2002. The guards referred to the site as
‘Intelligence 2’, and he was held in an underground cell with a window high up at street level.43
He was tortured throughout August and September 2002, before being transferred to the Dark
Prison between 10-21 September.44 On the last day in the Afghan-run site, an interrogator warned
al-Najjar that, if he did not provide the information being sought, ‘wait to see what happens to
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APPENDIX 1
would continue to get worse; manipulating his environment using a hood, restraints, and music;
you where we take you next. At the next place we will hang you from your anus.’45
By 21 September, one CIA cable from the Dark Prison stated that he was now ‘clearly a
broken man’ and ‘on the verge of complete breakdown’ as a result of isolation. Indeed, al-Najjar
was now willing to do whatever his interrogators asked.46
In October 2002, US military personnel were involved in a debriefing of al-Najjar at the site.
This was followed by a visit from a US military legal advisor on x November 2002, who noted that
the site was being run by a junior CIA officer with ‘little to no experience with interrogating or
handling prisoners.’ The advisor reported on al-Najjar specifically, documenting that he was
being subjected to ‘isolation in total darkness; lowering the quality of his food; keeping him at
an uncomfortable temperature (cold); [playing music] 24 hours a day; and keeping him shackled
and hooded.’ In addition, al-Najjar was described as having been left hanging, with one or both
wrists handcuffed to an overhead bar, for 22 hours each day for two consecutive days in order
to ‘break’ his resistance. He was also reported as being forced to wear a diaper, with no access
to toilet facilities.47 The detention and interrogation of al-Najjar later ‘became the model’ for others held at the site.48
Al-Najjar’s own account confirms his torture at the Dark Prison, including hanging from a
bar for days without being able to touch the floor, beatings so severe they resulted in multiple
broken bones, various forms of water torture, and being threatened with a make-shift electric
chair, a waterboard and a coffin.49
It is unclear how long al-Najjar was held at the Dark Prison, although he thinks it was for
‘many months.’50 He was then transferred to a site in the Panjshir Valley, where he was held in a
cell just 0.8m x 2m, and then to a further location in Kabul where he ‘was held in a number of
different places inside, on different floors, and was moved underground when other people were
in the facility.’51 Qai’d has referred to this location as ‘Rissat for Investigations’.52
We have established that al-Najjar was transferred out of CIA custody between 6-15 May
2004, and held at Bagram Airbase for over ten years, where he was given prisoner number 1466.53
On 9 December 2014, on the same day as the Committee Study was released, it was reported
that al-Najjar had been transferred to Afghan custody, alongside Lutfi al-Gharisi (#20), another
Tunisian who had been held in CIA custody before years spent at Bagram.54 He was eventually
repatriated to Tunisia in June 2015, and released.55
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
AYUB MARSHID SALIH (#7). .
BASHIR AL-MARWALAH (#8)
HA’IL AL-MITHALI (#9). .
.
MUSAB AL-MUDWANI (#11)
SAID SALEH SAID (#12).
.
SHAWQI AWAD (#13)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: 11 September 2002, Karachi, Pakistan
Captured alongside: Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), Hassan bin Attash (#10), Abdul Rabbani (#23)
and Ahmed Rabbani (#25)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 14-15 September 2002
Period of CIA custody: 31-39 days
Left CIA custody: 16-24 October 2002
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then Guantánamo
Bay. Released, 2016 and 2017 (except Said, who remains detained as of May 2019).
These six Yemeni men were captured together, alongside several other suspects, on 11
September 2002. A series of raids in Karachi by Pakistani ISI officers, rangers and police officers
was sparked by the capture the day before of another suspect, Ahmed Rabbani (#25).56 The
men were held in Pakistani detention in Karachi for a number of days, at a site where ‘lots of
people were being tortured.’57
Our investigation has concluded that this group was transferred to CIA custody along with
Jordan. Given bin Attash’s own testimony, this transfer date is likely to have been on 14-15
September 2002.58
The six men were held in the Dark Prison in Afghanistan for around one month. CIA cables
from Afghanistan document the torture, or possible torture, of several of them. Cables refer to
the lack of sleep by al-Mithali,59 and by Salih,60 in early October 2002. Al-Mithali himself has testified that, while at the site, ‘his testicles were disfigured to the point where they cannot be
repaired,’ and that the torture was so bad that he admitted to allegations of involvement with
al-Qaeda in order to make it stop.61 Once in US military custody at Guantánamo Bay, al-Marwalah
told CIA debriefers that he was tortured whilst at the Dark Prison, including being forced to
‘stand up for five days straight and answer questions,’ and to ‘strip naked and stand in front of
a female interrogator.’62 Likewise, Said later told his debriefers that he was ‘mistreated and beaten
by Americans while blind-folded and stripped down to his underwear.’63
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Hassan bin Attash (#10), who was then separated from the group and transferred onwards to
A US federal judge hearing al-Mudwani’s habeas corpus case stated that the prisoner was
held at a number of sites before his transfer to Guantánamo Bay, and that his claims of ‘abusive
interrogation techniques’ during secret detention were ‘credible.’64 Al-Mudwani has testified
that, after his time in Pakistan, he was held in an American-run underground prison.65
All six men were transferred out of CIA custody between 16-24 October 2002. DoD records
show that the men were held at the military detention site at Bagram Airbase, having previously
been ‘transferred to a prison facility and held for approximately one month.’66 They were transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay on 28 October 2002,67 on board a military
aircraft with call-sign RCH319Y.68
Five of the six men have so far been released from Guantánamo Bay: Salih and al-Marwalah
were transferred to the UAE on 13 August 2016; Awad to Cape Verde on 4 December 2016; and
al-Mithali and al-Mudwani to Oman on 16 January 2017.69
In January 2017, the Periodic Review Board (PRB) at Guantánamo Bay determined that Said
remained a ‘continuing, significant threat to the security of the United States’. As of May 2019,
he remains detained at the site.70
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
HASSAN BIN ATTASH (#10)
Nationality: Saudi
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 11 September 2002
Captured alongside: Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), ‘Karachi 6’ (#7-9, 11-13), Rabbani brothers (#23, #25)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 14-15 September 2002
Period of CIA custody: 120-129 days (not including 478 days in Jordanian custody)
Left CIA custody: 4-14 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Jordan; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
At the age of 16, Hassan bin Attash was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, on 11 September 2002,
during multiple raids by Pakistani forces on al-Qaeda safe houses in the city. Several other people
were captured in these raids, including the so-called ‘Karachi 6’, the Rabbani brothers, and the
‘High-Value Detainee’ Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41). All were later held in Guantánamo Bay along with
bin Attash.
Bin Attash was held in a Karachi prison for 3-4 days,71 where he was interrogated while
blindfolded by a team of about a dozen Pakistani and American officials. During questioning, he
was punched in the face and stomach, hit with a stick, and deprived of sleep.72
Bin Attash was transferred to CIA custody in Afghanistan between 14-15 September 2002,
likely alongside the ‘Karachi 6’. All were detained in the Dark Prison. Here, bin Attash was held
in total darkness and continuously blasted with loud music. He was subjected to a cycle of interrogation and positional torture: first he would be taken to an interrogation room where he would
have bright lights shone into his eyes (having been kept in total darkness), and be interrogated
these sessions, which lasted 30-60 minutes. He would then be returned to his cell, and hung by
his wrists from a bar above his head with his toes just reaching the floor. This, he says, was like
being stretched on a medieval rack, and was ‘so painful that no one put in this position could
stand it for even a moment’. He would be left there for 6-8 hours, before being brought back for
further interrogation. This cycle went on for the 2-3 days he was held at the site.73
Bin Attash was then rendered to Jordan, along with Ramzi bin al-Shibh (who was taken
onwards to Morocco). Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place
on 17 September 2002 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 9).
Bin Attash was detained in the GID (Jordanian intelligence) Headquarters in Wadi Sir, Amman,
alongside Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi (#93). He was held for 16 months, and tortured repeatedly, including in the presence of Americans. According to bin Attash’s legal team, citing his testimony:
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APPENDIX 1
naked with his wrists chained behind him to a wall. He was also sprayed with cold water during
The Jordanians tortured Hassan mercilessly, slapping and punching him, and
making him lie down and stepping on his body and face. They also dragged him
through the hallways to prevent him from sleeping. Hassan told counsel that the
sleep deprivation was one of his worst tortures, making him almost crazy. The
Americans have cruelly called this form of torture the ‘frequent flyer program.’
Hassan suffered other tortures in the Jordanian prison. Sadistically, Hassan’s
keepers would lie him on his back, raise his feet above his head, secure his legs on
a horizontal bar, and thrash the soles of his feet until they were raw, and afterward
force him to stand in a pile of salt half-melted by hot water. Hassan has told counsel
that he felt as though he was walking on hot coals, and that eventually he actually
tasted salt.74
Another (non-CIA) detainee held in the facility at the same time, Abu Hamza al-Tabuki, has testified that bin Attash was held in cell number 85, on the third floor of the facility, and that ‘the
guards didn’t allow [him] to sleep. The guards would look in on him through the small window
in his cell door. If they saw that his eyes were closed, they’d wake him up by slapping his face or
spraying water on him.’75 According to another of his legal team, bin Attash was hung upside
down, beaten on the soles of his feet, and threatened with electric shocks. ‘He says that he told
them whatever they wanted to hear. He just wanted it to stop.’76
On 8 January 2004, after 16 months in Jordan, bin Attash was returned to Afghanistan. He
has testified that he was taken from the GID Headquarters to the airport where he was met by
CIA officers who were dressed in black, and were wearing black masks with forehead flashlights.77
Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft
N313P (Circuit 36).
Once in Afghanistan, bin Attash was detained in the Dark Prison. This has been confirmed
by another prisoner, Majid al-Maghrebi (#91), who spoke to him and heard of his ‘horrible torture’
in Jordan.78 While at the site for a second time, bin Attash was subjected to ‘the same tortures
as before, including sensory overload and deprivation.’79
Our investigation has established that bin Attash was moved out of CIA custody between
4-14 May 2004, and transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase alongside several other
detainees also moved out of CIA custody at the same time.
In Bagram, bin Attash continued to suffer physical and psychological abuse, including regular
beatings, stress positions and sleep deprivation. He was also threatened with being mauled by
dogs, and with electrocution.80 On 19 September 2004, after several months at the site, bin
Attash, along with several others moved from the Dark Prison in May 2004, was transferred to
US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. This final transfer was on board a military aircraft with
call-sign RCH947Y.81 As of May 2019, bin Attash remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
166
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
UMAR FARUQ (#14)
Nationality: Kuwaiti
Capture: Jakarta, Indonesia, early June 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Indonesia; Egypt
Entered CIA custody: 29 September 2002
Period of CIA custody: 410-419 days
Left CIA custody: 13-22 November 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Escaped, 10 July
2005.
According to reporting by The New York Times, Umar Faruq (also known as Abu al-Faruq alKuwaiti) was captured in Jakarta, Indonesia, in early June 2002.82 Our investigation has established
that he was transferred into CIA custody between 14-29 September 2002, and it is possible that
he was on board the same rendition flight as Abd al-Salam al-Hilah (#15), who had been in
Egyptian custody (Circuit 10). If this were the case, it is possible that Faruq was the second
prisoner acknowledged by the CIA to have been rendered through Diego Garcia, in September
2002, given that we have identified this flight as transiting from Southeast Asia to North Africa
(Circuit 9).83 This flight, which took place between 13-15 September, is the only flight by a known
rendition aircraft from Southeast Asia during this period, lending weight to the suggestion that
Faruq was rendered to Egypt. If so, he would have been held in Egyptian custody for two weeks,
from 15-29 September, before being rendered to Afghanistan.
Faruq was held by the CIA for over 13 months, and for at least some time in the Dark Prison
in Afghanistan. He was transferred out of CIA custody between 13-22 November 2003. It is likely
to have been at this point that he was transferred over to DoD control at Bagram Airbase. He
from Bagram (the others were also ex-CIA prisoners, Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, #5, Muhammad
al-Qahtani, #60, and Abdullah Ashami, #71).84 It has been reported that he was killed in Iraq on
25 September 2006, by British forces fighting in Basra.85
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APPENDIX 1
was held there until the night of 10-11 July 2005, when he was one of four men who escaped
ABD AL-SALAM AL-HILAH (#15)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Cairo, Egypt, late September 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Egypt
Entered CIA custody: 29 September 2002
Period of CIA custody: 590-599 days
Left CIA custody: 11-20 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
Abd al-Salam al-Hilah is a Yemeni national who claims to have been captured in Cairo in late
September 2002, in a joint operation between Egyptian intelligence and the CIA.86 DoD documents state his capture was ‘approximately 20 September 2002.’87 According to Amnesty
International, al-Hilah was subjected to degrading treatment in Egyptian custody for about a
week, and then handed over to US officials who flew him to another location.88 Our investigation
has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 29 September 2002 on board the
aircraft N379P (Circuit 10).
Al-Hilah was held in the Dark Prison, where he was stripped naked and suspended from the
ceiling for prolonged periods.89 His description of the site matches that from other detainees
held at the Dark Prison, and Khaled al-Maqtari (#96) was told that al-Hilah was held at the site
in early 2003.90 Around January 2003, after about three and a half months at the site, al-Hilah
was transferred to another location, which he called ‘Malidu’, which was ‘an underground, more
modern facility where the conditions were better.’ During this time, he says that he was interrogated by the US for 15 consecutive days.91
Around April 2003, after about two and a half months in ‘Malidu’, al-Hilah was transferred
to an Afghan-run facility, where he was held for over a year. He was then moved back to Malidu,
before being transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase.92 Our investigation has confirmed that he was transferred from CIA custody between 11-20 May 2004. DoD records document
his eventual transfer to US military control at Bagram Airbase, and his subsequent transfer to
Guantánamo Bay on 19 September 2004.93 This final transfer was on board a military aircraft
with call-sign RCH947Y.94 As of May 2019, al-Hilah remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
168
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
RAFIQ AL-HAMI (#18)
Nationality: Tunisian
Capture: Zahedan, Iran, 29 January 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Iran; Afghanistan
Entered CIA custody: 12-24 October 2002
Period of CIA custody: 50-59 days
Left CIA custody: 10-18 December 2002
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to Slovakia, 24 January 2010.
TAWFIQ AL-BIHANI (#19)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Zahedan, Iran, 29 January 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Iran; Afghanistan
Entered CIA custody: 12-24 October 2002
Period of CIA custody: 50-59 days
Left CIA custody: 10-18 December 2002
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
relating to al-Bihani state that he remained in Iranian custody at numerous sites in Mashhad and
Tehran until mid-March 2002, at which point he was transferred to Afghan custody.96 This appears
to have been part of a transfer of 15 men from Iran to Afghanistan, ten of whom were later transferred to US custody.97
The men’s initial time in Afghanistan was in an Afghan-run facility. As al-Hami testified to the
Guantánamo Bay Administrative Review Board (ARB), ‘I was in an Afghan prison but the interrogation was done by Americans. I was there for about a one-year period, transferring from one
place to another.’98 According to al-Bihani, while in the first Afghan prison they were hidden from
Red Cross representatives until one of their fellow prisoners informed them of their existence.
I was handcuffed behind and they put a hood on my head so that I could not see
anything. When I entered the interrogation room, the American guards (sic) pushed
me down to the ground in a very savage manner. They started to cut my clothing
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Rafiq al-Hami and Tawfiq al-Bihani were captured in Iran on 29 January 2002.95 DoD records
with scissors. They undressed me completely and I was nude. They made me sit on
a chair and it was very cold. I was also afraid and terrorized because the guards
were aiming their weapons towards me. The interrogator put his personal gun on
my forehead threatening to kill me.99
Tawfiq al-Bihani
Al-Bihani says that he was held at this site for around ten weeks, and then moved to a second
site where he was held in solitary confinement for over five months. According to another CIA
prisoner, Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5), this was a prison known as ‘Rissat 2’, and Qa’id was held
there alongside al-Bihani in June 2002.100
Our investigation has established that both men were transferred into CIA custody between
12-24 October 2002, and held for almost two months in the Dark Prison. CIA cables from that
time document the torture of both men, with each subjected to 72 hours of sleep deprivation
before their first interrogation session.101 This use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ was
not authorised by CIA Headquarters.102
This was absolutely the worst prison. It was a very dark prison and there was no
light, no bed or a carpet, the floor was semi cement. The restraints on my feet were
very tight; they put me into a cell and kept me hanging tied to the wall for almost
ten days. The irritating music 24 hours a day was very loud and hard banging on the
door. When I used to go for interrogations, I was unable to walk because of the
restraints on my legs and tightness on my feet. I would fall down to the ground and
scream that I cannot walk. They would pick me up from the ground and I would walk
with them while they were hitting me on the way to the interrogation until I would
bleed from my feet. When I would fall to the ground, they would drag me while I am
on the ground. Then they would bring me back to the cell and sprinkle cold water
on me. Sometimes they would put a weapon on my head threatening to kill me
using some provocative statements which I cannot mention in this letter.103
Tawfiq al-Bihani
The CIA eventually acknowledged that al-Hami’s detention did not meet the required standards
for CIA detention, given that he had no knowledge of imminent threats to US interests, and was
not involved in planning or preparing terrorist actions. Likewise, al-Bihani was never suspected
of having information on, or a role in, terrorist plotting, but was interrogated simply because he
was believed to have been present at a suspected al-Qaeda guesthouse.104
Back in Afghanistan, I would be tortured. I was threatened. I was left out all night in
the cold. It was different there. I spent two months with no water, no shoes, in
darkness and in the cold. There was darkness and loud music for two months. I was
not allowed to pray. I was not allowed to fast during Ramadan.105
Rafiq al-Hami
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Despite this determination, the CIA transferred both men to DoD custody at Bagram between
10-18 December 2002.106 They were then transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay
on 7 February 2003, on board a military aircraft with call-sign RCH191Y.107
Al-Hami was held at Guantánamo Bay for a further seven years, and eventually released and
transferred to Slovakia on 24 January 2010.108 As of May 2019, al-Bihani remains detained at
Guantánamo Bay.
LUTFI AL-GHARISI (#20)
Nationality: Tunisian
Capture: Peshawar, Pakistan, 24 September 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 12-24 October 2002
Period of CIA custody: 380-389 days
Left CIA custody: 27 October – 17 November 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then Afghan
custody. Released, June 2015.
Lutfi al-Gharisi is a Tunisian man who was captured by US and Pakistani forces in Peshawar,
Pakistan, on 24 September 2002.109 He was held for several weeks in Pakistan, before being
transferred into CIA custody between 12-24 October 2002. Al-Gharisi was detained at the Dark
Prison, where he was held for around six months. He has described sustained torture while at
this site, including being hung from the ceiling for the first month, repeated beatings to the point
of vomiting and fainting, and various forms of water torture. He was also threatened with the
some of this mistreatment at the site, including two 48-hour sessions of sleep deprivation shortly
after his arrival.111 This treatment was not authorised by CIA Headquarters.112
Around April 2003, al-Gharisi was transferred to another site in Kabul, and then to a prison
in the Panjshir Valley. He was held here for a number of months, in a cell measuring 1 x 1.5m, and
was visited by some of the officials who had seen him in the Dark Prison.113
Al-Gharisi was held in CIA detention for over a year, until some point between 27 October
– 17 November 2003. He was then transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, alongside an Afghan detainee (likely Pacha Wazir, #38).114 He was held at Bagram for an additional
seven years, and was given prisoner number 1209.115 He was held alongside another Tunisian
who had been in CIA detention, Ridha al-Najjar (#6), and these two men were the final prisoners
in Bagram, transferred to Afghan custody on 10 December 2014.116 Al-Gharisi was flown back to
Tunisia and released in June 2015.117
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use of the electric chair, and the waterboard.110 CIA cables from Afghanistan document at least
ABDUL RABBANI (#23)
Nationality: Pakistani
Capture: 11 September 2002, Karachi, Pakistan
Captured alongside: Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Hassan bin Attash, ‘Karachi 6’
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 1-9 November 2002
Period of CIA custody: 550-559 days
Left CIA custody: 4-21 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
AHMED RABBANI (#25)
Nationality: Pakistani
Capture: 10 September 2002, Karachi, Pakistan
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 1-9 November 2002
Period of CIA custody: 550-559 days
Left CIA custody: 4-21 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
Abdul Rabbani (also known as Abd al-Rahim Ghulam Rabbani) and Ahmed Rabbani (also known
as Ghulam Rabbani and Abu Badr) are brothers, and Pakistani nationals, who are both currently
detained at Guantánamo Bay. Ahmed Rabbani was captured in Karachi by Pakistani ISI forces
on 10 September 2002, who believed that he was in fact another suspect, Hassan Ghul (#98).
Initial interrogations of Ahmed Rabbani’s driver, who was captured at the same time, revealed
the location of further suspects, and led directly to a series of raids on 11 September 2002.118
Among those captured as a result were Abdul Rabbani, as well as Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), Hassan
bin Attash (#10), and the so-called ‘Karachi 6’ (#7-9, 11-13).
According to DoD records, after capture the brothers were held in proxy detention in Pakistan
for two months, at least part of which time was in Islamabad.119 This is confirmed by Ahmed
Rabbani, who has given a detailed account of their time in Pakistani detention in Karachi and
Islamabad, including being beaten with electric cables and threatened with the rape of their
family members.120
172
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Ever since the moment they captured me they began beating and torturing me… I was
surrounded by 12 investigators among whom not even one had a merciful heart...
Some of them were smacking me in the face and in my stomach, some were kicking
me, some were beating me with a stick, some were hitting me with an electric wire
and some were spitting in my face, some were pulling my hair, some were punching
me with an iron fist, some were punching and poking me with their fingers, some
were biting me with their teeth, some were poking my body [with] a pen until my
entire body was bruised and blood was running from my nose and my mouth.121
Ahmed Rabbani
It also appears that Abdul Rabbani was interrogated by the FBI while in Pakistani custody, and
provided information on the whereabouts of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45) and his associates.122 Our investigation has established that they were then transferred into CIA custody
between 1-9 November 2002. Ahmed Rabbani’s account of the rendition is similar to that from
other CIA prisoners, and he has testified that they were held and tortured in the Dark Prison in
Afghanistan for the next seven months.123
The second torture journey began when a few Americans who were wearing masks
received me and twisted my arms to the back and tied them tightly until they were
almost cut off from being so tight. Then they put tape on my mouth and a full mask
to cover my head and my face until it was hanging down my neck, they then
wrapped the tape around my neck over the mask and closed all opening for air and
breathing. Then, they cut my clothes harshly with a knife and gave me [a] few kicks
and beatings when I objected [to] not being able to breathe.
I woke up in Afghanistan, in the city of Kabul and in particular at ‘the darkness’
prison… I was received with kicking, beating, pulling left and right, pushing my head
and my body against the wall… Some of them would pull me by my testicles and my
They took me to a room and hung me by my hand to an iron shackle where my
toes hardly touched the ground. They removed the mask away from my face and left
me hanging from one hand, naked, thirsty, and hungry. I regained my breath after
they removed the mask but soon enough I began feeling tired from being hung,
hungry, and thirsty. All my weight was hung from the iron shackle until my hand was
about to be cut off and the blood was going down to my feet.124
Ahmed Rabbani
CIA cables from Afghanistan confirm some of these details, documenting the use of forced
standing, attention grasps and cold temperatures without blankets.125 The use of these techniques
on Ahmed Rabbani had been suggested by Bruce Jessen, just before he left the site and a few
days before the death of Gul Rahman.126
DoD records confirm Ahmed Rabbani’s account of their length of detention at the site,
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APPENDIX 1
penis forcefully, some would punch me in the stomach…
stating simply that they were detained ‘in Kabul’ for seven months, and were then ‘moved to
another prison.’127 This was around May 2003, and Rabbani refers to this second site as the
‘Afghan intelligence prison in Kabul’ and says they were held there for just short of one year.128
The site was clearly run by Afghan personnel, although the CIA had unfettered access.129 At some
point between January and May 2004, the Rabbani brothers were held alongside Khaled el-Masri
(#97) and Laid Saidi (#57), with whom they exchanged phone numbers.130
Both Rabbani brothers were held by the CIA for over 18 months, and were transferred out
of CIA control between 4-21 May 2004. DoD records show that they were held at the military
detention site at Bagram Airbase, and then transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo
Bay on 19 September 2004.131 This is confirmed by Ahmed Rabbani, who has given a detailed
account of his mistreatment in Bagram.132 This final transfer was on board a military aircraft with
call-sign RCH947Y.133 As of May 2019, both men remain detained at Guantánamo Bay.
174
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
GUL RAHMAN (#24)
Nationality: Afghan
Capture: Islamabad, Pakistan, 29 October 2002
Captured alongside: Ghairat Bahir (#37)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 1-9 November 2002
Period of CIA custody: 11-19 days
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: killed in CIA detention, 20 November 2002.
Gul Rahman was captured alongside Ghairat Bahir (#37) and three others in a joint US-Pakistani
operation in Islamabad on 29 October 2002. Bahir has said that he was held in Pakistani detention for several weeks,134 and it is likely that Rahman spent several days there too. Our investigation
has established that Rahman was transferred into CIA custody between 1-9 November 2002,
and held at the Dark Prison.
Once at the site, the CIA brought in the contract interrogator Bruce Jessen in order to ‘assess
a detainee for the possible use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.’ Jessen assisted
another CIA officer with the torture of Rahman, which included ‘48 hours of sleep deprivation,
auditory overload, total darkness, isolation, a cold shower, and rough treatment.’ He was also
subjected to nudity, ‘hard takedowns’, facial slaps and dietary manipulation. These techniques
had not been authorised by CIA Headquarters. On 19 November 2002, CIA records document
that CIA OFFICER 1 ordered that Gul Rahman be shackled to the wall of his cell in a position that
required the detainee to rest on the bare concrete floor. Rahman was wearing only a sweatshirt,
as CIA OFFICER 1 had ordered that Rahman’s clothing be removed when he had been judged to
be uncooperative during an earlier interrogation. The next day, the guards found Gul Rahman’s
mia—in part from having been forced to sit on the bare concrete floor without pants (but also
dehydration, lack of food, and immobility due to “short chaining”). CIA OFFICER 1 initial cable to
CIA Headquarters on Rahman’s death included a number of misstatements and omissions that
were not discovered until internal investigations into Rahman’s death.’
Despite his involvement in the death of Gul Rahman, CIA OFFICER 1 was not sanctioned.
CIA records note that, in March 2003, the CIA station in Afghanistan recommended that he
‘receive a “cash award” of $2,500 for his “consistently superior work.” CIA OFFICER 1 remained
in his position as manager of the detention site until July 2003 and continued to be involved in
the interrogations of other CIA detainees. He was formally certified as a CIA interrogator in April
2003 after the practical portion of his training requirement was waived because of his past
experience with interrogations at DETENTION SITE COBALT.’ Later, in 2005, a CIA Accountability
Board recommended that he receive a 10-day suspension without pay. This does not appear to
have been carried out.
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dead body. An internal CIA review and autopsy assessed that Rahman likely died from hypother-
ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26)
Nationality: Saudi
Capture: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, mid-October 2002
Pre-CIA detention: UAE
Entered CIA custody: 10 November 2002
Period of CIA custody: 1395 days
Left CIA custody: 5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Thailand; Poland; Morocco; Guantánamo Bay; Romania;
Lithuania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is a Saudi national who was captured in Dubai in mid-October 2002,135
although the precise date, location and details of the capture are unclear. According to al-Nashiri,
he was detained and interrogated by Emirati agents for the first month after his capture, before
being transferred to Afghanistan.136 This is confirmed by the Committee Study, which notes that
he was rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan on xx November 2002.137 Our investigation
has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 10 November 2002 on board the
aircraft N85VM (Circuit 13). One CIA cable describes al-Nashiri as ‘tearful and distressed’ during
his rendition.138
Once in Afghanistan, al-Nashiri says his wrists were tied to a bar in the ceiling, and he was
kept naked in a painful position with his feet just touching the floor.139 He was held at the site for
five days, and then rendered again to the CIA black site in Thailand on xx November 2002.140 One
declassified report by the Department of Justice (DoJ) makes clear that al-Nashiri was brought
to the Thai site on 15 November,141 and our investigation has identified this rendition operation,
on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 14).
Al-Nashiri was detained at the Thai black site for nearly three weeks, alongside Abu Zubaydah
(#1). He has testified that he was kept naked and shackled, and was ‘threatened with sodomy,
and with the arrest and rape of his family.’142 CIA records document his torture at this site, including the use of the waterboard.143
From the time I was arrested five years ago, they have been torturing me. It
happened during interviews. One time they tortured me one way and another time
they tortured me in a different way… I was hung for almost a month. You doing your
things basically and you were hung upside down and drowning and hitting the wall.
There are many scars on my head if I shave my head… I was without clothes. I was
sleeping on the floor for about a month….
There was a box half meter by half meter. It was two meters in height. They used
to put me inside the box. I was standing in that box for about a week and I couldn’t
do anything. My feet were swollen. My nails were about to fall off….144
176
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
The torture continued until 4 December 2002,145 at which point he was rendered to the newlyopened Polish black site alongside Abu Zubaydah.146 Our investigation has confirmed this
rendition operation, which took place between 4-5 December 2002 on board the aircraft N63MU
(Circuit 15).
The Committee Study provides a detailed account of the torture of al-Nashiri while in Poland,
including shaving his head, removing his clothing, and placing him in a standing sleep deprivation position with his arms affixed over his head. Interrogators threatened to sexually abuse his
mother, raised a pistol to his head, and held a cordless drill to his body.147
Al-Nashiri was held in Poland until June 2003, whereupon the CIA placed him and Ramzi
bin al-Shibh (#41) ‘within an already existing Country [redacted] detention facility.’ We have
established that this site was in Morocco. This was seen as a ‘temporary patch’, while discussions
continued around the construction of a permanent CIA facility in the country.148 The rendition of
these two prisoners to Morocco in June 2003 has also been reported by Associated Press,149
and our investigation has confirmed this rendition operation, which took place on 6 June 2003
on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 23).
Al-Nashiri was held in Morocco for several months, although little is known about his treatment during this time. By December 2003, both bin al-Shibh and al-Nashiri had been ‘transferred
out of Country [redacted] to the CIA detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.’150 Our cable
analysis shows al-Nashiri was still in Morocco on 19 September 2003,151 and that he was in the
black sites at Guantánamo Bay by 3 November 2003.152 Our investigation has also confirmed the
relevant operation which rendered al-Nashiri between the two sites: the only flight by a known
rendition aircraft between the two sites during this period was on 23 September 2003, on board
the aircraft N313P (Circuit 31).
Al-Nashiri was held in secret in Guantánamo Bay until April 2004,153 at which point he was
rendered, along with all CIA detainees at the site, to other sites.154 Our investigation has identified
two rendition operations which transferred prisoners to Morocco and Romania, on 12 and 13 April
42). The second was on board the aircraft N368CE, which flew direct to Morocco (Circuit 43).
It is clear that al-Nashiri was rendered to the black site in Romania, and thus would have
been on board the first of these flights.155 CIA cables from the site document his detention and
behaviour throughout 2004 and 2005, including depression, anxiety and insomnia.156 In May
2004, he was subjected to rectal feeding in response to a short-lived hunger strike, with Ensure
infused into al-Nashiri ‘in a forward-facing position (Trendlenberg) with head lower than torso.’157
The final cable from the Romanian site relating to al-Nashiri is dated 30 September 2005,158 and
shortly thereafter he was rendered to Lithuania alongside Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45). Our
investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 5-6 October 2005 on
board two aircraft, N308AB and N787WH (Circuit 58).
Little is known about al-Nashiri’s treatment in Lithuania, although one CIA cable from the
site documents his detention there.159 He was held at the site for over five months, until it was
closed in March 2006.160 At that point, all CIA prisoners at the site – including Khaled Sheikh
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APPENDIX 1
2004. The first was on board the aircraft N85VM, which flew to Romania and then Morocco (Circuit
Mohammed, Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46) and Abu Zubaydah – were transferred to DETENTION
SITE BROWN in Afghanistan, on xx March 2006.161 Our investigation has identified this rendition
operation, which took place on 25-26 March 2006 on board two aircraft, N733MA and N740EH
(Circuit 60).
CIA cables from DETENTION SITE BROWN document al-Nashiri’s presence at the site throughout summer 2006.162 He was then transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay
between 4-5 September 2006, as one of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that
time. As of May 2019, al-Nashiri remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
178
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
WAFTI BIN ALI (#30)
Nationality: Tunisian
Capture: Pakistan
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 13 November 2002
Period of CIA custody: 80-86 days
Left CIA custody: 1-7 February 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to Kazakhstan, December 2014.
Wafti bin Ali (also known as Lotfi bin Ali and Abdullah) is a Tunisian who was captured in Pakistan
by government forces.163 Our investigation has established that he was transferred into CIA
custody on 13 November 2002, and held by the CIA for nearly three months. He was held in
Afghanistan, and Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5) has stated that he was subjected to ‘severe torture’
at the Dark Prison.164
Bin Ali was transferred out of CIA custody between 1-7 February 2003, and passed to US
military custody at Bagram. He was then transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay
on 7 February 2003, on board a military aircraft with call-sign RCH191Y.165 He was finally released
from Guantánamo Bay on 30 December 2014, and flown to Kazakhstan.166
APPENDIX 1
179
SHAH WALI KHAN (#33)
Nationality: Afghan
Capture: Kandahar, Afghanistan, 15 November 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Afghanistan (US military custody)
Entered CIA custody: 13 November 2002
Period of CIA custody: 20-29 days
Left CIA custody: 3-12 December 2002
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram and then Guantánamo Bay.
Released to Afghanistan, 20 December 2014.
Shah Wali Khan is the brother of another CIA prisoner, Nazar Ali (#28). Although DoD records
document that he was captured by US Special Forces on 15 November 2002,167 Khan himself is
certain that it took place in Kandahar on the sixth of Ramadan, which that year was 11 November.168
According to Khan, the ‘Afghanis captured me on my motorcycle at the bazaar. They took my
money and motorcycle, and turned me over to the Americans.’169 At that point, he was taken to
Mullah Omar’s house where, ‘for one night, they interrogated me. They put a sack on my head.
I stood there until morning. It was Ramadan and I hadn’t any water to drink.’170
The next morning, Khan was taken to Kandahar airport, where he spent a second night, this
time alongside his brother, Nazar Ali. They were then both flown on the same aircraft to Kabul
and taken to the Dark Prison.171 Khan was held at the site for 3-4 weeks, alongside his brother:
‘they tied our hands and left us hanging like this for one month. They put us in a small box.’172
During this time, he heard Ali being tortured. ‘He was screaming. I said, “What is going on? Is
everything okay? Is everything okay?” I could hear him say that he was in pain.’173
There was a high steel bar, and they had tied my hand to it. The first day they took
us there, they told me, ‘today we will let you rest. You are tired from the flight’… We
couldn’t tell if it was day or night. It looked like a dark night. It was a small room like
a washroom… We couldn’t stretch our legs or lay down… Another day they brought
me and hanged me upside down. Then my legs, hands and face swelled. For nine
days they gave me no water and no food… I stood like this, on the tips of my toes.174
After his time in CIA custody, Khan was transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase.
This took place in December 2002, and he was held there for several weeks. He was then transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay on 7 February 2003, on board a military aircraft
with call-sign RCH191Y,175 and held until 20 December 2014. At this point, he was released to
Afghanistan.176
180
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
BISHER AL-RAWI (#35)
Nationality: Iraqi
Capture: 8 November 2002, Banjul Airport, The Gambia
Pre-CIA detention: The Gambia
Entered CIA custody: 9 December 2002
Period of CIA custody: 1-9 days
Left CIA custody: 10 December 2002 – 18 December 2002
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to United Kingdom, 30 March 2007.
JAMIL EL-BANNA (#36)
Nationality: Jordanian-Palestinian
Capture: 8 November 2002, Banjul Airport, The Gambia
Pre-CIA detention: The Gambia
Entered CIA custody: 9 December 2002
Period of CIA custody: 1-9 days
Left CIA custody: 10 December 2002 – 18 December 2002
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to United Kingdom, 19 December 2007.
Bisher al-Rawi and Jamil el-Banna travelled together from the United Kingdom to The Gambia
interrogated by US agents in the country, before being rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan
and then Bagram and Guantánamo Bay. Jamil el-Banna (also known as Abu Anas) is a JordanianPalestinian with refugee status in the UK. Bisher al-Rawi is an Iraqi national who had been living
in the UK since 1984. Al-Rawi had worked with the British intelligence services during the 1990s,
and was the main channel of communication between MI5 and the Muslim cleric Abu Qatada
until his arrest in October 2002.177
On 1 November 2002, al-Rawi, el-Banna and their colleague Abdullah El Janoudi travelled
together to Gatwick Airport on a business trip to The Gambia. The three men were arrested at
the airport and detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 for four days. The ostensible reason for
their arrest was the discovery of a ‘suspect electronic device’ in al-Rawi’s luggage,178 and MI5
notified the CIA on the same day, stating that al-Rawi was an ‘Islamic extremist’ and that the
police had recovered ‘some form of home-made electronic device.’179 The device turned out to
be a battery charger, and the men were released.180 However, MI5 continued to monitor their
181
APPENDIX 1
in November 2002, where they were arrested by Gambian authorities. They were detained and
movements, and requested the CIA to pass their travel plans to the Gambian intelligence service
in order to ‘cover these individuals whilst they are in Gambia.’181
On 8 November, the day the three men attempted to travel to The Gambia for a second time,
MI5 sent another telegram to the CIA. This one provided the exact flight details, including the
flight number and delayed take-off time, and the names and dates of birth under which the three
men were travelling.182 Significantly, unlike the previous telegrams, this one did not include the
caveat that the intelligence provided was ‘for research and analysis purposes only and may not
be used as the basis for overt, covert or executive action.’
On arrival in Banjul, all three men were arrested by Gambian agents, along with al-Rawi’s
brother Wahab and another colleague Omar Omeri, who had come to meet them at the airport.
The five men were initially taken to the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (GNIA) Headquarters,
and questioned by Gambian officials. The next morning, two Americans arrived and interrogated
them. After two days, there were transferred to another location controlled by Americans. Omeri
was released relatively quickly, while el-Janoudi was kept for 26 days and Wahab al-Rawi for
27 days.183
On 8 December 2002, al-Rawi and el-Banna were driven to the airport at Banjul, prepared
for rendition according to the standard CIA practice, and flown to Afghanistan.184 Our investigation
has confirmed this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 16).
On arrival in Afghanistan, al-Rawi and el-Banna were thrown into a vehicle and driven to the
Dark Prison. There, they were subjected to similar conditions and torture as other detainees at
the site, with continuous darkness, shackling, and loud music and noise.
From the outset, I was held in complete darkness and isolation and kept in leg
shackles twenty-four hours a day. I was given very little water and fed only once
every one or two days. My toilet was a very small bucket, which was difficult to use,
especially in the continuous darkness. Despite the extreme cold, I was not provided
with adequate clothing or blankets. Strange music and loud man-made sounds
were played around the clock, which – in addition to the constant screams of the
other prisoners around me – made sleeping extremely difficult and very disturbed.
When I did manage to fall asleep I often had nightmares.185
Bisher al-Rawi
At some point between 10-18 December 2002, the two men were transferred by military helicopter to Bagram Airbase, where they were forced to stand for hours, kicked and dragged along
the floor, deprived of access to a toilet or shower or clean clothes, and held for prolonged periods
in isolation.186
On 7 February 2003, al-Rawi and el-Banna were rendered from Afghanistan to Guantánamo
Bay, on board a military aircraft with call sign RCH191Y.187 Al-Rawi was held in Guantánamo until
30 March 2007, and el-Banna was released on 19 December 2007. Both were returned to the
United Kingdom.188
182
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
GHAIRAT BAHIR (#37)
Nationality: Afghan
Capture: Islamabad, Pakistan, 29 October 2002
Captured alongside: Gul Rahman (#24)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 10-12 December 2002
Period of CIA custody: 510-519 days
Left CIA custody: 3-14 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Released, May
2008.
Ghairat Bahir is an Afghan national who was captured alongside Gul Rahman (#24) and three
others in a joint US-Pakistani operation in Islamabad on 29 October 2002.189 In an interview given
to The Mail on Sunday, Bahir says that he was ‘cuffed, shackled, made to wear blacked-out goggles, headphones and a hood.’ He was then held somewhere near Islamabad for several weeks
before being ‘stripped, shackled, internally searched and flown to Afghanistan.’190 Our investigation has established that he was transferred into CIA custody between 10-12 December 2002,
and held for around 16-17 months.
According to Bahir, speaking to Associated Press, during this time he was ‘left naked, sleeping on the barren concrete.’ He would be tied to a chair and sat upon, and hung from the ceiling,
naked, for hours on end. He was given a bucket for a toilet, and the guards concealed their
identity with masks and carried torches.191 His description of the site matches the Dark Prison in
Kabul, and CIA cables from Afghanistan in December 2002 also document his torture.192 In an
interview with The Mail on Sunday he also referred to being held at a jail in Afghanistan controlled
Bahir was transferred out of CIA custody and moved to Bagram Airbase between 3-14 May
2004. While in Bagram, Bahir was held in a cell measuring 1m x 2m, shackled, wearing goggles,
and with no toilet. He was forced to soil himself, and interrogated most days. After two months
of solitary confinement, he was moved to one of the standard cells at Bagram, which held 16-18
prisoners who he says had been rendered from Thailand, Dubai, Karachi and Somalia.194 Given
which other former CIA prisoners were being held at Bagram at that time, it is possible that Bahir
was held alongside Suleiman Abdullah (#48), Pacha Wazir (#38) and Muhammad al-Bakri (#39).
Bahir was eventually released on 29 May 2008.195
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by the Northern Alliance.193
PACHA WAZIR (#38)
Nationality: Afghan
Capture: United Arab Emirates, late September 2002
Pre-CIA detention: UAE; Morocco
Entered CIA custody: 12 December 2002
Period of CIA custody: 330-339 days
Left CIA custody: 7-16 November 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Released,
February 2010.
Pacha Wazir (also known as Haji Wazir) is an Afghan who was captured in the United Arab
Emirates in the last week of September 2002, ‘bundled into a vehicle’, and taken to an Emirati
facility for interrogation.196 After several days in proxy detention, he was rendered to Morocco.
We have identified this rendition operation, which took place between 7-8 October 2002 on
board the aircraft N63MU (Circuit 11). Once in Morocco, Wazir was interrogated by CIA officer
Glenn Carle, who has described the episode at some length in his published account.197 Although
it quickly became clear that Wazir was not the high-level al-Qaeda operative which he was
thought to be by Headquarters, he was eventually rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan.
I was shackled and taken to an airstrip in the middle of the night. When we landed I
didn’t know where I was because I was blindfolded and when my eyes were opened
it was a dark room with no light… I was kept in a dark room for six months.
Loudspeakers were installed in the room and they used to talk to me through
those.198
Our investigation has identified the rendition operation which transferred Wazir from Morocco
to Afghanistan, on 12 December 2002 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 16). Wazir was held
in CIA detention in Afghanistan for almost a year, first at the Dark Prison and then at a site in the
Panjshir valley ‘where I was kept in a cell where I couldn’t stand up and my hands were chained
to the walls.’199 He was then transferred to US military control at Bagram between 7-16 November
2003, and was given prisoner number 1207.200 Wazir was released in February 2010.201
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MUHAMMAD AL-BAKRI (#39)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Bangkok, 28 December 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Thailand
Entered CIA custody: 1-9 January 2003
Period of CIA custody: 490-499 days
Left CIA custody: 5-22 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Released,
September 2014.
Muhammad al-Bakri is a Yemeni national who was captured in Bangkok on 28 December 2002
as he headed to the airport to return to Yemen.202 Our investigation has established that he was
then transferred into CIA custody between 1-9 January 2003, and held for around 16 months.
His exact whereabouts during this time are unknown. According to court papers filed on his
behalf, while in CIA detention al-Bakri was subjected to serious abuse, resulting in injuries to his
knees and back.203 According to Hasan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5), who was held alongside him in
Bagram, al-Bakri was held in the Dark Prison, a site in the Panjshir Valley, and another Afghan
facility.204
Al-Bakri was transferred out of CIA custody between 5-22 May 2004. At this point, he was
transferred to DoD custody at Bagram Airbase, where he was given prisoner number 1464.205
He was held at Bagram for over ten years until his release in September 2014.206
APPENDIX 1
185
RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 11 September 2002
Captured alongside: Hassan bin Attash (#10), ‘Karachi 6’ (#7-9, 11-13), Rabbani brothers (#23,
#25)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan; Afghanistan (CIA); Morocco
Entered CIA custody: 8 February 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1305 days
Left CIA custody: 5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Poland; Morocco; Guantánamo Bay; Morocco; Romania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (also known as Abu Ubeidah al-Hadrami) is a Yemeni national who was captured by Pakistani authorities in Karachi on 11 September 2002. He was captured together with
Hassan bin Attash (#10) and several other CIA detainees, all of whom were held in Pakistan for
3-4 days.207 According to bin Attash, bin al-Shibh was with him as he was transferred to the Dark
Prison in Afghanistan and held for 2-3 days before being rendered onwards to Jordan.208
Bin al-Shibh’s own testimony confirms these details, as he says he was shackled in a standing stress position for 2-3 days while in Afghanistan, his second place of detention.209 The Committee
Study notes that bin al-Shibh was rendered to a foreign government on xx September 2002.
Although some sources have placed bin al-Shibh in Jordanian custody alongside bin Attash,210
our investigation has established that he was almost certainly rendered to Morocco, and we
have identified the relevant rendition operation. This took place on 17 September 2002, on board
the aircraft N379P (Circuit 9).
While in Morocco, bin al-Shibh was interrogated on multiple occasions,211 although it is unclear
whether those sessions involved torture. At least some of the interrogations were recorded, with
the existence of the recordings disclosed by the CIA to a US court in 2007.212 He was then rendered into CIA detention at the Polish black site on x February 2003.213 Our investigation has
identified this rendition operation, which took place on 8 February 2003 on board the aircraft
N379P (Circuit 17).
Bin al-Shibh has testified that he was kept naked and shackled to the ceiling for seven days
in Poland, and deprived of solid food for 3-4 weeks. He was also ‘splashed with cold water from
a hose’ during interrogations.214 The Committee Study has provided a detailed account of the
torture of bin al-Shibh at the site, including a plan to use near-constant interrogations, sensory
deprivation, liquid diet, attention grasp, walling, facial hold, facial slap, abdominal slap, cramped
confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation beyond 72 hours, and the waterboard. He was also threatened with the use of rectal rehydration. Bin al-Shibh was tortured for
‘behaviour adjustment’ purposes, including as punishment for perceived disrespect, such as
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CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
failing to address an interrogator as ‘sir’. At one point, officers noted that he was cowering in the
corner of his cell after a bulb had blown, and proceeded to use darkness as an interrogation
technique, subjecting bin al-Shibh to sleep deprivation standing, shackled feet and hands, with
hands over his head, naked, in total darkness.215
Bin al-Shibh was held in Poland until June 2003, whereupon the CIA placed him and Abd
al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26) ‘within an already existing Country [redacted] detention facility.’ We
have established that this site was in Morocco. This was seen as a ‘temporary patch’, while discussions continued around the construction of a permanent CIA facility in the country.216 The
rendition of these two prisoners to Morocco in June 2003 has also been reported by Associated
Press,217 and our investigation has confirmed this rendition operation, which took place on 6 June
2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 23).
Bin al-Shibh was held in Morocco for several months, although little is known about his
treatment during this time. CIA detainees were held in Morocco until December 2003, by which
point both bin al-Shibh and al-Nashiri had been ‘transferred out of Country [redacted] to the CIA
detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.’218 Given that our cable analysis has established that
al-Nashiri was rendered from Morocco in September 2003, it is likely that al-Shibh was held there
until December. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 3
December 2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 34).
Bin al-Shibh was held in secret in Guantánamo Bay from December 2003 until April 2004,
at which point all CIA detainees at the site were rendered to other sites.219 Our investigation has
identified two rendition operations which transferred prisoners to Morocco and Romania, on 12
and 13 April 2004. The first was on board the aircraft N85VM, which flew to Romania and then
Morocco (Circuit 42). The second was on board the aircraft N368CE, which flew direct to Morocco
(Circuit 43).
Bin al-Shibh could have been on either of these two flights, given that it is clear that he was
rendered back to Morocco at this point, where he was reported to have attempted to ‘influence’
to the Romanian black site. CIA cables from the site confirm that he was there by 2 October
2004, and report his psychological assessment (likely to have taken place upon his arrival at the
site).221 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 1 October
2004 on board the aircraft N227SV (Circuit 51).
Once in Romania, bin al-Shibh has testified that he was ‘restrained on a bed, unable to move,
for one month, February 2005 and subjected to cold air-conditioning during this period.’ Referring
to the prison as his ‘eighth place of detention’, he has also testified that he was forcibly but
partially shaved in order to humiliate him.222 CIA cables from the site document his detention
throughout 2004 and 2005, when he was experiencing severe psychological problems as a result
of his torture and prolonged isolation.223
Given that he was still at the site in late 2005, he would have been transferred on board one
of the flights out of the country in October and November 2005, to either Lithuania or Afghanistan
(Circuit 58 and Circuit 59). There is some evidence that he was rendered direct to Afghanistan,
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APPENDIX 1
a Country [redacted] officer.220 He was held in Morocco until October 2004, and then transferred
given that another detainee, Khaled al-Maqtari (#96), was handed a blanket by one of his guards
in 2006 on which was written: ‘To Cuba, to Morocco, to Romania and to this place – Abu Ubeidah
al-Hadrami.’224 Al-Maqtari was at that time held in DETENTION SITE ORANGE in Afghanistan.
Bin al-Shibh was certainly held in Afghanistan (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or DETENTION
SITE BROWN) from at least March 2006, as the CIA had closed its secret prisons in all other
countries by then.225
Al-Maqtari recounts how he was transferred in early August 2006 to a medical facility for
treatment for persistent stomach pain and bleeding. He was flown alongside another detainee
on two flights; the first about five to six hours long and the second about eight hours long.226
This second prisoner is likely to have been Ramzi bin al-Shibh, given that he was also transferred
to the same third country as al-Maqtari for medical care.227
Bin al-Shibh was transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5
September 2006, as one of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May
2019, bin al-Shibh remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
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IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: Pakistan, 11 November 2001
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan; Afghanistan (US military custody); Egypt
Entered CIA custody: 9 February 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1160 days
Left CIA custody: 14 April 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Guantánamo Bay; Morocco; Jordan; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Libyan custody. Died in custody, 9 May 2009.
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi (also known as Ali Aziz al-Fakhiri) was a Libyan national who was captured in
Pakistan on 11 November 2001, and transferred to US military custody in Afghanistan, where his
detention was declared to the ICRC.228 CIA cables cited by a 2006 SSCI study on intelligence
relating to Iraq’s WMD programme reveal that Ibn Sheikh told CIA debriefers in January 2004
that he was detained by the US in early 2002, and threatened with rendition to a foreign country.229 When this rendition came, in January 2002, it appears that he was placed in a sealed coffin
and loaded onto a truck. One MI6 officer, who was present at Bagram Airbase, described ‘sitting
with one of the team outside the hangar when a pick up jeep with a six-foot, sealed box on the
back drove past. It was [redacted] on his way to the waiting plane.’ It has since been reported
that this detainee was Ibn Sheikh,230 and this confirms testimony from another CIA prisoner,
Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5).231
While detained in US custody, and also after his rendition to a foreign government (which
was almost certainly Egypt), Ibn Sheikh later said that he repeatedly lied about his connections
to al-Qaeda in order to secure better treatment. According to Ibn Sheikh, the Egyptians told him
that a ‘long list of methods could be used against him which were extreme’ and that ‘he would
confessed.’232 He was asked about al-Qaeda’s connections to Iraq, and when the interrogators
didn’t like his answers they ‘placed him in a small box approximately 50 cm x 50 cm’ for about
17 hours and then punched him for 15 minutes. He then says that he concocted a story about
al-Qaeda’s connections with Iraq and their interest in nuclear weapons.233 Other CIA records
have noted that Ibn Sheikh also claimed that ‘Iraq was supporting al-Qa’ida and providing assistance with chemical and biological weapons.’ These claims were recanted after his transfer into
CIA custody, but were cited by the Secretary of State Colin Powell in his February 2003 speech
to the United Nations designed to build support for the US-led invasion of Iraq. Ibn Sheikh told
the CIA that ‘he had been tortured by the Egyptians, and only told them what he assessed they
wanted to hear.’234
Ibn Sheikh was rendered to CIA custody on x February 2003.235 Our investigation has identified
this rendition operation, connecting Egypt and Afghanistan, which took place on 9 February 2003
on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 17). Once in Afghanistan, it appears that he was held in an
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APPENDIX 1
confess because three thousand individuals had been in the chair before him and that each had
Afghan-run prison over the summer, before being transferred to the Dark Prison. Qa’id says that
this was in October 2003.236 He was then held at this site for ‘a few months’, and transferred out
‘a few weeks’ before Khaled al-Maqtari’s (#96) arrival (which was 22 January 2004).237
CIA records reveal that Ibn Sheikh was one of five detainees held in the CIA black sites at
Guantánamo Bay between September 2003 and April 2004.238 Our investigation has identified
the rendition operation which transferred him from Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay, alongside
Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46). This took place on 21 November 2003, on board the aircraft N313P
(Circuit 33).
In 2004, the DoJ recommended that the other four CIA detainees held secretly at Guantánamo
Bay should be moved to other sites, pending the US Supreme Court ruling in Rasul v. Bush (which
risked giving habeas corpus rights to CIA prisoners on the island). However, it concluded that
Ibn Sheikh did not need to be moved, given that he had been detained initially under US military
authority and his detention declared to the ICRC. Nonetheless, CIA records document that all
five CIA prisoners had been moved back off the island by xx April 2004, and taken ‘to other CIA
detention facilities.’239
Our investigation has identified two rendition operations which transferred prisoners to
Morocco and Romania, on 12 and 13 April 2004. The first was on board the aircraft N85VM, which
flew to Romania and then Morocco (Circuit 42). The second was on board the aircraft N368CE,
which flew direct to Morocco (Circuit 43). Ibn Sheikh could have been on either of these two
flights, given that we have established that he was rendered to Morocco at this point. He later
told CIA debriefers that he could hear cries of pain from other prisoners at the site, which reminded
him of his experience in Egyptian custody.240
By February 2005, all CIA prisoners had been moved out of Morocco to other locations.241
We have identified a number of rendition operations connecting Morocco to other secret prisons
in late 2004 and early 2005, with detainees taken to Romania, Lithuania and possibly Jordan
(Circuit 51, Circuit 54 and Circuit 55). It is likely that Ibn Sheikh was on one of these flights, and
some reporting has suggested that he was in Jordanian custody during 2004 or 2005 (which
would place him on Circuit 54, on 17 February 2005). One prisoner at the GID facility reported
that Ibn Sheikh was held on the top floor, away from all other prisoners, having been rendered
by the Americans. Ibn Sheikh himself also believed he was held in Jordan for a couple of months.242
If Ibn Sheikh was in Jordan from February 2005, it is likely that he was rendered to Afghanistan
on 5 November 2005, on board the aircraft N248AB (Circuit 59). Regardless, he was certainly
held in Afghanistan (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or DETENTION SITE BROWN) from at least
March 2006, as the CIA had closed its secret prisons in all other countries by then.243
Our investigation has established that Ibn Sheikh was transferred out of CIA custody between
14-23 April 2006, and has identified the rendition operation that transferred him to Libya, on 14
April 2006 (Circuit 61).
On arrival in Libya, Ibn Sheikh was held at the Abu Salim prison, where he was sentenced
to life imprisonment. He died on 9 May 2009, two weeks after an aborted interview with researchers from Human Rights Watch, in what the Libyan authorities claimed was a suicide.244
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ASADALLAH (#43)
Nationality: Egyptian
Capture: Quetta, Pakistan, 12 February 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 14-23 February 2003
Period of CIA custody: 150-159 days
Left CIA custody: 23 July 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Egyptian custody. Released, late 2010.
Asadallah (also known as Muhammad Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman) is an Egyptian national who was
captured in Quetta, Pakistan, on 12 February 2003.245 Our investigation has established that he
was transferred into CIA custody between 14-23 February 2003, and was held for around 5
months (150-159 days). Asadallah has said that he was detained and tortured at Bagram Airbase,
including being subjected to waterboarding.246 In fact, he was held at the Dark Prison, with CIA
cables confirming his torture. At some point at the end of February or beginning of March, he
was placed in a ‘small isolation box’ for 30 minutes, without authorisation.247 Interrogators at the
site also used water dousing, nudity, and cramped confinement on Asadallah, without having
sought or received authorisation from CIA Headquarters. The application of ‘bathing’ was used
as an interrogation technique, and in his case was done punitively.248
Asadallah was transferred out of CIA custody after 150-159 days, whereupon he was rendered to secret detention in Egypt for around a year.249 Our investigation has identified this
rendition operation, which took place on 23 July 2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 26).
After his period of secret detention, Asadallah was transferred to Tora Prison in Egypt. He was
released in late 2010.250
APPENDIX 1
191
KHALED SHEIKH MOHAMMED (#45)
Nationality: Pakistani
Capture: Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 1 March 2003
Captured alongside: Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 3-5 March 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1280-1282 days
Left CIA custody: 5 September 2006
Detentions: Afghanistan; Poland; Romania; Lithuania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed is a Pakistani national who was captured in a joint raid by the CIA
and Pakistani intelligence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on 1 March 2003.251 He was captured alongside
Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46),252 and both were held for a number of days in Pakistani custody. CIA
cables document the use of sleep deprivation on Mohammed during this time,253 and Mohammed
himself has testified that he could hear his young children crying in a nearby room and was
threatened with their torture.254
Anticipating Mohammed’s transfer to CIA custody in Afghanistan, the Chief of Interrogations
at the Dark Prison sent an email to Headquarters on 1 March 2003, subject: ‘Let’s roll with the
new guy’, requesting authorisation to subject him to ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’.255 These
were approved two days before Mohammed was transferred to CIA custody, which was between
3-5 March 2003. By 5 March, Mohammed’s torture had begun, and he was subjected to facial and
abdominal slaps, the facial grab, stress positions, standing sleep deprivation (with his hands at
or above head level), nudity, water dousing and rectal rehydration.256 Mohammed’s own testimony
regarding his treatment in Afghanistan closely matches the account provided by CIA records.257
I was then placed in a cell, about 2m x 4m, naked, where I was kept in a standing
position with my hands cuffed and chained to a bar above my head. My feet were
flat on the floor. At first I was questioned for about one hour with no other forms of
ill-treatment. After about one hour I was taken to another room where I was made
to stand on tiptoes for about two hours during questioning. Approximately thirteen
persons were in the room… From time to time one of the muscle guys would punch
me in the chest and stomach. This was repeated during two nights.
On one occasion during the interrogation I was offered water to drink, when I
refused I was again taken to another room where I was made to lie on the floor with
three persons holding me down. A tube was inserted into my anus and water
poured inside. Afterwards I wanted to go to the toilet as I had a feeling as if I had
diarrhoea. No toilet access was provided until four hours later when I was given a
bucket to use.258
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During Mohammed’s torture at the Dark Prison, he provided fabricated information which led to
the capture, detention and torture of two innocent individuals, Sayed Habib (#50) and Shaistah
Khan (#66).259 He was then rendered out of Afghanistan and transferred to the Polish black site.
Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 7 March 2003 on
board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 19).
CIA records confirm his arrival at the Polish site at 18:00 local time on x March 2003.260 The
Committee Study has provided a detailed account of Mohammed’s torture at this site, including
the use of nudity, standing sleep deprivation, the attention grab and insult slap, the facial grab,
the abdominal slap, the kneeling stress position, and walling. Between 10-24 March, he was
subjected to 15 separate waterboarding sessions which, taken together, saw the technique
applied at least 183 times. He was also subjected to a period of sleep deprivation lasting seven
and a half days.261
Apart from when I was taken for interrogation to another room, I was kept for one
month in the cell in a standing position with my hands cuffed and shackled above
my head and my feet cuffed and shackled to a point in the floor. Of course during
this month I fell asleep on some occasions while still being held in this position. This
resulted in all my weight being applied to the handcuffs around my wrists resulting
in open and bleeding wounds… Both my feet became very swollen after one month
of almost continual standing.
Initially I was interrogated for approximately eight hours each day… If I was
perceived not to be cooperating I would be put against a wall and punched and
slapped in the body, head and face. A thick black plastic collar would be placed
around my neck so that it could then be held at the two ends by a guard who would
use it to slam me repeatedly against the wall. The beatings were combined with the
use of cold water, which was poured over me using a hose-pipe. The beatings and
In addition I was also subjected to ‘water-boarding’ on five occasions, all of
which occurred during the first month. I would be strapped to a special bed which
can be rotated into a vertical position. A cloth would be placed over my face. Water
was then poured onto the cloth by one of the guards so that I could not breathe.262
On 22 September 2003, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and the other detainees still held in Poland
were transferred out of the country, as the black site was closed (Circuit 31). Mohammed was
transferred to the newly-opened Romanian black site, alongside Walid bin Attash (#56), Samr alBarq (#67), Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47), and likely Ammar al-Baluchi (#55). Mohammed has stated
that, at this site, ‘they kept our clothes on, but our feet shackled. The rooms were about four feet
wide by nine feet long. The walls were ceramic, there was a hook in the ceiling and two hooks on
the floor, and there was a drain in the floor. From time to time I would hear other detainees screaming.’263 Nothing much is known about Mohammed’s time in Romania. CIA cables from the site
document his presence there in June 2004, but do not provide any detail about his treatment.264
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use of cold water occurred on a daily basis during the first month.
He was then transferred to DETENTION SITE VIOLET on x October 2005,265 alongside Abd
al-Rahim al-Nashiri (#26). Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took
place on 5-6 October 2005 on board two aircraft, N308AB and N787WH (Circuit 58).
Little is known about Mohammed’s treatment in Lithuania, although CIA cables document
his detention at the site.266 Mohammed has stated that the conditions were better, with bigger
cells and better food, and a gym.267 He was held at the site for over five months, until it was
closed in March 2006.268 At that point, all CIA prisoners at the site – including Abd al-Rahim alNashiri, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Abu Zubaydah (#1) – were transferred to DETENTION SITE
BROWN in Afghanistan, on xx March 2006.269 Our investigation has identified this rendition
operation, which took place on 25-26 March 2006 on board two aircraft, N733MA and N740EH
(Circuit 60).
Mohammed was held in Afghanistan for the rest of his time in CIA custody, given that all
CIA detainees were held in the country between March and September 2006.270 He was then
transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September 2006, as one
of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, Mohammed remains
detained at Guantánamo Bay.
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MUSTAFA AL-HAWSAWI (#46)
Nationality: Saudi
Capture: Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 1 March 2003
Captured alongside: Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 3-5 March 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1280-1282 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Guantánamo Bay; Morocco; Lithuania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Mustafa al-Hawsawi is a Saudi national who was captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, alongside
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45), on 1 March 2003.271 Both men were initially held in Pakistani
detention, with CIA cables documenting Mohammed’s interrogation by CIA officers and Pakistani
officials whilst in Pakistani custody, as well as the use of sleep deprivation.272 They were then
rendered together to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan,273 with this transfer taking place between
3-5 March 2003.274
Whereas the torture of Mohammed began almost immediately upon their arrival at the Dark
Prison,275 staff shortages at the site meant that al-Hawsawi was not interrogated or debriefed
for several days.276 His first interrogation by the CIA was by the Chief of Interrogations, on 10
March 2003, where he was subjected to water dousing without authorisation from Headquarters.277
Interrogators used the facial slap, stomach slap, a range of stress positions, and gave al-Hawsawi
a ‘bath’. This consisted of laying al-Hawsawi on a blue tarp on the floor, and dousing him with
cold water while questioning him.278 One of his interrogators later cabled Headquarters to request
be a person that is a financial mastermind. However, we lack facts with which to confront [alHawsawi]. What we need at this point is substantive information vice supposition.’279
Rotation of staff during March 2003 saw a lull in the interrogation of al-Hawsawi. By 2 April
2003, however, the new team of interrogators concluded that he was withholding information,
and re-requested authorisation for his torture.280 On 4 April 2003, Headquarters approved the
use of slapping, grasping, stress positions, cramped confinement and walling, and on 6 April
al-Hawsawi was tortured for 14 hours, with interrogators using ‘continuous rotational sessions
of water-dousing, walling, attention grasps, facial holds, cramped confinement and psychological
pressures.’281
Much of the information which relates to this interrogation session, and which is contained
in an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report into al-Hawsawi’s torture – some two-and-a-half
pages – remains redacted.282 From al-Hawsawi’s own testimony, however, (which was provided
while he was still being held incommunicado, and therefore unaware of other detainee
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APPENDIX 1
information on what al-Hawsawi may actually know, given that ‘he does not appear to the (sic)
experiences), it appears that he was waterboarded during this session. He has testified that he
was strapped to the board, which was ‘a rotating table made of wood with a bed of shiny metal.’
According to his account, ‘his head was tilted in the down position’ and ‘several bottles of water
were poured on his chest so that the water ran into his face and nose and he thought he was
drowning. He said he was put on the table many times during that interrogation period, with
multiple bottles of water each time.’283
Later, in November 2003, an email from a different CIA interrogator outlined that al-Hawsawi
had described his treatment during the April 2003 interrogation in terms which suggest he might
have been waterboarded, or else subjected to treatment that ‘could be indistinguishable from
the water board.’284 According to this interrogator: ‘[h]e explained to [redacted] and me a process
that sounded like more than water dousing…. We did not prompt al-Hawsawi – he described the
process and the table on his own.’285 Another CIA officer, interviewed by the OIG, also ‘recalled
that [redacted] used the water board on either Hawsawi or KSM in March and that several personnel witnessed this usage.’286
Other CIA officers interviewed by the OIG confirmed that there was a waterboard in the
interrogation room, and that al-Hawsawi was given a clear indication that it was there. Most of
those interviewed deny that he was strapped to the board, instead claiming that he was doused
while prone on the floor. The waterboard was, according to these witnesses, ‘located at the back
of the conditioning room collecting dust and used by the analysts to sit on or lean on during
water dousing.’287
Photographs seen by the Committee Study include one of a waterboard at the site, which
was ‘surrounded by buckets, with a bottle of unknown pink solution (filled two thirds of the way
to the top) and a watering can resting on the wooden beams of the water board,’288 while others
detained at the site during the same period as al-Hawsawi also testified to the use of the waterboard, as did CIA staff at the site.289
I have serious reservations about watering them in a prone position because if not
done with care, the net effect can approach the effect of the water board. If one is
held down on his back, on the table or on the floor, with water poured in his face I
think it goes beyond dousing and the effect, to the recipient, could be
indistinguishable from the water board.290
Interrogator at Dark Prison
It is possible that the redacted sections of the 6 April interrogation session may include details of
the use of rectal rehydration on al-Hawsawi without medical necessity. This technique had been
used on Khaled Sheikh Mohammed immediately upon his arrival at the site.291 Al-Hawsawi was
one of two men subjected to this technique at the Dark Prison with ‘excessive force’, being diagnosed later with ‘chronic haemorrhoids, an anal fissure, and symptomatic rectal prolapse.’292
Al-Hawsawi was judged to be cooperative after the 6 April torture session. By 7 May 2003,
however, officers moved back from debriefing to interrogation mode, and a third request for
authorisation was cabled to Headquarters. During this torture session, al-Hawsawi was ‘bathed’,
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and subjected to standing sleep deprivation. This interrogation phase lasted until 12 May, whereupon he was again judged to be cooperative.293
The torture of al-Hawsawi at the Dark Prison appears to have been authorised without any
concrete information concerning his knowledge of other terror suspects, or future plots. The
Chief of Interrogations at the site logged concern that the rationale for the use of these techniques was based on ‘supposition’ rather than hard facts,294 and that interrogation instructions
from Headquarters at that time were ‘not valid or well thought out’, including in the case of
al-Hawsawi.295
Al-Hawsawi remained in the Dark Prison until November 2003, whereupon he was rendered
‘to another location.’296 Our investigation has identified this location as Guantánamo Bay, given
that there just one flight out of Afghanistan by a rendition aircraft during that period: on 21
November 2003, the aircraft N313P flew from Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay via a stopover in
Morocco (Circuit 33). The email from al-Hawsawi’s interrogator in the Dark Prison was sent to
CIA Headquarters on the same day, suggesting that this communication was sparked by his
transfer.297 Other reporting has also placed al-Hawsawi in the black sites at Guantánamo Bay.298
He was held at the black sites in Guantánamo Bay from November 2003 until April 2004, at
which point all CIA detainees there were rendered to other sites.299 Our investigation has identified
two rendition operations which transferred prisoners to Morocco and Romania, on 12 and 13 April
2004. The first was on board the aircraft N85VM, which flew to Romania and then Morocco (Circuit
42). The second was on board the aircraft N368CE, which flew direct to Morocco (Circuit 43).
Some reporting has placed al-Hawsawi in Morocco, although there is no confirmatory evidence for this claim.300 If correct, he could have been on either of these two flights, and is likely
to have been held there until February 2005, at which point the site was closed. If this was the
case, he was then rendered directly to the Lithuanian black site (Circuit 55). Alternatively, he
may have been rendered to the Romanian black site in April or October 2004 (Circuit 42 or Circuit
51), and then onwards to Lithuania in February or October 2005 (Circuit 55 or Circuit 58).
earlier use of rectal rehydration.301 Lithuanian officers refused to admit al-Hawsawi to a local
hospital, and as such care for his serious medical issues was delayed.302 He was ultimately transferred to a third-party country for treatment, which in turn received payment from the CIA.303
The difficulties between the CIA and the Lithuanian authorities regarding the treatment of
al-Hawsawi resulted in the closure of the black site in March 2006.304 At that point, all CIA prisoners at the site were transferred to DETENTION SITE BROWN in Afghanistan.305 Our investigation
has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 25-26 March 2006 on board two
aircraft, N733MA and N740EH (Circuit 60).
Al-Hawsawi was held in Afghanistan towards the end of his time in CIA custody, given that
all CIA detainees were held in the country between March and September 2006.306 He was then
transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September 2006, as one
of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, al-Hawsawi remains
detained at Guantánamo Bay.
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Regardless, one cable from the Lithuanian site documents his medical complications after the
ABU YASIR AL-JAZA’IRI (#47)
Nationality: Algerian
Capture: Lahore, Pakistan, March 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 15-25 March 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1260-1269 days
Left CIA custody: 26 August – 6 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Poland; Romania; Jordan (possibly); Afghanistan
After CIA detention: fate and whereabouts unknown
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (also known as Abu Bakr Boulghiti) is an Algerian national who, according
to research conducted by the Open Society Justice Initiative, was captured in Lahore, Pakistan,
in March 2003.307 He may have initially spent some time in Pakistani detention before rendition
to CIA custody.
Al-Jaza’iri was transferred into CIA custody between 15-25 March 2003, and held initially at
the Dark Prison. There, he was tortured immediately and before any questioning,308 and was
‘stripped and shackled, nude, in the standing stress position for sleep deprivation.’ He was also
‘bathed’ during this time, a term used to describe water dousing.309 At least some of these techniques were unauthorised by Headquarters,310 although it appears that, later on, Headquarters
exerted pressure on CIA interrogators to continue his torture.311
Al-Jaza’iri was then transferred to the black site in Poland. Our investigation has identified
this rendition operation, which took place on 25 March 2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit
20). Immediately upon arrival, officers at the Polish site cabled Headquarters with a request to
continue al-Jaza’iri’s torture.312 This did not include a request for water dousing, but did follow
closely the interrogation plan submitted by the site the month earlier, for Ramzi bin al-Shibh
(#41).313 Not much is known about al-Jaza’iri’s treatment while at this site, although he was clearly
providing information to interrogators throughout the summer.314
Our analysis of CIA cables also suggests that al-Jaza’iri was held at the Romanian black site
during mid-October 2003, where he was still being subjected to interrogations.315 If so, he was
on board the rendition flight from Poland to Romania on 22 September 2003 (Circuit 31).
By early 2004, if not before, al-Jaza’iri was back in Afghanistan, in the Dark Prison. It is likely
that he was rendered there from Romania, via Jordan, on 25 October 2003 (Circuit 32). In April
2004, al-Jaza’iri was transferred to DETENTION SITE ORANGE, along with a group of other
prisoners.316 He was held there for more than two years and, between February and July 2006,
was allowed to meet with Marwan al-Jabour (#108).317 He is recorded as being held in CIA secret
detention for around three and a half years (1260-1269 days), and was transferred out from CIA
custody between 26 August – 6 September 2006.
What happened to al-Jaza’iri subsequently is unknown. In June 2017, the United Nations
Security Council noted that he was resident in Algeria as at April 2010, and continued to include
him on its al-Qaeda sanctions list.318
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SULEIMAN ABDULLAH (#48)
Nationality: Tanzanian
Capture: Mogadishu, Somalia, 15 March 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Somalia; Kenya; Somalia; Djibouti
Entered CIA custody: 28 March 2003
Period of CIA custody: 439 days
Left CIA custody: 9 June 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Released to
Tanzania, 17 August 2008.
Suleiman Abdullah (also known as Suleiman Abdullah Salim) is a Tanzanian national who was
captured in Mogadishu, Somalia, on or around 15 March 2003, in a joint operation between the
CIA and the Kenyan National Intelligence Service.319 It has been reported that he was captured
as part of a bounty system which emerged in Somalia in 2002, whereby local warlords sold
individuals to the CIA as ‘terror suspects’ for cash.320 After being apprehended in Mogadishu,
Abdullah was flown by CIA agents to Nairobi, Kenya. While in hospital in Nairobi, he was visited
by FBI agents. Abdullah was detained in Kenya for eight days, before being transferred to US
control and rendered to a US Air Force base in Bosaso, Somalia, and then on to Djibouti.321 Shortly
after this, he was rendered once more, to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan. Our investigation has
identified this rendition operation, which took place between 27-28 March 2003 on board the
aircraft N63MU (Circuit 21).
Abdullah has given a detailed account of his time at the Dark Prison, which included his
sustained torture. He was subjected to painful stress positions, sleep deprivation, water dousing
with ice cold water which approximated waterboarding, confinement in extremely small boxes,
APPENDIX 1
and severe beatings.322
I was held in solitary confinement, chained and shackled in a small, pitch-black
windowless, filthy cell. Western pop-music, sometimes interrupted by a mixture
of cacophonous sounds like yowling and the clanging of bells, blared
continuously at ear-splitting levels, inside and outside my cell. I felt completely
isolated and disoriented. I had little or no sense of time, and I never knew
whether it was day or night…
In my cell, for about the first week of my detention, guards chained me, naked
except for a diaper, by my arms and legs to a rusty hoop that was attached to the
wall, my arms outstretched at eye level… This excruciating stress position, together
with the putrid smell and the deafening noise, made it impossible for me to sleep…
Interrogators subjected me to other violent and terrifying methods of interrogation
involving water. These water sessions lasted about four or five consecutive days.
Interrogations followed similar procedures each session. They first stripped me
199
naked and forced me to lie down in the center of a large plastic sheet. They then
repeatedly doused me in gallons of ice-cold water. The water was so cold it left me
gasping for air and unable to breathe. My heart felt as if it would jump out of my
chest. As I lay naked and shivering on the soaking wet floor, the men would
forcefully slap me in the face and stomach. They also kicked me in the stomach and
back. During some of the later sessions, the men placed a hood over my head.
When the freezing water soaked in, the hood clung to my face and caused me to
choke and suffocate. I felt like I was drowning…
Interrogators showed me a small wooden box, measuring about three square
feet. There were holes on one side and another was hinged with a lock and padlock.
Interrogators stuffed me inside the box, naked, chained and shackled, and then
locked it shut… Interrogators kept me locked inside for about half an hour, though it
felt much longer. I vomited out of pain and fear….323
CIA records confirm that Abdullah was tortured by the CIA while at the site.324 One CIA cable from
the site at the end of March 2003 notes that he was subjected to ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ before any questioning took place.325 By mid-April 2003, interrogators at the site requested
formal authorisation to use EITs, including water dousing.326 Despite this specific technique not
being authorised by Headquarters, Abdullah was subjected to it several days later.327
After about five weeks in the Dark Prison, Abdullah was transferred to a second site, about
15-20 minutes’ drive away. According to another prisoner, Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id (#5), this is
likely to have been the site ‘Rissat 2’.328 He was held in solitary confinement at the site for around
14 months, and was visited on a number of occasions by two Americans who identified themselves as FBI.329 He has described this site as having continuous light, with Afghan guards who
would occasionally urinate on the detainees’ food.
Abdullah was transferred out of CIA custody on 9 June 2004,330 and held at Bagram Airbase
for the next four years. There he was given prisoner number 1075. He relates that he never saw
the sun, only blinding lights hanging above his wire mesh cage.331 He was released on 17 August
2008 and flown back to Tanzania. He was given a piece of paper that confirmed his detention
and stated that he had been ‘determined to pose no threat’ to the US.332
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HAMID AICH (#49)
Nationality: unknown
Capture: unknown
Entered CIA custody: 10-17 April 2003
Period of CIA custody: 40-47 days
Left CIA custody: 20-27 May 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Pakistani custody. Thereafter, fate and whereabouts
unknown.
Little is known about Hamid Aich. He was one of a number of prisoners whom CIA Headquarters
explicitly acknowledged did not pose a ‘continuing, serious threat’ to US interests, and therefore
recommended transferring to a ‘host country detention facility’. CIA cables from Afghanistan
document that Aich was transferred to Afghan custody between 10-18 April 2003,333 with the
Committee Study noting that, ‘the host country had no independent reason to detain these
individuals and held them solely at the behest of the CIA.’334
Aich was held in the programme – including his time at the Afghan-run site – for around 6-7
weeks (40-47 days), and was transferred out between 20-27 May 2003. At this point he was
transferred to Pakistani custody.335 His fate and whereabouts after this point are unknown.
APPENDIX 1
201
KHALID AL-SHARIF (#51)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: 3 April 2003, Peshawar, Pakistan
Captured alongside: Mohammed al-Shoroeiya (#52)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 13 April 2003 – 18 April 2003
Period of CIA custody: 734-739 days
Left CIA custody: 21 April 2005
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Libyan custody. Released, 23 March 2010.
MOHAMMED AL-SHOROEIYA (#52)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: 3 April 2003, Peshawar, Pakistan
Captured alongside: Khalid al-Sharif (#51)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 13 April 2003 – 18 April 2003
Period of CIA custody: 492-497 days
Left CIA custody: 22 August 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Libyan custody. Released, 16 February 2011.
Mohammed al-Shoroeiya (also known as Hassan Rabi’i, Mohamed Ben Soud and Abd al-Karim)
and Khalid al-Sharif (also known as Abu Hazim al-Libi) were both captured on 3 April 2003 by
Pakistani police. Al-Sharif had been staying in al-Shoroeiya’s house in Peshawar. During the
arrest, al-Shoroeiya broke his leg, and al-Sharif broke his foot. Al-Shoroeiya was detained for
about 10 days in a building he called the ‘Khyber’. Al-Sharif said he was held for 7 days in a building he called the ‘army stadium’ somewhere in Peshawar. It is not clear if these were the same
locations. While in Peshawar, al-Sharif described being kicked in the groin and beaten so hard
on his head with a whip that he nearly fainted. Pakistani personnel also deliberately stood on his
broken foot to cause pain. He describes an American interrogator sitting on a chair in front of
him while the Pakistani officer beat him. Al-Shoroeiya stated that on some occasions, the
Americans ordered their Pakistani colleagues to beat him, although they would leave the room
while this took place.336
They were then both transferred to a detention facility in Islamabad, and were held in cells
next door to each other. They were both interrogated by Pakistani and US personnel, and subjected to beatings during some of the interrogations. After around a week in Islamabad, at some
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point between 13-18 April 2003, al-Shoroeiya and al-Sharif were rendered to Afghanistan. They
were stripped, blindfolded, handcuffed and had their legs shackled, had ear plugs put in their
ears and hoods placed over their heads. Both detainees were transferred onboard an aircraft on
a flight lasting about 30 minutes, and then moved to the Dark Prison.337 CIA records confirm that
this rendition took place on xx April 2003.338
Al-Shoroeiya and al-Sharif were held in almost total darkness throughout their time at the
Dark Prison. They were denied clothing throughout their first few months. Al-Shoroeiya described
having a small mat and bucket for a toilet in the cell, and describes a terrible stench from the
excrement and cleaning chemicals combined. Al-Sharif described the size of his cell as being
about 4m x 3m, with a steel door with a barred window at the top. They were chained throughout
the first 3-4 months to two iron rings attached to the wall, about one metre high. They were
sometimes chained by one arm, sometimes by both arms, and sometimes by both arms and both
legs. After four months they were allowed to remain in their cells without being shackled. They
were not allowed to wash, cut their nails or hair in the first few months.339
During the first four months, both men were subjected to intense interrogation and abuse.
Al-Sharif describes being sent to a small cell where his hands were suspended above his head
for long periods, on one occasion for three days. He was barely fed.
They only gave me water once, at night. They gave me a milkshake and a small cup
of milk with cocoa. That was all I had for three days. They banned me from going to
the restroom for those three days. I had to pass urine and go to the bathroom
standing up. I wasn’t wearing clothes. At night, they gave me some water to drink
but poured the rest of it over my body. I was trying to move to create some warmth
in my body. Because of the lack of sleep for three days, I went hysterical. I thought I
was going crazy. Everything was spinning around me and it was totally dark.340
Khalid al-Sharif
placed in a box of about half a metre wide, just high enough to stand, with his hands cuffed to
a bar above his head. Loud music was blasted and it was dark with what looked like blood stains
on the walls. He was left there for a day and half, naked, with no food. Al-Shoroeiya also described
being locked in a wooden box, about 1m x 1m with small holes in the sides, through which interrogators would prod him with long, thin objects. He was also taken to a room with wooden walls
against which he was beaten. Al-Shoroeiya described the facility as comprising several different
types of rooms used for interrogation and torture: ‘One was a group of rooms where he was
interrogated. Another set of rooms were freezing cold and were used to submerge the prisoners
in icy water while lying on plastic sheeting on the ground. A third set of rooms he called the
“torture rooms,” where they used specific instruments. One of these instruments was a wood
plank that they used to abuse him with water.’ 341
In this facility, al-Shoroeiya and al-Sharif were subjected to waterboarding. Al-Shoroeiya
said that after being strapped to the board, held with his head lower than his feet, and hooded,
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Al-Shoroeiya describes similar treatment shortly after arriving at the facility. He described being
they would pour buckets of very cold water over his nose and mouth to the point that he felt he
would suffocate. He said it happened over and over again. Both men reported that doctors were
present throughout. The doctors would monitor their body temperatures and they would have
warm water poured over him if he got too cold. Al-Sharif had the plaster cast for his broken leg
removed before the waterboarding.342
CIA records confirm the use of torture on these two men while at the Dark Prison. One cable,
dated 18 April 2003, requested the use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’, although given
their injuries stated that interrogators would ‘forego cramped confinement, stress positions,
walling, and vertical shackling.’ In order to accommodate their injuries, the cable stated that
rather than being shackled standing during sleep deprivation, the detainees would be ‘seated,
secured to a cell wall, with intermittent disruptions of normal sleeping patterns.’ For water dousing the detainees’ injured legs would be ‘wrapped in plastic.’343
These requests were approved and, six days later, on 24 April 2003, Headquarters further
approved the use on al-Sharif of the attention grasp, facial insult slap, abdominal slap, water
dousing and sleep deprivation of up to 72 hours. A 10 May 2003 cable then extended authorisation to include the use of walling and the facial grasp on al-Sharif, and the use of walling and
stress positions on al-Shoroeiya.
In reality, however, CIA records show that both men were subjected to a range of unauthorised techniques. Al-Sharif was subjected to walling on 28-29 April 2003, and the facial hold on
27 April 2003. Al-Shoroeiya was subjected to cramped confinement on 19-20 April 2003, stress
positions on 21 April and walling on 21 April and 29 April. Cables noted that al-Shoroeiya’s head
was placed on a wall, he was bent at the waist, and ‘shuffled backwards to a safe, yet uncomfortable position.’ During sleep deprivation use, he was ‘walked for 15 minutes every half-hour
through the night and into the morning.’ A few days later a cable stated that, even given the best
prognosis, al-Shoroeiya would have arthritis and limitation of motion for the rest of his life.344
Likewise, an investigation by the OIG was sparked after one CIA officer alleged that the use of
water dousing on al-Sharif approximated, or was equivalent to, waterboarding. During this torture,
al-Sharif turned blue as water was poured onto a cloth placed over his mouth to disrupt his
breathing.345
By 12 May 2003, both men had been assessed by a CIA physician as having injuries that
were ‘sufficiently healed to allow being placed in the standing sleep deprivation position.’346
Approval for this came shortly after from Headquarters, and al-Sharif was subjected to 52 hours
of standing sleep deprivation from 3-5 June 2003,347 and al-Shoroeiya for an undisclosed amount
of time on 15 May 2003.348 CIA records also document that al-Sharif was denied a bucket for his
waste as a punishment during interrogation sessions, and was subjected to nudity and dietary
manipulation.
In April 2004, likely to have been either 24 or 25 April, both men were transferred alongside
several other detainees to a second CIA black site, DETENTION SITE ORANGE, where they would
continue to be held in secret detention for four months (in the case of al-Shoroeiya) and one
year (for al-Sharif). While in DETENTION SITE ORANGE, al-Shoroeiya and al-Sharif say they were
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chained to the wall of their cells with a long chain that allowed them to walk around. Each had
a toilet, a basin and a mattress, and there were cameras, microphones and speakers everywhere.
There was constant noise at the facility – both loud music and sounds through the loudspeakers,
and also the sound of a turbine – and the cells had no ventilation. Both stated that the treatment
was different here, more psychological than physical, and involved mainly noise, isolation, restraint
and continuous interrogation. The guards were Afghans, wearing all black with facemasks, and
the interrogators were American, unmasked and in civilian clothes.349
Al-Shoroeiya was held for about four months at this second facility. On 22 August 2004, he
was rendered to Libya alongside two other detainees, Majid al-Maghrebi (#91) and Saleh Di’iki
(#94). The three men were held in a shipping container before being loaded onto an aircraft and
flown to Libya. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on
board the aircraft N63MU (Circuit 49).
It was many months after al-Shoroeiya was transferred that al-Sharif was also rendered to
Libya. His rendition took place on 21 April 2005, alongside Mustafa al-Mehdi (#107). Again, he
was taken by car to a shipping container that appeared to be a form of military storage facility
(with boxes of ammunition and other equipment), and then flown to Libya. Our investigation has
identified this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft N740JA (Circuit 56).
Once in Libya, both men were held in a number of prisons, including Tajoura and Abu Salim.
Al-Shoroeiya says that he spent long periods in solitary confinement, and was beaten with whips,
steel pipes, electrical cables and sticks. He was eventually taken to court and sentenced to life
in prison, but was released on 16 February 2011 as the uprising against Gaddafi was beginning.
Al-Sharif was tried and convicted in January 2008 of attempting to overthrow the regime, and
sentenced to death by firing squad. At one point he reports being interrogated by agents of the
French intelligence service. He was released on 23 March 2010, along with two other Libyan
rendition victims (Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Sami al-Saadi), having publicly renounced their
opposition to the regime. Al-Sharif was, however, re-arrested on 28 April 2011, a couple of months
he went on to head the Libyan National Guard following the fall of Gaddafi.350
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APPENDIX 1
after the uprising had begun, and was tortured. It is not clear when he was finally released, but
AMMAR AL-BALUCHI (#55)
Nationality: Kuwaiti
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 29 April 2003
Captured alongside: Walid bin Attash (#56)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 15-16 May 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1207-1209 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Poland; Romania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
WALID BIN ATTASH (#56)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 29 April 2003
Captured alongside: Ammar al-Baluchi (#55)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 15-16 May 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1207-1209 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Poland; Romania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Ammar al-Baluchi (also known as Ali Abdul Aziz Ali) is a Kuwaiti national and the nephew of
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45). Walid bin Attash (also known as Tawfiq or Khallad bin Attash)
is a Yemeni national whose brother, Hassan bin Attash (#10), was disappeared by the CIA in
September 2002, and is also currently held in Guantánamo Bay. Al-Baluchi and bin Attash were
captured, alongside four others, on 29 April 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan, as part of an operation
by the Pakistani Intelligence Bureau and a team of Pakistani rangers.351
Both men were initially held and interrogated in Pakistan,352 and CIA officers sought to participate in the interrogations (although one cable, dated 2 May 2003, mentions that al-Baluchi’s
‘strong reticence towards the US’ meant that CIA officers had to observe the interrogations via
a video feed).353 According to al-Baluchi, the interrogators ‘used their fists and cricket bats to
force me to talk. After days of standing blindfolded they moved me to another location to be
interrogated from well before the sun came up to well after it went down. I felt as if someone
outside was manipulating the interrogations.’354 The detainees remained in foreign government
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custody ‘for approximately two weeks,’355 which would mean that they were rendered to CIA
custody in mid-May 2003.
Cables from the Dark Prison, dated 16 May 2003, document the torture of both men immediately after their transfer to CIA custody, suggesting a rendition from Pakistan on 15-16 May
2003.356 Elsewhere, the Committee Study cites records documenting the torture of al-Baluchi
between 17-20 May 2003, and of bin Attash between 16-18 May 2003.357 Between 17-18 May
2003, CIA cables document that bin Attash was subjected to facial grabs, facial insult slaps,
abdominal slaps, walling and water dousing.358 In the case of bin Attash at least, he was tortured
before any questioning at all.359 Bin Attash’s own testimony confirms details of his torture. He
has said that he was held in Afghanistan for around three weeks, from mid-May to the beginning
of June 2003. For the first two weeks of his detention in Afghanistan, he was placed in stress
positions for extended periods, beaten, and doused in cold water.
On arrival at the place of detention in Afghanistan I was stripped naked. I remained
naked for the next two weeks. I was put in a cell measuring approximately 1m x 2m.
I was kept in a standing position, feet flat on the floor, but with my arms above my
head and fixed with handcuffs and a chain to a metal bar running across the width
of the cell. The cell was dark with no light, artificial or natural…
For interrogation I was blindfolded and removed from the cell and taken to
another room. Every day for the first two weeks I was subjected to slaps to my face
and punches to my body during the interrogation… on a daily basis during the first
two weeks a collar was looped around my neck and then used to slam me against
the walls of the interrogation room. It was also placed around my neck when being
taken out of my cell for interrogation and was used to lead me along the corridor…
Also on a daily basis during the first two weeks I was made to lie on a plastic sheet
placed on the floor which would then be lifted at the edges. Cold water was then
poured onto my body with buckets…
injections by the doctor during this period, but I have no idea what they were for.360
Walid bin Attash
After around three weeks in this detention facility, which was on or around 5 June 2003, bin
Attash says that he was blindfolded, had earphones placed on his ears, and was transferred to
another location: ‘I was transported in a sitting position, shackled by the ankles and by the wrists
with my hands in front of my body. I think that the flight lasted probably more than eight hours…
If I shifted my position too much during the journey somebody hit me by hand on the head.’361
Our investigation has established that he was transferred to the Polish black site, and we have
also identified this rendition operation, which took place 5 June 2003 on board the aircraft N379P
(Circuit 23).
It appears that al-Baluchi remained in Afghanistan during June and July 2003. One cable
from Headquarters, dated 16 July 2003, makes clear that he was at that time being held at the
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The interrogators threatened to infect me with HIV. I was given at least two
same location as Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46),362 while another cable from Afghanistan, dated 21
July 2003, makes reference to al-Baluchi’s statements under questioning.363 Al-Baluchi’s own
account documents a series of moves between sites. His account of what appears to be the
Dark Prison suggests that it was a ‘place of complete darkness, where I was naked, thirsty,
starving, and shackled while suspended from the ceiling and waiting for them to come for me
with more questions. When they did come, I was taken to a room so bright it hurt to open my
eyes.’364 At some point at the end of May or early June 2003, he says that his head was shaved
and then repeatedly smashed against the wall until he lost consciousness.365
Al-Baluchi then appears to have been moved to one of the more modern facilities: ‘after the
place of darkness was the place of sterile, white light… Here they blazed light that was bright
and intense because of the sterile white of the walls, floors and ceilings. Here it felt as if I was
living in a refrigerator.’366 It seems likely that this was the Polish black site, and if so then al-Baluchi
would have been rendered there alongside Samr al-Barq at the end of July 2003. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place 29 July 2003 on board the aircraft
N379P (Circuit 27).
Bin Attash, meanwhile, has stated that while in the Polish black site – a location which he
has referred to only as his ‘next place of detention’ – he was kept in a cell for the first month
before the torture started again. He was kept naked and shackled to a metal ring in the ceiling,
and left to defecate in an unchanged diaper. He was also subjected to water dousing, and heard
the sounds of others being tortured.367
This account of his torture at the Polish black site is confirmed by CIA records. After more
than a month at the site, the Committee Study documents bin Attash’s torture between 18-29
July 2003.368 CIA cables from the site recount the extensive use of sleep deprivation between
21-23 July 2003, including more than 110 hours of deprivation in one session with only four hours
rest between. This had begun as standing sleep deprivation, but due to the swelling of his one
leg he was moved to seated sleep deprivation after 93 hours.369 Bin Attash himself has confirmed
that he was eventually allowed to sit on the floor, although he still had his arms extended above
his head.370 Cables document the use of nudity and dietary manipulation during this period, with
one cable, dated 22 July 2003, noting that threats were made to subject bin Attash to rectal
rehydration.371
Bin Attash and al-Baluchi were detained in Poland until 22 September 2003, whereupon
they and the other detainees at the site were rendered out of the country (Circuit 31). Along
with three others, bin Attash and al-Baluchi were transferred to the newly-opened black site in
Romania. Here, bin Attash was placed in the standing stress position for several days, and forced
to defecate into a diaper.372
Little else is publicly known about their time in Romania, or the length of their detention.
One cable from the site, dated January 2004, reports that bin Attash was able to identify another
individual, Hassan Ghul (#98), who was at that time in US military custody (and was subsequently
rendered to CIA custody).373 Al-Baluchi testifies that he was held in at least two further places
after Poland, including one ‘where they used drugs to make me hallucinate and music to
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disorientate me.’374 Officials speaking off-the-record to investigative journalist Adam Goldman
place him in Morocco during 2004, although there is no confirmatory evidence for this claim.375
Both bin Attash and al-Baluchi were held in Afghanistan towards the end of their time in CIA
custody, given that all CIA detainees were held in the country between March and September
2006.376 A CIA cable from DETENTION SITE BROWN suggests that they were detained there in
September 2006.377 They were then transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay
between 4-5 September 2006, as two of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that
time. As of May 2019, both men remain detained at Guantánamo Bay.
APPENDIX 1
209
LAID SAIDI (#57)
Nationality: Algerian
Capture: Tanzania, 10 May 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Tanzania; Malawi
Entered CIA custody: 15-19 May 2003
Period of CIA custody: 465-469 days
Left CIA custody: 26 August 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: released to Algeria
Laid Saidi (also known as Ramzi ben Fraj and Abu Hudhaifa) is an Algerian national who was
captured by Tanzanian police on 10 May 2003.378 He was taken to Dar es Salaam and detained
for three days before being taken to the Malawian border and handed over to a group of Malawians
and two middle-aged white men. Saidi was taken to a detention site somewhere in the Malawian
mountains, and held there for about a week.379 At some point towards the end of May 2003, a
group of white men and women arrived, wearing black masks, and subjected Saidi to the standard
CIA rendition operation procedures. He was then driven to an airport and flown overnight to
Afghanistan.380 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place between
15-19 May 2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 22).
Saidi was detained initially at the Dark Prison, which he described as filled with deafening
music. He was chained to the cell wall and left there for about a week. He then says that he was
blindfolded and shackled, and taken to a second prison, where he was hung from the ceiling and
tortured for five days.
They put me in a room, suspended me by my arms and attached my feet to the
floor… they cut off my clothes very fast and took off my blindfold. They beat me and
threw cold water on me, spat at me and sometimes gave me dirty water to drink…
The American man told me I would die there.381
CIA cables from Afghanistan confirm details of Saidi’s torture, which began 19-20 May, before
any questioning.382 Throughout the following week, Saidi was subjected to baths with iced water
(where he was fully immersed), 66 hours of standing sleep deprivation, nudity and dietary manipulation.383 There had been no request to CIA Headquarters for the use of these techniques on
Saidi, and this treatment had not been approved. The use of standing sleep deprivation was
halted after Saidi’s leg began to swell.384
Although Saidi was certainly detained and tortured at the Dark Prison,385 it appears that the
use of ice baths on Saidi took place at an informal safe-house in Afghanistan. The same location
held Majid Khan (#58), who was also subjected to ice baths in May 2003.386 Cables from July
2003 document the further use of ice water on Saidi,387 and an email from 15 March 2004 discusses submersion in an ice bath during a period of enforced sleep deprivation. At this point,
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one CIA psychologist stated that ‘I heard [him] gasp out loud several times as he was placed in
the tub.’ The incident was reported to CIA’s Inspector General in March 2004, and after an investigation the IG noted that as a result of being bathed in ice water, Saidi was ‘shivering’ and
interrogators were concerned about his body temperature dropping.388
After five days at the safe-house, Saidi was moved back to the Dark Prison, where he was
held overnight before being transferred once again to a third site, which we have identified as
the Afghan-run facility known by some as ‘Rissat 2’. This, he says, had Afghan guards, one of
whom told him he was outside Kabul. Saidi recollects there being two rows of six underground
cells, each with a small opening in the door.389 He was held at this site for over a year, during
which time he was able to communicate with some of the other detainees held there as well. In
January 2004, Khaled el-Masri (#97) was rendered to Afghanistan and held alongside Saidi. Both
men have sketched identical floorplans of the prison, and both men recall talking to one another.
Indeed, these two men, along with two further prisoners – Abdul Rabbani (#23) and Ahmed
Rabbani (#25) – spent hours each night memorising each other’s phone numbers.390
Saidi was interrogated daily at this site, before it transpired that a mistranslation of his telephone
conversations had led to intelligence agents believing he was involved in terrorism. After he had
explained this, they never asked him about it again, and the interrogations eventually stopped.
On 9 June 2004, Saidi was rendered for a second time. Believing that he was Tunisian, the
CIA flew him to Tunisia, where Saidi told the security personnel who entered the aircraft that he
was in fact Algerian. At this point, he was sent back to Afghanistan on the same aircraft. Our
investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place between 9-10 June 2004
on board the aircraft N982RK (Circuit 46).
On return to Afghanistan, Saidi has testified that he was held for a further 75 days, although
the exact detention site is unclear (the Dark Prison had closed by then). He was then rendered
for a third time, and taken to Algeria. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation,
which took place on 26 August 2004 on board the aircraft N308AB (Circuit 50).
days before releasing him at a bus stop in Algiers.391
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Once in Algeria, Saidi was handed over to Algerian intelligence. They detained him for several
MAJID KHAN (#58)
Nationality: Pakistani
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 5 March 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 15-24 May 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1200-1209 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Majid Khan is a Pakistani national who was captured in the early hours of 6 March 2003, by
Pakistani forces in Karachi, Pakistan.392 He was held in Pakistani custody for over two months,
first in a prison in Karachi for around five weeks, and then in a facility in Islamabad. Khan has
described the first site as adjacent to a well-known hotel, and he was driven daily to a second
location for interrogation. During these days, he was kept in a small cage, about 2m x 1m.393 CIA
cables from Pakistan document his interrogations throughout March-May 2003.394 Some of these
sessions led to the provision of intelligence that was passed on to the CIA and led to the waterboarding of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45) between 21-22 March 2003.395
Khan was rendered to CIA custody in Afghanistan between 15-24 May 2003, whereupon he
was subjected to torture prior to any questioning. He was stripped and shackled nude, and
placed in the standing sleep deprivation position.396 It appears from Khan’s testimony that he
was held initially in the Afghan intelligence facility in Kabul, referred to by others as Rissat 2. As
with other detainees held at the site, he speaks of a small window at the top of the cell letting
in daylight, and being allowed weekly showers.
On the second day at this site, Khan was taken to a different location, for three days. There
he was placed in a standing sleep deprivation position, naked, and dunked in an ice cold bath.397
This treatment is confirmed by CIA cables dated May-July 2003,398 and the Committee Study
makes clear that the ice bath took place at the safe-house in Afghanistan where another prisoner,
Laid Saidi (#57), was also held and subjected to an ice bath.399 Declassified notes from Khan’s
lawyer in Guantánamo Bay, made public in June 2015, make clear that this was a form of waterboarding: ‘Shackled and hooded, they placed Khan feet-first into the freezing water and ice. They
lowered his entire body into the water and held him down, face-up in the water. An interrogator
forced Khan’s head under the water until he thought he would drown. The interrogator would
pull Khan’s head out of the water to demand answers to questions, and then force his head back
under the water, repeatedly. Water and ice were also poured from a bucket onto Khan’s mouth
and nose when his head was not submerged.’400
Khan was then moved back to Rissat 2, and held there until July 2003. He says that he was
unable to stand on his own feet by this point, due to swelling and pain.401 One email from Afghanistan,
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dated 30 June 2003, was titled ‘Re: i hope the approvals for enhanced comes through quickly
for this guy…this does not look good.’402 In July 2003 it appears that Khan was moved to the Dark
Prison, where he was subjected to more water torture and extended sleep deprivation.
So when I arrived there first, they hanged me or pulled my hands up to make me
stand. This cell was extremely small in size, pitched dark… I was hanged for seven
days straight and while I was standing I use to pee on the floor and I was so afraid
from this environment that I did diarrhoea while I was standing…. But since my
hands were tied and my legs were shackled I could only scream or cry without
tears. And also, there were western pop songs and Eminem… on extremely high
volume, enough to shake the walls, and with that smell of my shit and pee…
After six days they took me to this torture bathroom cell for water torture again,
but this time not in a tub but in large plastic. And they will throw large bucket of ice
water on my face in a way until this water goes through my nose and throat.403
Khan was held at the Dark Prison for a number of weeks, and then moved back to Rissat 2, where
he was held until April 2004. During this period, he was held alongside Khaled el-Masri (#97); a
fact which has been confirmed by el-Masri, who says he was held alongside Khan in Afghanistan,
at a site where ‘prisoners slept on the floor, wore diapers and were given tainted water that
made them vomit.’404
In April 2004, Khan was transferred to the CIA-run DETENTION SITE ORANGE in Afghanistan,
and was held there until his transfer to Guantánamo Bay in September 2006. This was confirmed
in December 2004, when another detainee at the site, Marwan al-Jabour (#108), found an inscription under the sink in his cell which read ‘Majid Khan, 15 December 2004, American-Pakistani.’
Al-Jabour also believed Khan was still held at the site during May 2006.405
From at least September 2004, Khan engaged in a series of hunger strikes and acts of selfharm. In response to the hunger strikes, medical personnel at the site initially provided a nasogastric
however, and over a number of days in September 2004 Khan was subjected to involuntary rectal
feeding and rectal hydration. This included the insertion of two bottles of Ensure, as well as his
‘lunch tray’, consisting of hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts, and raisins, which was ‘pureed’ and
rectally infused.407 It also appears that he was subjected to this form of torture in December
2004, when one CIA cable documents that he was ‘very hostile’ to the treatment.408
So anyway, my worst day in [DETENTION SITE ORANGE] was December 31, 04.
They had to send some kind of report that day… First they put so much food in me,
through my rectum, that I didn’t have any option but to dump it out… They nose fed
me, but this time I threw up by putting my finger in my throat. So now that was the
big problem for them. So now they decided to feed me again, but this time they
put me on one chair, hands cuffed behind, and taped me and my whole body with
duct tape… then they overdosed me forcefully by injection. So I passed out until
they sent reports but since then I was in so much pain, I get up in pain and go back
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tube and intravenous fluids, and Khan cooperated with this.406 The CIA’s approach changed,
to sleep, then get up, then back to sleep. So I broke my strike the next day, but
still they kept me in the cold, freezing cell for another week or so to teach me
a lesson.409
While at DETENTION SITE ORANGE, Majid Khan also engaged in multiple acts of self-harm,
including attempts to cut his wrists,410 chew into his arm at the inner elbow,411 cut the vein in the
top of his foot,412 and cut into his skin at the elbow joint using a filed toothbrush.413
Khan was transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September
2006, as one of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, he
remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
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MOHAMMAD DINSHAH (#59)
Nationality: unknown
Capture: unknown
Entered CIA custody: 15 May – 9 June 2003
Period of CIA custody: 260-269 days
Left CIA custody: 30 January – 4 March 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: fate and whereabouts unknown
Little is known about Mohammad Dinshah. He was one of a number of prisoners whom CIA
Headquarters explicitly acknowledged did not pose a ‘continuing, serious threat’ to US interests,
and therefore recommended transferring to a ‘host country detention facility’. CIA cables from
Afghanistan document that Dinshah was transferred to what was almost certainly Afghan custody
by 12 July 2003,414 with the Committee Study noting that, ‘the host country had no independent
reason to detain these individuals and held them solely at the behest of the CIA.’415
Dinshah was held in the programme – including his time at the Afghan-run site – for 8-9
months (260-269 days), and was transferred out between 30 January – 4 March 2004. His fate
and whereabouts after this point are unknown.
APPENDIX 1
215
ZUBAIR (#62)
Nationality: Malaysian
Capture: Bangkok, Thailand, 8 June 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Thailand
Entered CIA custody: 18-20 June 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1172-1175 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Zubair (also known as Mohammed Farik bin Amin) was captured in Bangkok, Thailand on 8 June
2003, after leaving a bookshop.416 The capture was described in one report as a ‘low-key covert
joint Thai-CIA operation’.417 He was held in Thai custody and interrogated for around ten days,418
before being rendered to CIA custody in Afghanistan. Our investigation has identified this rendition
operation, which took place between 18-20 June 2003 on board the aircraft N614RD (Circuit 24).
CIA cables from Afghanistan document that Zubair was held initially at the Dark Prison, and
was tortured immediately upon his arrival.419 During this time, interrogators went beyond the
authorised techniques, subjecting him to (among other things) stress positions using a broomstick behind the knees.420 Another cable from Afghanistan, reporting that a detainee suffered
from oedema after prolonged standing sleep deprivation, is also likely to refer to Zubair.421
Little is known of Zubair’s detention history after July 2003. Whether or not he was rendered
out of the Afghanistan during his time in CIA custody, he was there (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE
or DETENTION SITE BROWN) between March and September 2006.422 He was then transferred
into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September 2006, as one of the 14
CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, Zubair remains detained at
Guantánamo Bay.
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HIWA RASHUL (#64)
Nationality: Iraqi
Capture: Iraq, June or July 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq
Entered CIA custody: 3 July 2003
Period of CIA custody: 118 days
Left CIA custody: 29 October 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody in Iraq. Thereafter, fate and
whereabouts unknown.
Hiwa Rashul is an Iraqi national who was a suspected member of Ansar al-Islam. He was captured
by Kurdish forces in June or July 2003 and turned over to CIA agents, who rendered him to
Afghanistan.423 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 3
July 2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 25).
While in CIA custody, the White House asked the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to rule on
Rashul’s status under the Geneva Conventions. The OLC concluded that he was a ‘protected
person’ under the Conventions, and therefore had to be returned to Iraq.424 Rashul was kept by
the CIA for over three months before being transferred back to DoD control, reportedly on 29
October 2003.425 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on
board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 32).
On his return to Iraq, Rashul, who was nicknamed ‘Triple X’ by CIA and US military officials,
was kept away from the ICRC and not given a prisoner number. It has been reported that he was
held at Camp Cropper, near Baghdad International Airport, and that ‘it was assumed the CIA
would want him back at some point,’ although this never happened.426 One classified military
population. Under no circumstances will his presence be made known to the detainee population... Only military personnel and debriefers will have access to the detainee... Knowledge of
the presence of this detainee will be strictly limited on a need-to-know basis.’427
Rashul was kept in secret military detention for an unknown period of time. In June 2004,
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged that he had authorised the secret detention of Rashul for the seven months up until that point: ‘I was requested by the Director of
Central Intelligence to take custody of an Iraqi national who was believed to be a high-ranking
member of Ansar al-Islam. And we did so. We were asked to not immediately register the individual. And we did that... The decision was made that it would be appropriate not to for a
period. And he wasn’t lost in the system. They’ve known where he was, and that he was there
in Iraq, for this period of time.’428
It is unclear what happened to Rashul after his period of secret detention in CIA and then
US military custody.
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order directed guards to keep Rashul ‘segregated and isolated from the remainder of the detainee
ADEL BEN HAMLILI (#65)
Nationality: Algerian
Capture: Peshawar, Pakistan, 17 June 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 10-24 July 2003
Period of CIA custody: 300-309 days
Left CIA custody: 5-28 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to Algeria, 20 January 2010.
Adel ben Hamlili is an Algerian national who was captured by Pakistani authorities during a raid
in Peshawar, Pakistan, on 17 June 2003. He was held in Pakistani custody for around two weeks.429
Our investigation has established that he was transferred into CIA custody between 10-24 July
2003, and held for around 10 months. During this period, Hamlili was held in Kabul, likely in the
Dark Prison.430 Little is known about his treatment during this time.
Hamlili was transferred out of CIA custody between 5-28 May 2004, and moved to Bagram
Airbase. DoD records then document his transfer to Guantánamo Bay on 19 September 2004,431
on board a military aircraft with call-sign RCH947Y.432 Hamlili was held at Guantánamo Bay from
September 2004 until 20 January 2010, at which point he was transferred back to Algeria, where
he was released.433
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SAMR AL-BARQ (#67)
Nationality: Palestinian
Capture: Islamabad, Pakistan, 15 July 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 28-29 July 2003
Period of CIA custody: 88-89 days
Left CIA custody: 25 October 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Poland; Romania
After CIA detention: transferred to Jordanian custody. Released, January 2009.
Samr al-Barq (also known as Abd al-Latif al-Barq and Abu Bakr al-Filistini) is a Palestinian national
who was captured by Pakistani ISI in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 15 July 2003.434 According to
research by the Open Society Justice Initiative, al-Barq was held in ISI detention in Islamabad
for about two weeks, and interrogated each day by US officials. He was then rendered to a secret
prison in Afghanistan where he was shackled and hung naked from the ceiling for several days,
and subjected to constant lighting and loud music.435
Our investigation has established that al-Barq was transferred into CIA custody in Afghanistan
between 28-29 July 2003, where he was held for 1-2 days before being rendered to Poland. We
have identified this rendition operation, which took place on 29 July 2003 on board the aircraft
N379P (Circuit 27).
The torture of al-Barq in Poland commenced before any questioning.436 While being tortured,
he changed his answers to questions about al-Qaeda’s anthrax efforts multiple times. On 1 August
2003, al-Barq told CIA interrogators that ‘we never made anthrax.’ He was told that the torture
would not stop until he ‘told the truth’. According to CIA cables, crying, al-Barq then said ‘I made
the anthrax.’ Asked if he was lying, al-Barq said that he was. After CIA interrogators ‘demonstrated
and then again stated that he made anthrax. Two days later, al-Barq stated that he had lied about
the anthrax production ‘only because he thought that was what interrogators wanted.’437
Our analysis of CIA cables places al-Barq at the black site in Romania during October 2003,
where he was still being subjected to interrogations.438 This implies that he was on board the
rendition flight from Poland to Romania, on 22 September 2003, with a number of other prisoners (Circuit 31).
Al-Barq was detained in Romania until 25 October 2003, when he was rendered to Jordan.439
Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft
N379P (Circuit 32). Al-Barq was held in GID custody until his release in January 2009,440 then
re-arrested in April 2010 and deported to Israel in July 2010 where, as of July 2013, he remained
in administrative detention.441
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the penalty for lying,’ al-Barq stated that ‘I made the anthrax’ and then immediately recanted,
LILLIE (#72)
Nationality: Malaysian
Capture: Bangkok, Thailand, 11 August 2003
Captured alongside: Hambali (#73)
Pre-CIA detention: Thailand
Entered CIA custody: 13-14 August 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1117-1119 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
HAMBALI (#73)
Nationality: Indonesian
Capture: Bangkok, Thailand, 11 August 2003
Captured alongside: Lillie (#72)
Pre-CIA detention: Thailand
Entered CIA custody: 13-14 August 2003
Period of CIA custody: 1117-1118 days
Left CIA custody: 4 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Romania; Morocco; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Lillie (also known as Bashir bin Lap) and Hambali (also known as Riduan bin Isomuddin and
Encep Nurjaman) were captured in a series of joint Thai-CIA operations in and around Bangkok
on 11 August 2003, with Lillie’s capture in the morning leading to the capture of Hambali within
four hours.442
CIA cables confirm that both men were held in Thai custody before being transferred to
the CIA.443 According to separate testimony given by both men to the ICRC when each was
being held incommunicado at Guantánamo Bay, they were held naked for 3-4 days in a detention facility in Thailand. Hambali stated that he was made to stand in a stress position with his
hands cuffed to a hook in the ceiling, and kept naked, blindfolded and with a sack over his
head.444 Both men were then rendered from Thailand to CIA custody in Afghanistan. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place between 13-14 August 2003
on board the aircraft N85VM (Circuit 28).
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Lillie and Hambali were initially detained at the Dark Prison. A request for authorisation for
the torture of both men was submitted to CIA Headquarters using a template devised in the
interrogation of Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41) in February 2003.445 The request was approved within
24 hours, and the torture began ‘almost immediately.’446 In the case of Hambali at least, this commenced before any questioning took place.447 At some point on 14-15 August, Lillie was ‘stripped
of his clothing’ and ‘placed in a cell in the standing sleep deprivation position, in darkness.’448
Both men were subjected to loud noise, specifically to ‘prevent concentrating, planning and
derailing of the exploitation/interrogation process with interrogation countermeasures
(resistance).’449
Lillie has testified that, once in Afghanistan, he was kept naked and shackled to the ceiling
in a painful standing position for the first week, and that he ‘had to defecate and urinate on
[himself] and remain standing in [his] own bodily fluids’. He also stated that he did not receive
any solid food until his twelfth day in captivity.450 Likewise, Hambali has testified that he was
kept naked for most of the first six weeks of his detention in Afghanistan. Clothes were provided
during the second week, but then removed again. He has also said that he was beaten repeatedly, with his interrogators placing a thick collar around his neck and then slamming him against
walls.451 CIA cables confirm that the torture of Hambali at the site continued until at least midSeptember 2003.452
Little is known about the detention history of either man after their initial detention at the
Dark Prison. It appears that Lillie was still in Afghanistan in January 2004, at which point one
CIA cable suggests that the supposed ‘resistance’ to interrogations might in fact simply be ‘issues
related to culture and... poor English language skills,’ with the absence of a Malay interpreter
identified as a problem.453
Hambali was clearly moved at some point, and has testified that in his third place of detention ‘he was threatened with a return to previous methods of ill-treatment (namely, having his
head slammed against the wall by use of a collar), by his interrogators showing him the collar
months after his initial capture, and that the new site had air conditioning designed to keep the
cells very cold.455
CIA cables from the Romanian black site, dated October-December 2003, document the
fact that Hambali recanted most of the information he had provided under torture. CIA officers
assessed these recantations to be credible, and that he had given false information ‘in an attempt
to reduce the pressure on himself... and to give an account that was consistent with what he
assessed the questioners wanted to hear.’456 An Indonesian-speaking debriefer suggested that
Hambali had not in fact been resistant to initial questioning (the rationale for the torture), with
his poor English language skills and cultural norms dictating his answers instead.457
These cables suggest that Hambali may have been held in Romania from early October 2003,
although they are not definitive. His presence in Romania has also been suggested by the investigative journalist Adam Goldman, who then places him subsequently in Morocco for a portion
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during interrogation sessions.’454 He has also testified that this transfer took place around two
of his time in secret detention.458 Although we are currently unable to confirm this, if he was
moved to Romania it is likely that he would have been transferred on 22 September 2003 on
board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 31).
Whether or not either man was rendered out of Afghanistan during their time in CIA custody,
they were both held there (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or DETENTION SITE BROWN) between
March and September 2006.459 One CIA cable from DETENTION SITE BROWN suggests that
Hambali was detained there in September 2006.460 Both Hambali and Lillie were transferred into
US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September 2006, among the 14 CIA
prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, both men remain detained at
Guantánamo Bay.
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SANAD AL-KAZIMI (#74)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 2003
Pre-CIA detention: UAE
Entered CIA custody: 14-17 August 2003
Period of CIA custody: 270-273 days
Left CIA custody: 13 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
Sanad al-Kazimi was captured by UAE authorities in Dubai at some point in January 2003.
According to Amnesty International, he was initially held for around two months in or near Dubai
before being driven for about two hours to a second location. Whilst in UAE custody, he was
hooded, kept in a dark room, and shackled naked for days on end. Interrogators beat him with
fists, threatened him with rape, and subjected him to simulated drowning: ‘His eyes were covered
with black goggles, his arms and legs shackled and he was lifted by a machine and submerged
into a pool of cold water.’461 After around seven months in Emirati custody, al-Kazimi was rendered
to Afghanistan. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place between
14-17 August 2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 29).
Al-Kazimi was held in the Dark Prison for nine months, during which time he was ‘subjected
to severe physical and psychological torture, including by being suspended with his arms above
his head for extended periods of time and beaten with electric cables.’ He attempted suicide
several times by ramming his head into the wall until he lost consciousness.462
According to DoD records, al-Kazimi was transferred into US military custody at Bagram
on 19 September 2004, on board a military aircraft with call-sign RCH947Y.464 As of May 2019,
he remains detained in Guantánamo Bay.
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Airbase on 13 May 2004.463 He was then transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay
SALAH QARU (#75)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Jakarta, Indonesia, August 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Indonesia; Jordan
Entered CIA custody: 10 September 2003
Period of CIA custody: 600-605 days
Left CIA custody: 1-7 May 2005
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Yemeni custody. Released, 27-28 March 2006.
MOHAMED BASHMILAH (#89)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Amman, Jordan, 21 October 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Jordan
Entered CIA custody: 26 October 2003
Period of CIA custody: 553-559 days
Left CIA custody: 1-7 May 2005
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Yemeni custody. Released, 27 March 2006.
MOHAMMED AL-ASAD (#92)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Tanzania, 26 December 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Tanzania; Djibouti
Entered CIA custody: 8 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 480-489 days
Left CIA custody: 1-7 May 2005
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Yemeni custody. Released, 14 March 2006.
Salah Qaru (also known as Salah Nasir Salim Ali, Marwan al-Adeni, and Mushin), Mohamed
Bashmilah (also known as Mohammad al-Shomaila) and Mohammed al-Asad (also known as
Muhammad Abdullah Saleh) are three Yemenis who were captured at various points in 2003,
each held in proxy detention for a number of days, and then rendered to the Dark Prison in
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Afghanistan. Once there, they were moved around together, first to DETENTION SITE ORANGE
in April 2004 (as the Dark Prison was being closed), and then to Yemen in May 2005.
Salah Qaru was captured in Indonesia in August 2003 and held in an intelligence services
building, where he was chained to the wall for three days. He was then transferred to a deportation centre and held there for three weeks before being flown to Jordan. In Jordan, he was
detained by the GID for around 10 days, where he says that ‘I was tortured horribly. It was very
bad.’ Qaru was suspended from the ceiling, and the soles of his feet were beaten so much that
he had to crawl back to his cell. He was also stripped and beaten by a ring of masked soldiers
with sticks. As Qaru has testified: ‘When one got tired of hitting me, they would replace him.
They tried to force me to walk like an animal, on my hands and feet, and I refused, so they
stretched me out on the floor and walked on me and put their shoes in my mouth.’465 After this
detention at the Jordanian site, Qaru was rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 10 September 2003 on board
the aircraft N379P (Circuit 30).
Mohamed Bashmilah was also arrested and held by the Indonesian authorities for several
weeks, before being deported to Jordan on 26 September 2003. On arrival, his passport was
confiscated, and he was told to report to the GID. He did this several times, and on 21 October
he was detained and moved to a nearby building. Over the next five days, Bashmilah was repeatedly tortured and interrogated by Jordanian intelligence. He was tied to a chair, hit, and threatened
with the rape of his wife and mother (who, he was told, were also in detention).466
Soon after seeing my mother and wife, some guards came and took me from my cell
to a large hall in the same building, known as the Yard, where several guards were
waiting in a circle, holding canes. The guards surrounded me and commanded me
to run around in circles. When I became too fatigued to run any further they beat
me with their canes. When I could no longer withstand the pain of being beaten by
the canes I collapsed into the middle of the circle. The guards in the Yard tried to
bray and the antics of dogs. After torturing me in the Yard the guards then took me
to another room and suspended me, upside down, from the ceiling.467
Mohamed Bashmilah
In the early hours of 26 October, Bashmilah was told that he was being released, and was taken
to a room in order to retrieve his possessions. However, at that point he was blindfolded and his
hands were tied behind his back. He was led down a corridor, and could hear an American accent.
He then had ear defenders placed on his head, and was driven to the airport, where he was
rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan.468 Our investigation has identified this rendition
operation, which took place on 26 October on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 32).
Mohammed al-Asad was captured on 26 December 2003 by Tanzanian officers, blindfolded,
bound and taken to an airport. When he asked where he was being taken, the guards responded,
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demean me by ordering me to imitate animals. They forced me to imitate a donkey’s
‘We can’t tell you. We are just following orders. We have nothing to do with this. People in charge
know where we are taking you. We are just following orders.’469 Al-Asad was flown to Djibouti,
where he was driven for 20-30 minutes to a detention facility and held for around two weeks.
During the second week, he was interrogated by an English-speaking woman who identified
herself as an American, and an Arabic language interpreter who looked Syrian or Lebanese. A
third man was sometimes present, and al-Asad remembered him saying he was from Djibouti.470
Other indicators confirm that al-Asad was held in Djibouti: he saw a picture of the President of
Djibouti on the wall of the interrogation room; the guards looked like they were from the Horn
of Africa; and he felt an earthquake during his time in detention (seismological records document
two earthquakes in Djibouti, less than an hour apart, in early January 2004).471
After about two weeks in this facility, al-Asad was prepared for transfer according to the
standard CIA procedure,472 and flown from Djibouti to Afghanistan, where he was held in the
Dark Prison. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 8
January 2004 on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 36).
Both Bashmilah and al-Asad have given detailed testimony of their time in the Dark Prison.
Bashmilah has provided a floorplan of the prison, which depicts twenty cells in one large space,
in two rows of ten, and then a separate set of interrogation rooms. For the first three months in
this prison, he was held in Cell 6, which measured 2m x 3m and had a bucket, a mattress, a
blanket and water in Nestlé bottles. He was shackled to the wall and kept in the diaper worn
during the rendition for the first two weeks. The cell had a camera and speakers, and Bashmilah
was blasted with ‘excruciatingly loud western rap and Arabic music’, 24 hours a day, for the first
month. He became so depressed that he attempted suicide on three separate occasions.473
The maltreatment I suffered during my first three months in Afghanistan had a
serious impact on my mental state, which was already extremely bad following my
torture in Jordan and rendition to Afghanistan… I did not eat very much food. I
became so depressed that I tried to take my own life… One time I tried hanging
myself with a string I pulled out of my blanket. On another occasion I tried to
overdose by swallowing pills I was given daily, and the third time I tried to slash my
wrists. At one point I was so distraught that I banged my head against the wall,
trying to lose consciousness.474
Mohamed Bashmilah
Al-Asad has also described the abuse he suffered, including the small dark cells, the constant
video surveillance, the rare access to showers, extreme cold, and the humiliating CIA ‘takedown’
process every time he was moved. He was subjected to extremely loud music and constant bright
light at night. At one point he was fed only on liquid diet replacement drinks, and was almost
never allowed to speak to other prisoners.475
In April 2004 all three men were transferred (with others) to DETENTION SITE ORANGE,
where they were held for more than a year.476
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Being by myself all the time, not being told where I was, and thinking that I might
never leave, caused me to suffer enormous stress and psychological torment. One
time I used a piece of metal that I smuggled from Afghanistan to slash my wrists…
After cutting myself, I used my blood to write ‘I am innocent’ and ‘this is unjust’ on
the walls of my cell…
Out of desperation and a sense of injustice I also went on hunger strike for ten
days about three or four weeks after I slashed my wrists… The guards untied my
hands and sat me in a chair and strapped my arms to the arms of the chair. They
then used a chain to connect the shackles on my feet to a metal ring in the floor. I
saw blue cans on the table that contained what looked like pink colored liquid.
There were also tubes like those used for IVs and a metal IV pole. After I was
strapped to the chair and chained to the floor they shoved a tube up into my nose
and I began screaming because of the pain. I resisted because I was beginning to
choke and the guards held my head back. In this way they forced the tube all the
way into my stomach.477
Mohamed Bashmilah
All three men were transferred out of CIA custody in May 2005 and flown to Yemen. Their testimony suggests that this rendition took place on 5 May 2005 and, although we have not been
able to identify the rendition operation for this transfer, cross-referencing our calculations for
them enables us to independently establish that it took place between 1-7 May 2005.478
In Yemen, they were taken to a Political Security detention facility in Sana’a. The next day,
Bashmilah and Qaru were flown on a passenger plane to Aden, and taken to Fateh Prison, where
they were detained for a further 10 months. Al-Asad was imprisoned in Sana’a and then alGhaydhah. On 13 February 2006 they were brought to trial. They pled guilty to charges of forging
travel documents, and although the judge sentenced them to two years in prison, taking into
27 February 2006 the judge ordered their release. Mohammed al-Asad was released from custody
in Sana’a on 14 March. Mohamed Bashmilah and Salah Qaru were transferred to Aden, where
they were released at around midnight on 27-28 March.
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account their 9 months in Yemeni detention, and approximately two years in US detention, on
ARSALA KHAN (#87)
Nationality: Afghan
Capture: unknown
Entered CIA custody: 1-9 October 2003
Period of CIA custody: 50-59 days
Left CIA custody: 20 November – 7 December 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase. Released, 2007.
Arsala Khan (also known as Majid bin Muhammad bin Sulayman Khayil) is an Afghan national
who was captured in September-October 2003, and transferred into CIA custody between 1-9
October 2003. He was held for around two months in the Dark Prison.
Although the CIA had identified Khan as someone who may have helped bin Laden escape
through the Tora Bora Mountains in late 2001, Headquarters initially resisted approving his capture given a lack of information confirming that he was a ‘continuing threat.’479 Given this uncertainty,
interrogators at the Dark Prison began torturing Khan in order to ‘make a better assessment
regarding [his] willingness to start talking, or assess if our subject is, in fact the man we are
looking for.’480
A CIA cable from Afghanistan documents that Khan was subjected to 56 hours of standing
sleep deprivation in mid-October, during which time he experienced disturbing hallucinations.
The cable notes that he was barely able to speak, and was ‘visibly shaken by his hallucinations
depicting dogs mauling and killing his sons and family.’ Khan was convinced that his interrogator
‘was responsible for killing them and feeding them to the dogs.’481
After this use of sleep deprivation, Khan was allowed to sleep. However, two days later he
was returned to standing sleep deprivation, in a session which lasted 21 hours. After this point,
interrogators stopped the use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’, given the ‘lack of information from [Khan] pinning him directly to a recent activity.’482
After this treatment, CIA Headquarters concluded that Khan ‘does not appear to be the subject
involved in… current plans or activities against US personnel or facilities,’ and recommended that
he be released to his village with a cash payment.483 However, although Khan was transferred out
of CIA custody between 20 November – 7 December 2003, he was not released, but instead
transferred to DoD custody at Bagram Airbase. He was given prisoner number 1220,484 held for
four more years, and interrogated by US Army Intelligence. He was finally released in 2007.485
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ASO HAWLERI (#88)
Nationality: Kurdish
Capture: Mosul, Iraq, 10 October 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq (US military custody)
Entered CIA custody: 10-19 October 2003
Period of CIA custody: 10-19 days
Left CIA custody: 29 October 2003
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Iraqi (Kurdish) custody. Thereafter, fate and whereabouts
unknown.
It has been reported that Aso Hawleri was captured by US forces on 10 October 2002, in Mosul,
Iraq.486 Our investigation has established that he was transferred into CIA custody between 10-19
October 2003, most likely in Afghanistan.
Hawleri was rendered back to Iraq after 10-19 days in CIA custody, and our investigation
has identified the rendition operation which transferred him from Afghanistan, on 29 October
2003 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 32). Once back in Iraq, he was detained by Kurdish
authorities, where he remained until at least May 2014.487
ALI SAEED AWADH (#90)
Capture: Djibouti (possibly)
Entered CIA custody: 15-18 December 2003
Period of CIA custody: 178-179 days
APPENDIX 1
Left CIA custody: 13-14 June 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: released to Djibouti
Little is known about Ali Saeed Awadh. Our analysis of CIA cables indicates that he was held in
Afghanistan from December 2003 to at least March 2004.488 He was later identified by the CIA
as being held as a result of mistaken identity, and released with a cash payment in June 2004.489
Our investigation has identified two rendition operations linking Djibouti and Afghanistan
which correspond very closely with the period of Awadh’s detention in Afghanistan (Circuit 35
and Circuit 47). It is likely that Awadh was on both of these flights.
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MAJID AL-MAGHREBI (#91)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: Peshawar, Pakistan, 14 November 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 17-26 December 2003
Period of CIA custody: 240-249 days
Left CIA custody: 22 August 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
Current status: transferred to Libyan custody. Released, 16 February 2011.
Majid al-Maghrebi (also known as Adnan al-Libi) was arrested at his home by Pakistani forces in
the early hours of 14 November 2003, and taken to a detention facility where he was held for
several weeks. Throughout this period, he was interrogated and tortured repeatedly, including
many times via electric shocks until he lost consciousness, as well as beatings (including with a
leather whip) and the use of stress positions and positional torture (including tying him to a frame
and ‘stretching’ him). He could hear the screams of others being tortured at the facility, as well
as their pleas for mercy: ‘I can still hear the voice of one of the guys in my head asking them to
stop, saying blood was coming out of his mouth.’490
Al-Maghrebi was transferred to Islamabad towards the end of December 2003, and shortly
thereafter rendered to Afghanistan. Our investigation has established that he was transferred
into CIA custody between 17-26 December 2003, and held initially in the Dark Prison. For the
first five days he was denied any food, and on requesting a doctor he was stripped naked,
shackled to the wall, and had his blankets taken away. At this point, he heard Mohammed alShoroeiya (#52) and Khalid al-Sharif (#51) talking and was able to communicate with them a
little. Saleh Di’iki (#94) has also said that he and al-Maghrebi talked while in this prison. Al-Maghrebi
was later transferred to a different cell where his hands were cuffed above his head and his legs
were shackled to the floor; he was held in this position for 15 days and interrogated repeatedly,
including in the presence of a woman while he was completely naked, and with extremely loud
music blared constantly: ‘I was there for 15 days, hanging from my arms, another chain from the
ground. They put a diaper on me but it overflowed so there was every type of stool everywhere,
the temperature was freezing.’491
He was then transferred to a cell where he was held in complete darkness. Just as other
detainees held at this facility have described, he was handcuffed to a ring low to the ground,
sometimes by one arm, sometimes by both arms and with legs shackled together and sometimes
with arms and legs all shackled to the ring. Towards the end of his one and a half to two months
in this cell he was permitted to move around freely. The water he was given to drink was putrid,
and he stated that insects were put in his food.492 CIA cables from March 2004 confirm that alMaghrebi was tortured while held at the Dark Prison. He was subjected to an extended sleep
deprivation session of over 118 hours, with just three hours of sleep in the middle.493 An email
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dated from the same period also discusses the fact that al-Maghrebi had been threatened with
rectal rehydration.494
In April 2004, likely to have been either 24 or 25 April, al-Maghrebi was transferred alongside
several other detainees to a second CIA black site, DENTENTION SITE ORANGE, where he would
continue to be held in secret detention for four months. He was held in a cell which he describes
as measuring 2m x 2m. Shackling was routine and he was often hooded, although the hood was
removed during interrogations. There was only a small rug despite the cold. At this facility, he
made contact with Di’iki again. He describes nearly going insane in this cell, to the point that he
would bang his own head against the wall and would refuse food.494
Al-Maghrebi was rendered again on 22 August 2004, alongside Saleh Di’iki and Mohammed
al-Shoroeiya. They were prepared for the flight according to standard CIA rendition operation
procedures, and were held in a shipping container before being loaded onto an aircraft and flown
to Libya.495 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on board
the aircraft N63MU (Circuit 49).
On arrival in Libya, al-Maghrebi was held in various different prisons, including Tajoura, for
the first nine months. He was beaten and threatened with rape. Subsequently he was held at an
internal intelligence facility, Amen Dakhali, and was then taken on to the Sikka Road and Abu
Salim prisons, before being transferred to the Nasser bureau, Ain Zara, and finally, Abu Salim
again. He was beaten and tortured repeatedly, including through long periods of solitary confinement. He faced charges in December 2007 of attempting to overthrow the government, and was
sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was finally released on 16 February 2011.
APPENDIX 1
231
ALI AL-HAJJ AL-SHARQAWI (#93)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 7 February 2002
Captured alongside: 16 others, all taken to Guantánamo Bay
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan; Jordan
Entered CIA custody: 8 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 123-129 days
Left CIA custody: 10-16 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of May 2019.
Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi (also known as Riyadh the Facilitator) was captured in Karachi, Pakistan,
on 7 February 2002, in a raid on a ‘suspected al-Qaeda safe house’ by Pakistani intelligence (ISI)
and US forces.496 16 others were captured in the raid, all of whom were eventually transferred to
US military custody at Guantánamo Bay.497 According to the Committee Study, al-Sharqawi was
then ‘transferred to Jordanian custody on February xx, 2002.’498 Our investigation has identified
this rendition operation, which took place between 10-15 February 2002 on board the aircraft
N379P (Circuit 4).
In Jordan, al-Sharqawi was held at the GID Headquarters in Wadi Sir, Amman for almost two
years, until January 2004. For most of this time, he was held alongside Hassan bin Attash (#10).
During his detention, al-Sharqawi penned a long account of his treatment and signed it with his
thumbprint. This note was smuggled out in 2003 and handed to Joanne Mariner from Human
Rights Watch.499 The organisation also has a statement of his treatment written by al-Sharqawi
in 2006.500
I was being interrogated all the time, in the evening and in the day. I was shown
thousands of photos, and I really mean thousands, I am not exaggerating... And in
between all this you have the torture, the abuse, the cursing, humiliation. They had
threatened me with being sexually abused and electrocuted. I was told that if I
wanted to leave with permanent disability both mental and physical, that that could
be arranged. They said they had all the facilities of Jordan to achieve that. I was told
that I had to talk, I had to tell them everything. They beat me in a way that does not
know any limits. They threatened me with electricity, with snakes and dogs. They
say we’ll make you see death.501
He also said that his interrogators acknowledged asking questions passed on by the Americans,
and that: ‘Every time that the interrogator asks me about a certain piece of information, and I
talk, he asks me if I told this to the Americans. And if I say no he jumps for joy, and he leaves me
and goes to report it to his superiors, and they rejoice’.502 CIA records confirm that the CIA had
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access to al-Sharqawi while he was in Jordanian custody, and that he provided information on
various other suspects.503 Al-Sharqawi has also told his lawyers that he was hidden in the soldiers’ lecture room whenever the ICRC came to visit.
Al-Sharqawi says he was subjected to ‘continuous torture and interrogation for the whole
of two years.’504 Then, at about 11pm on 7 January 2004, he was taken from his cell, put in a car
and handed over to the Americans, who drove him to the airport and rendered him to Afghanistan.505
Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft
N313P (Circuit 36). CIA cables from Afghanistan confirm his rendition to the country,506 as do
others held in the Dark Prison during early 2004.507 Al-Sharqawi’s own account, penned in 2006,
described the prison as ‘a pitch dark place, with extremely loud scary sounds.’508 He was held
there for around four months, before being transferred to US military custody between 10-16
May 2004.509 He was held at Bagram Airbase, alongside a number of other CIA prisoners transferred at the same time.
Al-Sharqawi was held at Bagram until 19 September 2004, when he was transferred to US
military custody at Guantánamo Bay on board a US military aircraft with call-sign RCH948Y.510
As of May 2019, he remains detained in Guantánamo Bay.
APPENDIX 1
233
SALEH DI’IKI (#94)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: Mauritania, 12 October 2003
Pre-CIA detention: Mauritania; Morocco
Entered CIA custody: 22 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 213 days
Left CIA custody: 22 August 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Libyan custody. Released, 16 February 2011.
Saleh Di’iki (also known as Abu Abdallah al-Zulaytini) was captured on 12 October 2003 by
Mauritanian intelligence agents. He was held and interrogated for 2-3 weeks at the headquarters
of the Mauritanian military intelligence agency, where he was told that he was being detained
on behalf of the CIA. After two weeks a new group of interrogators arrived who Di’iki believes
were Israeli; they accused him of plotting to blow up the Israeli embassy in Mauritania. He was
held for another two weeks, and was questioned further by an American.511
At some point in early November 2003, Di’iki was rendered to Morocco on a small Fokker
aircraft. There, he was detained in a prison cell where lots of names had been written on the
walls, along with messages, by individuals who were to be transferred to US military custody at
Guantánamo Bay. One of the messages was from Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), who had written: ‘For
the one who is going to read this, I am Ramzi bin al-Shibh and for anyone who can read these
lines, I ask him to please inform my family in Yemen that I believe that on this date ___ I will be
transferred to Guantánamo tomorrow.’512 Di’iki could not remember the date, but given what is
known about bin al-Shibh it was likely to have been written in November or December 2003.
Di’iki was detained and interrogated in Morocco for several weeks. Our investigation has
established that he was rendered from Morocco to CIA custody in Afghanistan on 22 January
2004, on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 37). He says that his transfer was alongside at least
one other prisoner,513 and we have identified this as Binyam Mohamed (#95). He was prepared
for this transfer in line with normal CIA rendition operation procedures, by a team of American
personnel who used sign language and wore face masks. He recalls: ‘I was totally naked … They
did horrible things to me that I can’t talk about. They didn’t rape me but they did terribly humiliating things.’514
On arrival at the Dark Prison in Afghanistan, Di’iki was held in a cell which he described as
being 2m x 2m. For the first month, he was handcuffed and shackled, with one arm attached by
a steel ring to the wall of the cell. He was subjected to music played continuously at high volume,
and was held in darkness throughout. His cell was rat-infested, with the rats ‘going all over my
head and body.’515 Di’iki was able to speak to some of the other prisoners when the music was
not too loud, including Mohammed al-Shoroeiya (#52), Majid al-Maghrebi (#91) and Khalid alSharif (#51).
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In April 2004, likely to have been either 24 or 25 April, he was transferred alongside several
other detainees to a second CIA black site, DETENTION SITE ORANGE, where he was held in
secret detention for four months before being rendered to Libya. At this second facility, Di’iki
thinks that his captors were trying to make him think that he was no longer in Afghanistan, for
example, by providing non-Afghan food. The cell was larger and the building seemed much more
modern than the first site.
His cell in the second facility was gray, including painted concrete floors that had
a lacquer finish. His cell had two doors, one in front of the other. His feet were
shackled the entire three to four months he was there, but not to the wall, so he
was able to walk around. Occasionally, his hands were cuffed as well. There was a
camera in his cell in this second location. In the middle of the room there was a hole
connected to a sewage line so his whole cell smelled every time a toilet flushed.
There was loud music playing constantly, but it seemed to be mostly outside his
cell, not inside. They also played other sounds, like the sound of water dripping or
the sound of an electric shock. They would use the loud electric shock sound
sometimes to wake the detainees up.516
Again, he was kept naked for several weeks, with only a very uncomfortable, prickly blanket for
cover. He went on hunger strike to demand clothing. He was interrogated less frequently here
but he found his time at this facility to be even more harmful psychologically. It was much more
difficult to communicate with other detainees, so he felt very isolated. He also described finding
the uncertainty about his fate incredibly hard to deal with.
On 22 August 2004, Di’iki was rendered to Libya alongside al-Shoroeiya and al-Maghrebi.
They were prepared for the flight according to standard CIA rendition operation procedures, and
were held in a shipping container before being loaded onto an aircraft and flown to Libya.517 Our
investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft N63MU
taken, and this filled him with terror: ‘When I realized I was being sent back to Libya, I thought
they would hang me by my tongue. There was a guy from the east that died that way and I was
sure, because of what I had been writing and saying about the regime, I would die that way too.’518
On arrival in Libya, Di’iki was held in various different prisons, including Tajoura, Ain Zara
and Abu Salim. After four years, he was sentenced to life in prison. He was released on 16 February
2011 as the uprisings against Gaddafi began, but was then rearrested on 18 June 2011 and held
until the regime was finally toppled later that summer.
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(Circuit 49). It was only when he arrived in Libya that he realised that was where he was being
BINYAM MOHAMED (#95)
Nationality: Ethiopian (British resident)
Capture: Karachi, Pakistan, 12 April 2002
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan; Morocco
Entered CIA custody: 22 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 110-119 days
Left CIA custody: 11-20 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Bagram Airbase, and then
Guantánamo Bay. Released to United Kingdom, 23 February 2009.
Binyam Mohamed is an Ethiopian national who had been legally resident in the UK since 1994.
He travelled to Afghanistan in the summer of 2001. On 12 April 2002, he was arrested by Pakistani
officials in Karachi Airport while attempting to return to the UK. He was transferred to Landi
Prison, run by Pakistani prison officials. He was held there for seven days, until 20 April, when
he was transferred to an interrogation centre run by Pakistani intelligence services (ISI) in Karachi.
He was held at this facility for three months, in a cell 2m x 2.5m, and hung from the ceiling
for a week. While in the ISI facility, Mohamed was interrogated by four FBI agents, three of whom
were identified as ‘Chuck’, ‘Terry’ and ‘Jenny’. During their interrogations of Mohamed, they threatened him with torture by foreign security forces. The interrogator ‘Chuck’ threatened: ‘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’. ‘Terry’ also threatened him with transfer to
Israel or Jordan, and even to the British: ‘The SAS know how to deal with people like you’.519
When the Americans were not present, Mohamed was beaten repeatedly with a leather
strap. At one point, a Pakistani pressed a gun into his chest and waited: ‘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.’ After that incident, ‘Chuck’ came into
the room, said nothing, but just stared at Mohamed.520
Mohamed claims that he was also interrogated by two MI6 officers, one of whom identified
as ‘John’. According to Mohamed: ‘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 I was going to get tortured by the Arabs.’521
On 19 July, after three months in the ISI facility, Mohamed was transferred by air to Islamabad.
On landing, he was transferred to a cell at a Special Branch facility until the evening of 21 July.
At about 10pm that evening, he was taken to what he describes as a military airport in Islamabad
with two other detainees. This is likely to have been the Pakistani Air Force base at Nur Khan /
Chakala, which is co-located with Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport. There he
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was turned over to the Americans, and prepared for rendition. He was stripped naked, photographed, searched, had a suppository inserted into his anus, and was then dressed in a tracksuit,
shackled, blindfolded, had ear defenders placed over his head, and was strapped to the seat of
an aircraft.522 Our investigation has confirmed this rendition operation, which took place on 21
July 2002 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 8).
For 18 months, between 22 July 2002 and 21 January 2004, Binyam Mohamed was held and
tortured in Morocco. He was first held in Témara prison, which he described as containing a
series of semi-underground buildings, each of which contained three cells, a guard room and an
interrogation room. While in Témara, Mohamed was subjected to what he describes as a ‘softening up process’. The guards would ask him questions, and would threaten him with the torture
to come: ‘They’ll come in wearing masks and beat you up. They’ll beat you with sticks. They’ll
rape you first, then they’ll take a glass bottle, they break the top off and make you sit on it.’523
Then, on the night of 6 August, the torture began:
They came in and cuffed my hands behind my back. But then three men came in
with black masks, some kind of ski masks that only showed their eyes. They had
military trousers and different coloured shirts. When they came in my head stopped.
I ceased really knowing I was alive. One stood on each of my shoulders and the
third punched me in the stomach. The first punch… turned everything inside me
upside down. I felt I was going to vomit... It seemed to go on for hours... I was
meant to stand, but I was in so much pain I’d fall to my knees. They’d pull me back
up and hit me again. They’d kick me in the thighs as I got up. I vomited within the
first few punches...524
The beatings continued over the following days and weeks, interspersed with interrogations:
‘They’d say there’s this guy who says you’re the big man in al Qaeda. 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
They cut off my clothes with some kind of doctor’s scalpel. I was totally naked...
I tried to put on a brave face. But maybe I was going to be raped. Maybe they’d
electrocute me. Maybe castrate me… 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 shocked, I wasn’t expecting…
One of them took my penis in his hand and began to make cuts. He did it once
and they stood for a minute, watching my reaction. I was in agony, crying, trying
desperately to suppress myself, but I was screaming. I remember Marwan [the lead
torturer] seemed to smoke half a cigarette, throw it down, and start another. They
must have done this 20 or 30 times, in maybe two hours. There was blood all over...
They cut all over my private parts. One of them said it would be better just to cut it
off, as I would only breed terrorists.525
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torture me again’. During this time, Mohamed also began to be tortured with a scalpel:
Once this form of torture started, Mohamed was subjected to it about once a month until he was
transferred out of Morocco. He also says that there ‘were even worse things, too horrible to
remember, let alone talk about’, and that these things happened about once a month as well.
At some point in September 2002, Mohamed was moved by car to a different facility, where
he was held until January 2004. At this site, he was subjected to loud music played all day and
night into headphones strapped to his ears. He remembers Meatloaf, Aerosmith and Tupac going
round and round, as well as the sound of pornographic films. For eighteen months, he suffered
extreme sleep deprivation, sometimes going 48 hours without sleep. He was also exposed to
extremes of cold and unsanitary conditions, had his food laced with drugs, and when he undertook a hunger strike in protest, he was strapped to a mattress and forcibly injected with drugs.
The scalpel torture continued, approximately once a month.526
In the evening of 21 January 2004, Binyam Mohamed was taken by van to the airport. There
he waited for about two hours, before being handed over to the Americans and subjected to the
CIA’s standard rendition procedures. Our investigation has confirmed this rendition operation,
which took place on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 37).
Once in Afghanistan, Mohamed was placed in a truck and driven to the Dark Prison. He was
held here until late May 2004, and subjected to repeated interrogations and torture by the CIA.
It was pitch-black for most of the time. Mohamed was hung from the ceiling at various points,
and interrogated most days, in particular about the Jose Padilla and the ‘dirty bomb plot’. Loud
music was played on a loop through speakers in the cell. Other sounds were played too, including ghostly laughter, children screaming, and other ‘horror’ sounds. This was played incredibly
loudly, 24 hours a day, for weeks on end. As Mohamed has testified, ‘They used this music to
torture us. It was blasting all around. There were speakers in every cell. There was hardly any
way to sleep. It was like a perpetual nightmare... it was meant to drive you nuts. There’s a prisoner
here in Guantánamo who was there who had totally lost his head.’527
In May 2004, Mohamed allowed outside for the first time in two years: ‘it was like being given
chocolate.’ Shortly thereafter, he was transferred by helicopter with other detainees, ‘tied like
hens going for slaughter’, on a flight lasting 20-30 minutes. He was blindfolded and had head
phones placed over his head for the duration of the flight.528 From May to September 2004, he
was held at Bagram, and describes being subjected to one 12-hour interrogation and various
other 6-hour interrogations, during which he was forced to sign a confession regarding an association with Jose Padilla, whom he had never met.529
On 19 September 2004, Mohamed was flown with eight other detainees – including Hassan
bin Attash (#10), Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi (#93) and Sanad al-Kazimi (#74) – to Guantánamo Bay on
a US military aircraft with call-sign RCH948Y.530 He was released from Guantánamo Bay and
returned to the UK on 23 February 2009.
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KHALED AL-MAQTARI (#96)
Nationality: Yemeni
Capture: Fallujah, Iraq, 13 January 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq (US military custody)
Entered CIA custody: 22 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 955 days
Left CIA custody: 29 August – 6 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Yemeni custody. Released, May 2007.
Khaled al-Maqtari (also known as Firas al-Yemeni) is a Yemeni national who was captured on 13
January 2004, during a US raid on the Al-Ghufran Market in Fallujah, Iraq. All those captured
during the raid were cuffed and hooded, and al-Maqtari was transferred by truck to a US military
base on the outskirts of Fallujah.531 At the base, US soldiers forced him to crawl while they kicked
and beat him, and he was forced to remain standing while hooded and cuffed. A soldier would
periodically creep into al-Maqtari’s cell and ‘scream or laugh maniacally into Khaled al-Maqtari’s
ear.’ According to al-Maqtari, ‘[h]e was just shouting at me like a beast, I don’t think he was saying words, just shouting.’532
Later that day, al-Maqtari was transferred by helicopter, alongside at least two other detainees, to Abu Ghraib Prison on the outskirts of Baghdad. He has provided a detailed account of
his torture at this site, which included beating, water dousing, and being hung upside down from
a chain in the ceiling. Interrogators used dogs to frighten him and threatened him with rape. He
was also placed in a small box for extended periods of time, and was subjected to extensive
sleep deprivation.533
Al-Maqtari was held in Iraq until 22 January 2004, and then rendered to the Dark Prison in
the aircraft N379P (Circuit 38).
On arrival at the Dark Prison, al-Maqtari was placed in a small cell close to a bathroom. He
has given an extensive account of his time at this site, including the layout of the prison and the
identity of others who were held there.534
In April 2004, he was transferred alongside several other detainees to a second CIA black
site, which our investigation has established was DETENTION SITE ORANGE, also in Afghanistan.
On arrival at this site, al-Maqtari, along with the detainees he had been transferred with, was
held in a large container for a few hours. When he was taken into the site, al-Maqtari saw that the
facility was new or recently refurbished, extremely well organised and was run to ‘ensure maximum
security and secrecy, as well as disorientation, dependence and stress for the detainees.’ Again,
he has provided a detailed account of this site and of the 28 months he was held there.535
In early August 2006 al-Maqtari was transferred once more, this time to a medical facility for
treatment for persistent stomach pain and bleeding. This episode is alluded to in the Committee
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Afghanistan. Our investigation has confirmed this rendition operation, which took place on board
Study, which lists al-Maqtari as one of a number of detainees who, ‘due to a lack of adequate
medical care at CIA detention sites and the unwillingness of host governments to make hospital
facilities available… had care delayed for serious medical issues.’536 According to al-Maqtari, he
was flown alongside another detainee on two flights; the first about five to six hours long and
the second about eight hours long. This second prisoner is likely to have been Ramzi bin al-Shibh
(#41), given that he was transferred to the same third country as al-Maqtari for medical care.537
Once they had landed the two detainees were driven on a bus for about 30 minutes. Security at
the medical facility was as tight as at the second CIA site. Al-Maqtari states that he was told that
an endoscopy would be performed. Once this procedure was carried out he was taken straight
back to the second site. This transfer took place alongside the same detainee that had been
brought to the medical facility with al-Maqtari.538
Calculations show that al-Maqtari was transferred out of CIA custody between 29 August
– 6 September 2006, and flown to Yemen. There, he was taken to the Political Security Prison
in Sana’a, and held for 16 days. He was then transferred to a prison in Hodeidah, Yemen, in midSeptember 2006, and finally released in May 2007.539
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KHALED EL-MASRI (#97)
Nationality: Kuwaiti (German citizen)
Capture: 31 December 2003, Macedonia
Pre-CIA detention: Macedonia
Entered CIA custody: 24 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 125 days
Left CIA custody: 28 May 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: released to Albania
Khaled el-Masri is a Kuwaiti-German citizen who was apprehended at a border crossing between
Serbia and Macedonia on 31 December 2003, where officials confiscated his passport and
detained him for several hours before transferring him to a hotel in Skopje. He was held in a hotel
room for 23 days, and interrogated throughout this period. After 13 days, he went on a hunger
strike which lasted for the remainder of his detention in Skopje. On 23 January, he was forced
to give a statement that was filmed, indicating that he had not been ill-treated, and was told he
would be flown back to Germany.540 He was then driven to an airport and rendered to Afghanistan.
Our investigation has confirmed this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft
N313P (Circuit 37).
The cable from CIA Headquarters authorising el-Masri’s rendition justified the operation with
reference to the fact that ‘we believe al-Masri knows key information that could assist in the
capture of other al-Qa’ida operatives that pose a serious threat of violence or death to US persons
and interests.’541 This language did not fit within the required standard for CIA detention, whereby
only those who themselves pose a serious threat could be rendered and detained. Indeed, a 2007
investigation by the CIA’s OIG found that the operation ‘was characterised by a number of misoversight.’ In particular, the grounds for el-Masri’s detention and rendition were found to be spurious, as ‘the purported connections to [al-Qaeda], which served as the underpinning for the rendition,
were tenuous, circumstantial, and produced no further incriminating information.’ Regardless, the
CIA officers involved in the case ‘justified their commitment to his continuing detention, despite
the diminishing rationale, by insisting that they knew he was “bad”.’542
On arrival in Afghanistan, el-Masri was transferred to what the Committee Study called a
‘Country [redacted] facility used by the CIA for detention purposes.’543 Our investigation has
established that this was the Afghan-run facility known by some as ‘Rissat 2’. According to elMasri, on his first night he was stripped, photographed naked and medically examined by a
masked doctor with an American accent. His captors also took blood and urine samples. The
next night, his interrogations began again. He was repeatedly threatened, insulted and pushed
and shoved around, and his requests for access to lawyers and representatives of the German
government were repeatedly denied.544 CIA cables from Afghanistan, dated 27-28 January 2004
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APPENDIX 1
steps from the beginning that were compounded by subsequent failures of both legal and managerial
note that el-Masri ‘seemed bewildered on why he had been sent to his particular prison,’ and
was ‘adamant that [the CIA] has the wrong person.’545
After adjusting my eyes to the light, I could see that I was lying in a small, filthy,
concrete cell. The walls were covered in crude Arabic, Urdu and Farsi writing. In
place of a bed there was one dirty, military-style blanket and some old, torn clothes
bundled into a thin pillow. It was cold and dark. Through a small opening near the
roof of the cell I could see the red, setting sun….
Through a small grille on the metal door of the cell I could see a man dressed in
Afghan clothes standing in front of the cell. I was very thirsty at this point and called
out to the man for some water. The man pointed to a small bottle in the corner of
my cell. It was a very old plastic bottle, dirty outside as well as in. The colour of the
water was greenish-brown. It stank. I could smell the water from the other side of
the cell. After I held the bottle, the smell stayed on my hands for quite some time. I
was extremely thirsty but when I tried to drink the water, it caused me to vomit.546
El-Masri was held at this site for four months. In March 2004, he and other inmates began a
hunger strike. After 27 days without eating, senior personnel finally met with el-Masri. They
stated that they could not release him without permission from Washington, but that he should
not be detained. He continued his hunger strike, and on the 37th day, was taken to the interrogation room where he was force fed through a feeding tube that had been inserted through
his nose. The force-feeding made him very ill and he had to receive medical treatment.547
By mid-March, Headquarters had finally determined that it had no basis for detaining el-Masri.
Nonetheless, he continued to be detained while senior CIA officials disagreed over the ‘exit strategy’.548 On 27 May 2004, after more than four months in CIA secret detention, el-Masri was prepared
for his rendition back to Europe, which took place the next day. Our investigation has identified
this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft N982RK (Circuit 45). The aircraft
landed in Albania, near the Macedonian border, and el-Masri was transported by car through the
mountains in a journey that lasted three hours. He was finally taken out of the vehicle, had his
handcuffs removed and his possessions returned to him along with 14,500 Euros.549
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HASSAN GHUL (#98)
Nationality: Pakistani
Capture: Iraqi Kurdistan Region, 23 January 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq (Kurdish and US military custody)
Entered CIA custody: 24 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 940-949 days
Left CIA custody: 21-30 August 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Romania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Pakistani custody. Released, May 2007.
Hassan Ghul is a Pakistani national who was captured by Kurdish forces on 23 January 2004.550
The Committee Study cites a former CIA officer, Nada Bakos, who has stated that he was interrogated but not tortured by Kurdish officials whilst the CIA sought confirmation of his identity
from other prisoners in the programme. He was then transferred to US military custody and,
once his identity had been confirmed, was rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan.551 Our
investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 24 January 2004 on
board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 37).
Ghul was held for less than two days in Afghanistan, where he was interrogated but not
subjected to ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’. During this time, he was held in both the Dark
Prison and a nearby facility.552 He was then rendered to the Romanian black site,553 on board the
same aircraft (Circuit 37). CIA cables from the Romanian site document Ghul’s torture. Interrogators
submitted a plan for approval to CIA Headquarters closely mirroring that requested for other
detainees.554 Upon arrival, Ghul was ‘shaved and barbered, stripped, and placed in the standing
position against the wall’ with ‘his hands above his head.’555 Interrogators then requested specific
use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’, claiming that ‘his al-Qa’ida briefings and his earlier
contact interrogators can have with him,’ and that ‘the approval and employment of enhanced
measures should sufficiently shift his paradigm of what he expects to happen.’556
CIA Headquarters approved the request the same day, and the torture began immediately.
CIA cables document one session of 59 hours’ sleep deprivation, whereupon Ghul experienced
hallucinations, followed by further deprivation and other techniques, alongside further hallucinations.557 Ghul complained of back pain and asked to see a doctor, but interrogators responded
that the ‘pain was normal, and would stop when he was confirmed as telling the truth.’558 One
CIA doctor later noted that Ghul was experiencing ‘notable physiological fatigue,’ including
‘abdominal and back muscle pain/spasm, “heaviness” and mild paralysis of arms, legs and feet
[that] are secondary to his hanging position and extreme degree of sleep deprivation.’
Notwithstanding these signs, the doctor commented that Ghul was stable and had ‘essentially
normal vital signs,’ despite an ‘occasional premature heartbeat.’559
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APPENDIX 1
experiences with US military interrogators have convinced him there are limits to the physical
Ghul was most likely held in Romania until 2005, whereupon he was transferred to either
Lithuania or Afghanistan (Circuit 55, Circuit 58 and Circuit 59). Regardless of whether or not
he was held in Lithuania, he was certainly in Afghanistan (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or
DETENTION SITE BROWN) from at least March 2006.560
Ghul was transferred out of CIA custody between 21-30 August 2006, and rendered to
Pakistan.561 He was released from Pakistani custody on xx May 2007.562 It has since been reported
that he was killed in a US drone strike in October 2012.563
MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM (#99)
Nationality: unknown
Entered CIA custody: 25-27 January 2004
Period of CIA custody: 267-269 days
Left CIA custody: 20 October 2004
CIA detention locations: Romania
After CIA detention: transferred to Jordan or Afghanistan. Thereafter, fate and whereabouts
unknown.
Our investigation has established that Muhammad Ibrahim was transferred into CIA custody
between 25-27 January 2004, and almost immediately rendered to the Romanian black site. We
have identified two possible rendition operations for this transfer, one from Afghanistan which
took place on 25 January 2004 on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 37) and one from Jordan
which took place on 26 January 2004 on board the aircraft N85VM (Circuit 39).
Cables from the Romanian black site describe the use of sleep deprivation on Ibrahim for
three days straight, from 27-30 January 2004,564 exceeding the 48 hours authorised by CIA
Headquarters at the beginning of this period.565 On 1 February 2004, five days after the torture
had begun, interrogators cabled Headquarters to request information that would ‘definitively
link [Ibrahim] to nefarious activity or knowledge by [the detainee] of known nefarious activities
of al-Qa’ida members, if this is possible.’566 With no response from Headquarters, interrogators
continued to torture Ibrahim. CIA Headquarters would later conclude that it was ‘uncertain’ that
Ibrahim ‘would meet the requirements for US military or [redacted] detention.’567
Ibrahim was held at the Romanian black site for over eight months, before either being
released or transferred to foreign custody in Jordan or Afghanistan. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation which took place on 20 October 2004 on board the aircraft N789DK
(Circuit 52). His fate and whereabouts after this point are unknown.
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SAUD MEMON (#100)
Nationality: Pakistani
Capture: South Africa, 7 March 2003
Pre-CIA detention: South Africa; Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 10-29 February 2004
Period of CIA custody: 740-749 days
Left CIA custody: 19 February – 19 March 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Pakistani custody. Released, April 2007. Died shortly
thereafter.
Little is known about Saud Memon. He is a Pakistani national who was reportedly captured in
South Africa and rendered to Pakistan on 7 March 2003.568 There it has been reported that he
was held by Pakistani intelligence.569 We have established that he entered CIA custody between
10-29 February 2004.
Memon was held by the CIA for around two years (740-749 days), although his location during his time in CIA secret detention is unknown. He would have left CIA custody between 19
February – 19 March 2006. He was then passed over to Pakistani custody, and was released in
April 2007.570 It is reported that he was ‘dropped off, emaciated and near death, at the doorstep
of his family home,’ and died around two weeks later.571
APPENDIX 1
245
GOULED DOURAD (#102)
Nationality: Somali
Capture: Djibouti, 4 March 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Djibouti
Entered CIA custody: 10-11 March 2004
Period of CIA custody: 907-909 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Gouled Hassan Dourad (also known as Hassan Ahmed Guleed) is a Somali national who was
living in Djibouti when he was captured by Djiboutian authorities on 4 March 2004.572 During
interrogations while in Djiboutian custody, Dourad ‘provided detailed information on his casing
of Camp Lemonier’ for a potential terrorist attack.573 He was then rendered to CIA custody on xx
March 2004.574 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place 8-12
March 2004 on board the aircraft N379P (Circuit 41).
Given that the rendition aircraft flew to Afghanistan, Morocco and then Guantánamo Bay
after taking off from Djibouti, it is unclear exactly where Dourad was taken. We consider it most
likely that he was rendered to Afghanistan, given the indications that no CIA detainees were held
in Morocco between December 2003 and April 2004, and that it also appears that all CIA detainees held at Guantánamo Bay were at the sites there by early February 2004 at the very latest.575
We are not able to fully confirm this suggestion, however, and there exist contradictions in the
data regarding Dourad’s location after rendition to CIA custody.576
CIA cables document Dourad’s interrogation by 16 March 2004, although there is no evidence
that he was subjected to ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’.577 The Committee Study notes
that Dourad had serious medical issues at some point during his detention, and was one of a
number of detainees whose care was delayed ‘due to a lack of adequate medical care at CIA
detention sites and the unwillingness of host governments to make hospital facilities available.’578
Our investigation has established that he was transferred to a third-party country for treatment
at some point after January 2006. That country also received Janat Gul (#110) for treatment, and
was subsequently compensated with a significant sum of money.579 This may suggest that Dourad
and Gul were held at the same site during 2006, although there is no confirmation of this.
Regardless of his previous location, Dourad was held in Afghanistan (in DETENTION SITE
ORANGE or DETENTION SITE BROWN) between March and September 2006.580 He was then
transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5 September 2006, as one
of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May 2019, Dourad remains
detained at Guantánamo Bay.
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ABU ‘ABDALLAH (#103)
Nationality: Saudi
Capture: Iraq, February 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq
Entered CIA custody: 12 March 2004
Period of CIA custody: 870-872 days
Left CIA custody: 30 July – 1 August 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Saudi custody. Thereafter, fate and whereabouts
unknown.
Little is known about Abu ‘Abdallah. Khaled al-Maqtari (#96) has stated that, while he was in the
Dark Prison, a prisoner called Abu Abdallah al-Saudi arrived at the facility 6-8 weeks after he
did (which would have been in March-April 2004). According to al-Maqtari, Abu ‘Abdallah had
been held in secret detention in Iraq, where he had been captured in February 2004.581 This
account is consistent with other information concerning Abu ‘Abdallah’s entry into CIA custody,582
and our investigation has identified a matching flight between Iraq and Afghanistan on 12 March
2004 on board the aircraft N313P (Circuit 40).
Abu ‘Abdallah’s fate and whereabouts after March 2004 are unknown. Calculations show
that he was transferred out of CIA custody between 30 July – 6 September 2006. We have
identified a rendition operation which includes a flight from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia between
29 July – 1 August 2006, on board the aircraft N17ND (Circuit 62), and it is possible that this
rendered Abu ‘Abdallah back to his home country.
APPENDIX 1
247
ABD AL-BARI AL-FILISTINI (#106)
Nationality: Palestinian
Capture: Pakistan (likely)
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 16 June 2004
Period of CIA custody: 773-776 days
Left CIA custody: 29 July – 1 August 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Jordanian custody. Thereafter, fate and whereabouts
unknown.
MARWAN AL-JABOUR (#108)
Nationality: Palestinian
Capture: Lahore, Pakistan, 9 May 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 16 June 2004
Period of CIA custody: 773-776 days
Left CIA custody: 29 July – 1 August 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Jordanian custody, and then Israeli custody. Released,
October 2006.
Abd al-Bari al-Filistini and Marwan al-Jabour are both Palestinians, and are likely to have been
transferred together into CIA detention and held for over two years before being transferred to
Jordan. Although al-Jabour has given an extensive account of his time in CIA custody, little is
known about al-Filistini. Given his proximity to al-Jabour on the Committee Study list, and the
identical length of custody, he is likely to have been the Palestinian prisoner that al-Jabour has
said accompanied him from Pakistan to a CIA-run site in Afghanistan. Given that the others
transferred into CIA custody at the same time were captured in Pakistan, it is likely that al-Filistini
was as well.
Al-Jabour was captured by Pakistan’s ISI on 9 May 2004 while at a friend’s house in Lahore,
Pakistan. He was captured alongside two others, and all three men were transferred to the local
ISI station. There, he was shackled and beaten, and subjected to extensive sleep deprivation.
He was also burned with an iron rod, and interrogated by both Pakistani and American officers.583
He was held at this site for four days, and then transferred by car to a ‘villa’ in Islamabad. This
was a large private compound that had been converted to hold detainees, and al-Jabour said
that it appeared to be run by Americans. There, he was beaten and only allowed to sleep for one
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hour at a time. He was held alongside a number of prisoners including a Yemeni, an Afghan, a
Libyan, an Algerian, a Palestinian and two 16 year old boys. He was held at this site for more than
a month.584
On 16 June 2004, al-Jabour was flown to Afghanistan, alongside the Palestinian, the Afghan
and the Libyan from his detention at the villa.585 Our investigation has established that these men
are likely to have been Abd al-Bari al-Filistini, Qattal al-Uzbeki (#109) and Mustafa al-Mehdi (#107).
Upon landing, they were put into a Jeep and driven along an unpaved road to a detention site.
We have established that this was DETENTION SITE ORANGE, and al-Jabour has provided
an extensive account of the site and his 25 months in detention there.586 Some of his torture is
confirmed by CIA cables from Afghanistan, which document his forced rectal rehydration.587
Al-Jabour was transferred out of CIA custody between 29 July – 1 August 2006 and rendered
to Jordan. He has provided an account of his rendition, and said that it was alongside another
prisoner (who is likely to have been al-Filistini).588 Our investigation has identified this rendition
operation, which took place on board the aircraft N17ND (Circuit 62).
Al-Filistini’s fate and whereabouts after his transfer to Jordan are unknown. Al-Jabour was
held at the headquarters of the Jordanian GID in Amman, and was visited by the ICRC on 14
August 2006, and then by family members two weeks later. On 18 September 2006, he was driven
to King Hussein Bridge (on the border between Jordan and the Israeli occupied West Bank) and
transferred to Israeli custody.589 While held in Israel, al-Jabour was given access to a lawyer and
brought before a judge. He was released into Gaza after six weeks in Israeli custody.
APPENDIX 1
249
MUSTAFA AL-MEHDI (#107)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: Peshawar, Pakistan, 23 February 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 16 June 2004
Period of CIA custody: 309 days
Left CIA custody: 21 April 2005
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
Current status: transferred to Libyan custody. Released, 16 February 2011.
Mustafa al-Mehdi (also known as Ayyub al-Libi) is a Libyan national. He left Libya in 1989 as a
result of persecution by the Gaddafi regime, going first to Saudi Arabia, and then to Afghanistan.
There, he joined the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). Following his marriage in 1993 he
settled in Pakistan.
Al-Mehdi was captured on 23 February 2004, in Peshawar, Pakistan. He was initially detained
by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and held at the Army Stadium for about 40 days
while he was interrogated by ISI and American officers. While in Peshawar he was subjected to
constant strong lighting, held incommunicado, and his captors threatened to bring his wife and
rape her. He also heard the screams of other prisoners.
On or around 3 April 2004, al-Mehdi was taken to Islamabad, where he was held for a further
two and a half months. There were 8-10 other prisoners at the site. He states that the same
interrogators questioned him in Islamabad, now unhooded, and they appeared again when he
was held in Afghanistan. In Islamabad he describes being repeatedly assaulted by the Pakistani
guards, who beat him with broomsticks, and forcibly removed his clothes. He reported this to
the American interrogators, who accused him of lying and threatened him with worse places.
Al-Mehdi was rendered to CIA custody in Afghanistan on 16 June 2004, alongside Marwan
al-Jabour (#108), Abd al-Bari al-Filistini (#106) and possibly Qattal al-Uzbeki (#109) and held at
DETENTION SITE ORANGE. On arrival at his cell his clothes were forcibly removed and he was
shackled and then chained to the cell wall by one arm, so that he could only sit or lie down, but
not stand. He remained in this position, naked, for two months. After two months, he was given
trousers and, later, a shirt. After the fifth month they stopped shackling him to the wall and he
could move about his cell, which was just 2 x 2 metres. The lights were on all the time, and cameras and microphones were also on the whole time. There was no mattress, just a thin blanket,
the floor was painted concrete, and there was a small bucket with a chemical for the toilet, and
a rubber spoon for eating. Loud music was played constantly. Guards were a mixture of Americans
and Afghans, and dressed in black. He describes having breathing difficulties as a result of
vapours from the chemical toilet. It was often extremely cold.
Interrogations occurred daily, sometimes twice, and often while al-Mehdi was naked in front
of his female interrogators. He recounts that they would scream and yell at him, throw chairs
250
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
and push tables. He believes he was held in this facility for 10 months, although it was difficult
to keep track of time while in custody.
On 21 April 2005, he was told he would be taken to Libya. He begged not to be sent back,
believing his life was in danger if returned to Colonel Gaddafi’s regime. He was subjected to the
usual CIA preparations for transfer, including stripping naked, photographing, and dressing him
in a diaper, placing ear defenders over his ears and blindfolding and hooding him. Before boarding the aircraft one blindfold was swapped for another and he could see he was in a large hangar
with military equipment. He was handcuffed to a seat and strapped down. He later learned
that Khalid al-Sharif (#51) was also on board. Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on board the aircraft N740JA (Circuit 56).
In Libya, al-Mehdi was held in various detention sites. He spent 14 months in Tajoura where
he was held in solitary confinement for a number of months, and subjected to long interrogations. At the Nasser bureau, for four and a half months, he was held in solitary confinement in a
cell measuring about 2 x 0.5 metres with no light. He was moved again to the political wing of
the Ain Zara prison, for two months, and then finally to the military section of the Abu Salim
prison, alongside Abdel Hakim Belhadj, Sami al-Saadi and other senior LIFG members. In 2006
he was charged and prosecuted for membership of the LIFG, but states that he confessed under
duress, because the solitary confinement had become unbearable. Mehdi was finally released
on 16 February 2011, as the uprisings against Gaddafi began.
APPENDIX 1
251
QATTAL AL-UZBEKI (#109)
Nationality: unknown
Capture: Pakistan
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 16 June 2004
Period of CIA custody: 800-809 days
Left CIA custody: 25 August – 3 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: fate and whereabouts unknown
Given Qattal al-Uzbeki’s position next to Marwan al-Jabour (#108) on the Committee Study list,590
he is likely to have been the ‘Afghan’ whom al-Jabour says was with him when he was transferred
from Pakistani detention to a CIA-run site in Afghanistan. This took place on 16 June 2004, and
given that others transferred at the same time were captured in Pakistan, it is likely that al-Uzbeki
was as well.591 This supposition is supported by intelligence reporting gained from Hassan Ghul
(#98) while he was in secret CIA detention in Afghanistan in January 2004. According to Ghul,
at that time al-Uzbeki was a resident of a so-called ‘bachelor house’ in Shkai, Pakistan, alongside
a number of other men.592
If al-Uzbeki was indeed transferred with al-Jabour, he was held (at least initially) at DETENTION
SITE ORANGE in Afghanistan. He was held by the CIA for over 26 months, although we have
been unable to ascertain any further details about his detention or treatment. Al-Uzbeki was
transferred out of CIA custody between 25 August – 3 September 2006. His fate and whereabouts after this point are unknown.
252
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
JANAT GUL (#110)
Nationality: unknown
Capture: Pakistan, 10-30 June 2004.
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 10-22 July 2004
Period of CIA custody: 750-759 days
Left CIA custody: 30 July – 20 August 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Romania
After CIA detention: transferred to foreign custody. Released.
Janat Gul was captured by a foreign government, most likely Pakistan, on xx June 2004.593 On 2
July 2004, whilst Gul was still in foreign custody, the CIA met with National Security Advisor Rice
and other high-level officials at the White House in order to seek authorisation for his torture.
On 6 July 2004, Rice approved the use of all ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ on Gul, with
the exception of the waterboard. This authorisation was confirmed on 20 July 2004 by the
National Security Council (NSC) principals, including the Vice President, and again in a legal
opinion on 22 July 2004 written by Attorney General John Ashcroft.594
Gul was rendered into CIA custody on xx July 2004.595 It appears that he was held initially
in Afghanistan, and given the timing this was likely to have been at the facility referred to as
DETENTION SITE ORANGE. He was then rendered to the Romanian black site.596 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 31 July 2004 on board the aircraft
N288KA (Circuit 48).
An investigation conducted under the auspices of the Council of Europe found that, once
in Romania, Gul was subjected to ‘extensive, customised application of “enhanced interrogation
techniques”.’597 CIA cables from the Romanian site document that Gul was tortured from 3-10
deprivation, facial holds, attention grasps, facial slaps, stress positions, and walling, until he
experienced auditory and visual hallucinations.599 Gul became hugely disorientated, and could
see ‘his wife and children in the mirror and heard their voices in the white noise.’600 After continued torture, Gul ‘asked to die, or just be killed.’601 One session of standing sleep deprivation
lasted 47 hours.602
CIA records demonstrate that Gul was held at the Romanian black site until at least 30 April
2005.603 Our investigation has established that he was most likely held in Romania until October
or November 2005, whereupon he was transferred to either Lithuania or Afghanistan (Circuit
58 and Circuit 59). Regardless of whether or not he was held in Lithuania, he was certainly in
Afghanistan (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or DETENTION SITE BROWN) from at least March
2006.604 CIA records show that he was eventually transferred to a foreign government between
30 July – 20 August 2006, and subsequently released.605
253
APPENDIX 1
August 2004 and again from 21-25 August 2004,598 and that this included continuous sleep
AHMED GHAILANI (#111)
Nationality: Tanzanian
Capture: Gujrat, Pakistan, 24 July 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 1-5 September 2004
Period of CIA custody: 730-734 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay, and then US
civilian custody. Detained, US federal prison, as of May 2019.
Ahmed Ghailani is a Tanzanian national who was captured by Pakistani forces on 24 July 2004.606
He was held and interrogated in foreign government custody (likely in Pakistan) throughout
August 2004, with the CIA assessing these interrogations as ‘ineffective’.607
Ghailani was rendered to CIA custody on x September 2004,608 which our investigation has
narrowed to 1-5 September. He was held by the CIA in Afghanistan,609 where cables document
his torture from 17 September 2004.610 This included the use of extended sleep deprivation, after
which Ghailani experienced auditory hallucinations.611
Ghailani was held by the CIA for two years. It is unclear whether he was moved out of
Afghanistan at any point, and he would at any rate have been held there towards the end of his
time in CIA custody, given that all CIA detainees were held in the country between March and
September 2006. He was then transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between
4-5 September 2006, as one of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. Ghailani
was held at Guantánamo Bay until his transfer to mainland United States on 9 June 2009. He
became the first Guantánamo Bay detainee to be tried in a civilian court, and was eventually
convicted on a charge of conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison.612
254
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
SHARIF AL-MASRI (#112)
Nationality: Egyptian
Capture: Quetta, Pakistan, 29 August 2004
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 17-20 September 2004
Period of CIA custody: 87-89 days
Left CIA custody: 16 December 2004
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to Egyptian custody. Released, 2011.
Sharif al-Masri is an Egyptian national who was captured by Pakistani authorities in Quetta,
Pakistan, on 29 August 2004.613 He was initially held in Pakistani custody, where he claimed to
have been tortured. He was then rendered to CIA custody on xx September 2004.614 Our analysis
indicates that this date was between 17-20 September.
Al-Masri was held at a CIA site in Afghanistan, and, given his experience under torture in
Pakistan, immediately expressed his intent to cooperate.615 Despite this, and despite doubts by
CIA officials that al-Masri had knowledge of terror threats or senior al-Qaeda leadership,616 the
CIA requested approval to use ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’.617 Al-Masri was subsequently
tortured for at least a week, during which time the use of sleep deprivation led to auditory
hallucinations.618
After approximately three months (87-89 days) of CIA detention, al-Masri was rendered back
to Egypt, despite the fact that he had provided repeated descriptions of his torture at Egyptian
hands.619 Our investigation has identified this rendition operation, which took place on 16 December
2004 on board the aircraft N85VM (Circuit 53).
Once in Egypt, al-Masri says that he was interrogated for seven months in an intelligence
to al-Masri: ‘I saw there kinds of torture you would never imagine and even the Americans were
better.’ He was finally released after the uprising in January 2011.620
255
APPENDIX 1
headquarters, before being transferred to the State Security headquarters in Cairo. According
ABDI RASHID SAMATAR (#113)
Nationality: unknown
Entered CIA custody: 17 September – 25 November 2004
Period of CIA custody: 650-659 days
Left CIA custody: 30 June – 6 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: fate and whereabouts unknown
Little is known about Abdi Rashid Samatar. Given the dates of his detention, he was held in
Afghanistan for at least some of his time in CIA custody, at either DETENTION SITE ORANGE or
DETENTION SITE BROWN.
Samatar was transferred out of CIA custody between 30 June – 6 September 2006. His fate
and whereabouts after this point are unknown.
256
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
ABU FARAJ AL-LIBI (#114)
Nationality: Libyan
Capture: Mardan, Pakistan, 2 May 2005
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 24-25 May 2005
Period of CIA custody: 467-469 days
Left CIA custody: 4-5 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan; Romania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Abu Faraj al-Libi is a Libyan national who was captured by Pakistani special forces in Mardan,
Pakistan, on 2 May 2005.621 He was initially held in Pakistani detention, and CIA cables show that
discussions regarding his rendition to CIA custody took place on 6-7 May 2005.622 Our investigation has established that Abu Faraj was eventually rendered to the CIA-run DETENTION SITE
ORANGE in Afghanistan between 24-25 May 2005,623 and almost immediately rendered onwards
to the black site in Romania.624 We have also identified this rendition operation, which took place
25-26 May 2005 on board two aircraft, N450DR and N308AB, which met in Jordan (Circuit 57).
Abu Faraj was tortured on arrival in Romania, and throughout June 2005,625 with two key
periods: from 28 May until 2 June, and then again from 17-28 June.626 This treatment continued
even after he complained of loss of hearing (he was eventually fitted with a hearing aid after his
transfer to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay).627
Our investigation has established that Abu Faraj was most likely held in Romania until October
or November 2005, whereupon he was transferred to either Lithuania or Afghanistan (Circuit
58, Circuit 59). Regardless of whether or not he was held in Lithuania, he was certainly in Afghanistan
2006.628 He was then transferred into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay between 4-5
September 2006, as one of the 14 CIA prisoners handed over to the DoD at that time. As of May
2019, Abu Faraj remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
257
APPENDIX 1
(in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or DETENTION SITE BROWN) between March and September
ABU MUNTHIR AL-MAGREBI (#115)
Nationality: unknown
Capture: Tunisia
Entered CIA custody: 26 May 2005
Period of CIA custody: 460-468 days
Left CIA custody: 29 August – 6 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Romania; Afghanistan
After CIA detention: fate and whereabouts unknown
Given his position next to Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114) on the Committee Study list, we have established that Abu Munthir al-Magrebi entered CIA custody on or after 24 May 2005.629 Abu Faraj
was rendered from Afghanistan to Romania on 25-26 May 2005, in an operation which involved
a plane switch in Jordan. The second aircraft, which took Abu Faraj onwards to Romania, had
previously flown from Tunisia (Circuit 57). Given al-Magrebi’s name, his proximity to Abu Faraj
on the Committee Study list, and the fact that the CIA rendition aircraft had landed in Tunisia on
the way to Jordan, it is likely that al-Magrebi was captured in North Africa and rendered to secret
detention at the Romanian black site. However, there is no independent confirmation of this.
Our investigation has established that al-Magrebi was most likely held in Romania until
October or November 2005, whereupon he was transferred to either Lithuania or Afghanistan
(Circuit 58 or Circuit 59). Regardless of whether or not he was held in Lithuania, he was certainly
in Afghanistan (in DETENTION SITE ORANGE or DETENTION SITE BROWN) from at least March
2006 until his transfer from CIA custody.630 Al-Magrebi was transferred out of CIA custody between
29 August – 6 September 2006. His fate and whereabouts after this point are unknown.
258
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
IBRAHIM JAN (#116)
Nationality: unknown
Capture: unknown
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq or Afghanistan (US military custody)
Entered CIA custody: 10-31 October 2005
Period of CIA custody: 310-319 days
Left CIA custody: 16 August – 6 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: fate and whereabouts unknown
ABU JA’FAR AL-IRAQI (#117)
Nationality: Iraqi
Capture: unknown
Pre-CIA detention: Iraq (US military custody)
Entered CIA custody: 16-30 November 2005
Period of CIA custody: 280-289 days
Left CIA custody: 1-6 September 2006
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody in Iraq. Thereafter, fate and
whereabouts unknown.
Ibrahim Jan and Abu Ja’far al-Iraqi were both held as secret prisoners by the US military for more
than a month in late 2005. These detentions took place pending transfer to CIA custody, pursuto US military involvement in CIA detention activities.631 Our investigation has established that
they were transferred at separate times: Ibrahim Jan in October 2005; al-Iraqi in November 2005.
While there is no information regarding the location of their CIA detention, given the dates of
their custody it is likely they were held in Afghanistan.
US Government records show that al-Iraqi’s transfer to CIA detention took place ‘notwithstanding Department of State concerns that the transfer would be inconsistent with statements
made by the Secretary of State that US forces in Iraq would remain committed to the law of
armed conflict, including the Geneva Conventions.’632 Once in CIA detention, al-Iraqi was subjected to a range of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’. Cables dated December 2005 document
that he was ‘subjected to nudity, dietary manipulation, insult slaps, abdominal slaps, attention
grasps, facial holds, walling, stress positions for 54 hours as part of sleep deprivation, and experienced swelling in his lower legs requiring blood thinner and spiral ace bandages. He was moved
to a sitting position, and his sleep deprivation was extended to 78 hours. After the swelling
259
APPENDIX 1
ant to a September 2005 Memorandum of Understanding between the CIA and the DoD relating
subsided, he was provided with more blood thinner and was returned to the standing position.
The sleep deprivation was extended to 102 hours.’ After four hours of sleep, al-Iraqi ‘was subjected to an additional 52 hours of sleep deprivation, after which CIA Headquarters informed
interrogators that eight hours was the minimum rest period between sleep deprivation sessions
exceeding 48 hours.’ In addition to the swelling, al-Iraqi also ‘experienced an enema on his head
due to walling, abrasions on his neck, and blisters on his ankles from shackles.’633
Despite the intensive torture of al-Iraqi, CIA records show that he provided ‘almost no information that could be used to locate former colleagues or disrupt attack plots.’ This language
was inserted into a Presidential Daily Brief for President Bush, but later dropped to minimise the
appearance that the torture of detainees wasn’t working.634
Al-Iraqi was transferred from CIA to DoD custody in Iraq between 1-6 September 2006.635
His fate and whereabouts after this point are unknown. Ibrahim Jan was transferred out of CIA
custody between 16 August – 6 September 2006. His fate and whereabouts after this point are
unknown. He may have been rendered alongside al-Iraqi although, unlike al-Iraqi, there is currently no indication that he was transferred to US military custody in Iraq.
260
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
ABD AL-HADI AL-IRAQI (#118)
Nationality: Iraqi
Capture: Turkey, late 2006
Pre-CIA detention: Turkey (likely)
Entered CIA custody: 1-9 November 2006
Period of CIA custody: 170-177 days
Left CIA custody: 20-27 April 2007
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
Current status: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay, Detained, as of May
2019.
Little is known about Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, one of the final prisoners acknowledged to have been
held as part of the CIA’s detention programme. It has been reported that he was captured in
Turkey in late 2006.636 He was rendered to CIA custody on x November 2006.637
Abd al-Hadi was held at DETENTION SITE BROWN in Afghanistan, and cables from the site
document his willingness to cooperate throughout November 2006 – January 2007.638 Despite
this, interrogators believed he was withholding information on operational plots and the locations
of high-value targets, and during February 2007 Headquarters discussed the possible use of
‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ against him. By the end of the month, however, they had
determined that there was ‘insufficient intelligence… that [al-Iraqi] possesses actionable information…to justify’ his torture.639
Abd al-Hadi was held in CIA custody until 20-27 April 2007, when he was transferred to DoD
custody at Guantánamo Bay.641 As of May 2019, Abd al-Hadi remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
APPENDIX 1
261
MUHAMMAD RAHIM (#119)
Nationality: Afghan
Capture: Lahore, Pakistan, 25 June 2007
Pre-CIA detention: Pakistan
Entered CIA custody: 10-14 July 2007
Period of CIA custody: 240-248 days
Left CIA custody: 10-14 March 2008
CIA detention locations: Afghanistan
After CIA detention: transferred to US military custody at Guantánamo Bay. Detained, as of
May 2019.
Muhammad Rahim is an Afghan national who was captured in Lahore, Pakistan, on 25 June
2007.642 Rahim was the last prisoner to be held in the CIA programme, and the only prisoner in
the programme for the duration of his secret detention. He was held in foreign government
custody after capture, where he was interrogated, and by early July the CIA was planning his
rendition to CIA custody.643 This took place between 10-14 July 2007, when he was rendered to
DETENTION SITE BROWN in Afghanistan.644
Once Rahim was in CIA custody, CIA Director Michael Hayden requested that President Bush
sign an Executive Order to allow the use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ on him within
the framework of the Geneva Conventions.645 The proposed techniques included sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation, facial grasp, facial slap, abdominal slap, and the attention grab. On 20
July, a classified legal opinion was issued from OLC, alongside an unclassified Executive Order,
which concluded that the proposed interrogation techniques were lawful.646
The next day, four interrogators at the site began to torture Rahim, with extensive sleep deprivation sessions throughout July and August, including one in excess of 100 hours (after which
Rahim experienced visual and auditory hallucinations). During these sessions, Rahim was shackled
in a standing position, wearing a diaper. He was also subjected to the attention grasp, facial holds,
abdominal slaps, and the facial slap.647 These sessions were halted in September 2007, and Rahim
was left in isolation for around six weeks.648 Torture resumed on 2 November 2007, with a sleep
deprivation session lasting 138.5 hours straight, until 8 November 2007.649 Throughout, CIA lawyers
sought, and received, successive authorisation from the DoJ for the torture of Rahim.650 Interrogations
continued until 9 December 2007, and then stopped for nearly three weeks whilst personnel ‘discussed and proposed new ways to encourage Rahim’s cooperation.’ Under consideration was
telling Rahim that audiotapes of his interrogations might be passed to his family, or threatening
him with leaking information that he was cooperating with US forces.651
Rahim was rendered by the CIA on xx March 2008 to another location, where it appears that
a foreign government took custody. This government then transferred Rahim to the custody of
another authority, at which point he was transferred back to CIA custody and rendered to US
military custody at Guantánamo Bay, where he was detained by 14 March 2008.652 As of May
2019, Rahim remains detained at Guantánamo Bay.
262
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
FURTHER DETAINEES SENT TO BAGRAM AIRBASE
Nationality
Entered
CIA custody
Period of
CIA custody
Left CIA
custody
After
Bagram
Nazar Ali (#28)
Afghan
13 November
2002
30-39 days
13-22
December
2002
released,
February
2003
Muhammad
Khan (#53)
unknown
13-30 April
2003
390-399 days
7 May – 2
June 2004
unknown
Muhammad
al-Qahtani (#60)
Saudi
1-9 June 2003
340-349 days
6-23 May
2004
escaped,
10 July
2005
Abu Nasim
al-Tunisi (#61)
unknown
10-20 June
2003
330-339 days
5-24 May
2004
Unknown
Ali Jan (#68)
unknown
1-14 August
2003
280-289 days
7-29 May
2004
released,
July 2004
Abdullah
Ashami (#71)
Syrian
10-14 August
2003
270-279 days
6-19 May
2004
escaped,
10 July
2005
Noor Jalal (#86)
unknown
16-30
September
2003
230-239 days
3-26 May
2004
unknown
APPENDIX 1
Name (#)
Little is known about these seven men, although we have established that they were all transferred to US military custody at Bagram after their time in CIA detention. Nazar Ali (#28) was
held at the Dark Prison for around one month towards the end of 2002, where he was beaten,
after his capture in Kandahar.653 From here, he was transferred to US military custody at Bagram
Airbase in December, possibly alongside several other CIA prisoners moved at around the same
time (including his brother, Shah Wali Khan, #33).654
Our analysis indicates that the other six men were among the 18 prisoners transferred to
US military custody at Bagram around May 2004. It has been reported that Ashami (#71) was
captured by US forces in the Khost region of Afghanistan in 2003.655 Likewise, Ali Jan (#68) was
captured in early August 2003, during a US military operation in Zormat Valley, Paktia Province,
263
Afghanistan.656 One CIA cable from May 2004 documents that he was subsequently transferred
to CIA custody after his satellite phone rang, and the translator indicated the caller was speaking
in Arabic.657 Our investigation has established that Jan was transferred into CIA custody between
1-14 August 2003, and held for around 9-10 months. However, the Committee Study noted that
there was ‘no derogatory information’ on his satellite phone, and that in fact he was ‘wrongfully
detained’ by the CIA.658
We have independent confirmation, in some cases, that these men were held at Bagram.
Ali Jan was released from Bagram in early July 2004.659 Al-Tunisi (#61) (under his alias Fezzani)
appears on a September 2009 DoD list of Bagram detainees, with prisoner number 1455.660 We
also know that al-Qahtani (#60) and Ashami (#71) escaped from Bagram on 10 July 2005 (along
with two other ex-CIA prisoners, Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, #5, and Umar Faruq, #14).661 It has been
reported that US forces recaptured al-Qahtani in November 2006,662 and that he was subsequently
transferred to Saudi custody,663 although his current fate and whereabouts are unknown. It has
also been reported that Ashami was killed during a US airstrike in Afghanistan in July 2008.664
Nazar Ali and Ali Jan were both released directly from Bagram. The fate and whereabouts
of Muhammad Khan (#53), al-Tunisi and Jalal (#86) after their time at the Airbase are unknown.
264
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
DETAINEES RELEASED FROM CIA CUSTODY
Name (#)
Nationality
Entered
Period of
CIA custody
CIA custody
Left CIA custody
unknown
13 November 2002
90-99 days
11-20 February 2003
Qari Rehman (#32)
Afghan
13 November 2002
60-69 days
12-21 January 2003
Sayed Habib (#50)
unknown
10-18 April 2003
500-509 days
22-31 August 2004
Zarmein (#63)
unknown
18 June – 3 July 2003
200-209 days
4-28 January 2004
Shaistah Khan
(#66)
unknown
10-24 July 2003
220-229 days
15-29 February 2004
Modin Muhammad
(#70)
unknown
10-14 August 2003
120-129 days
8-21 December 2003
Bismullah (#77)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
1-9 days
17 September – 9
October 2003
Gul Rahman (#101)
Afghan
1-9 March 2004
30-39 days
31 March – 17 April 2004
Abu Bahar
Al-Turki (#104)
unknown
30 March – 7 May
2004
130-139 days
(approx.)
12 August – 19
September 2004
Abu Talha
Al-Magrebi (#105)
unknown
30 March – 7 May
2004
130-139 days
(approx.)
12 August – 19
September 2004
Little information is available about these ten men, all of whom were released directly from CIA
custody during 2003 and 2004. They were held for a wide range of periods, from around a week,
in the rise of Bismullah (#77), to over 16 months in the case of Sayed Habib (#50). In all these
cases, the fate and whereabouts of these detainees after their release remains unknown.
265
APPENDIX 1
Juma Gul (#29)
It is likely that all these detainees were held in Afghanistan during their time in CIA custody,
although in at least one case the capture and initial period of detention was in Pakistan.665 CIA
cables from Afghanistan discuss Juma Gul (#29),666 Zarmein (#63),667 Modin Muhammad (#70),668
Bismullah (#77),669 Gul Rahman (#101),670 Abu Bahar al-Turki (#104) and Abu Talha al-Magrebi
(#105).671 The exact locations of these detentions is unknown, although Sayed Habib was held
at the facility referred to as DETENTION SITE ORANGE for the latter part of his time in CIA
custody.672
Except for Qari Rehman (#32), all of these detainees were ‘wrongfully detained’ by the CIA,
given the absence of evidence that they posed a ‘continuing, serious threat’ to US interests. Two
of the men, Sayed Habib and Shaistah Habibullah Khan (#66), were brothers who had been
mistakenly named by Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (#45) while under torture.673 CIA cables document that Modin Muhammad had ‘been purposefully misidentified by a source due to a blood
feud,’674 while Bismullah and Gul Rahman had both been mistakenly arrested.675
Abu Bahar al-Turki and Abu Talha al-Magrebi are pseudonyms for two prisoners who were
in fact former CIA sources. Both were transferred into CIA custody at some point between 30
March and 7 May 2004, and held at a site in Afghanistan. One CIA cable from the country records
a request to Headquarters for the torture of al-Turki, with an interrogation plan following the
standard pattern.676 At around the same time interrogators at the site sought specific authorisation to torture al-Magrebi in order to identify inconsistencies in al-Turki’s story.677 Both men were
subsequently subjected to 24 hours shackled in the standing sleep deprivation position, as well
as dietary manipulation.678 It was only after the torture had begun that the prisoners’ previous
messages to the CIA regarding intelligence on future attacks were translated, and Headquarters
confirmed that they were former CIA sources.679 Despite the realisation that they should not be
in CIA custody, both al-Turki and al-Magrebi were held for several months before their release.680
At least four detainees – Juma Gul, Sayed Habib, Zarmein and Modin Muhammad – were
provided with cash payments on their release, although the exact amounts remain classified and
appear to have been nominal.681
266
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
FATE AND WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
Nationality
Entered
CIA custody
Period of
CIA custody
Left CIA custody
Asat Sar Jan
(#16)
unknown
29-30 September
2002
60-69 days
28 November – 8
December 2002
Zakaria Zeineddin
(#17)
unknown
1-9 October 2002
50-59 days
20 November – 7
December 2002
Hikmat Shaukat
(#21)
Iraqi
16-24 October
2002
70-79 days
25 December 2002 –
11 January 2003
Yaqub al-Baluchi
(#22)
unknown
16-24 October
2002.
80-89 days
4-21 January 2003
Haji Ghalgi
(#27)
unknown
10-13 November
2002
190-199 days
19-31 May 2003
Adel (#31)
unknown
13 November 2002
60-69 days
12-21 January 2003
Hayatullah
Haqqani
(#34)
unknown
13-30 November
2002
80-89 days
1-27 February 2003
Abdullah Mursi
(#40)
unknown
10 January – 8
February 2003
110-119 days
30 April – 7 June
2003
Abu Khalid
(#44)
unknown
1-5 March 2003
20-29 days
21 March – 3 April
2003
Ibrahim Haqqani
(#54)
unknown
1-9 May 2003
20-29 days
21 May – 7 June 2003
Muhammad Khan
(#69)
unknown
1-14 August 2003
200-209 days
17 February – 10
March 2004
APPENDIX 1
Name (#)
267
Abd Qudra
al-Hadi (#76)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Sa’id Allam
(#78)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Sa’ida Gul
(#79)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Shah Khan Wali
(#80)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Yahya
(#81)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Zakariya al-Rauf
(#82)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Zamarai Khan
(#83)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
90-99 days
15 December 2003 –
7 January 2004
Abdullah
al-Qahtani
(#84)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
20-29 days
6-29 October 2003
Awwad alShammari
(#85)
unknown
16-30 September
2003
20-29 days
6-29 October 2003
Little is known about these 20 prisoners, with the CIA failing to notify the SSCI about its detention of 12 of them.682 We know little about the location and circumstances of these men’s capture,
with the exception being an account by Hikmat Shaukat’s family (#21). His son, Mustafa, has
discussed being witness to a joint FBI-Pakistani operation to seize his father. Dozens of commandos, he claimed, came ‘pouncing upon us like an enemy army’ and took him away.683 Shaukat’s
wife, Ahlam, has stated that three Americans were amongst those involved in the operation,
which took place in Quetta, Pakistan, on 16 October 2002.684
We know that all 20 prisoners were detained for periods between September 2002 and
March 2004. They were likely held solely in Afghanistan, either in the Dark Prison, at DETENTION
SITE GRAY, or in one of the CIA safe-houses or proxy detention facilities in the country. CIA
268
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
cables from Afghanistan throughout 2002 and 2003 discuss the treatment of a number of these
prisoners,685 confirming that they were held in the country, and our investigation has established
that five were certainly held in the Dark Prison during October 2002.686
Several of these men were held contrary to the MoN standard for detention, as there was
no evidence that they posed the requisite ‘continuing, serious threat of violence or death to US
persons or interests.’687 These include the seven men – Abu Qudra al-Hadi (#76), Sa’id Allam
(#78), Sa’ida Gul (#79), Shah Khan Wali (#80), Yahya (#81), Zakariya al-Rauf (#82) and Zamarai
Khan (#83) – that our investigation has established were detained on the basis of ‘thin’ evidence
of involvement in terrorism, with allegations that they were travelling to Iraq to join al-Qaeda.688
Likewise, Haji Ghalgi (#27) was detained solely as ‘useful leverage’ to be used against one of his
family members.689 Others seem to have been held as a result of slander by rival factions,690 of
relationships with people in their local community,691 or of simply being ‘in the wrong place at
the wrong time.’692
At least some of these prisoners were tortured during their detention. For example, one CIA
cable from Afghanistan documents a ‘regimen of limited sleep deprivation’ applied to Hikmat
Shaukat while he was in the Dark Prison in October 2002.693 Similarly, Abu Khalid (#44) was held
in the Dark Prison for 3-4 weeks in the first quarter of 2003. One cable from the site in March
2003 documents the use of sleep deprivation,694 while another appears to describe the torture
of Khalid at a separate safe-house in the country.695 In neither of these cases was the torture
approved by Headquarters.696
Little is known about the fate and whereabouts of these men after their time in CIA secret
detention. It is likely that they were either released or transferred to US military or foreign custody. In at least one case, Hikmat Shaukat had not returned home by March 2003, five months
after his disappearance, despite having been transferred out of CIA custody in December 2002
or January 2003.697 The seven men detained together in September or October 2003 appear to
have all been held for the same amount of time, and were likely released or transferred together.
APPENDIX 1
269
19.
Endnotes
20.
21.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 21, 46.
Brian Ross, Interview with John Kiriakou, ABC
News, p. 7.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 22-23.
Ibid., p. 67.
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, Interrogation/
Psychological Assessment of Abu Zubaydah,
cable, July 2003 (redacted).
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141; Matt Apuzzo and Adam
Goldman, CIA Flight Carried Secret from Gitmo,
Associated Press, 7 August 2010.
Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 2166, 7
March 2005, 06:47.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 154.
Ibid., pp. 96, 154.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 5.
DoD (ARB), Unclassified Summary, Round 1:
Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, 16 September
2005, p. 2.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Omar
Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, 21 April 2008, p. 4.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 6.
The Dark Prison had 20 prisoners after the first
month of operation, meaning that all detainees
in the programme during October 2002, except
for Abu Zubaydah (#1) and Hassan bin Attash
(#10), were held there. CIA (OIG), Special
Review: Counterterrorism Detention and
Interrogation Activities (September 2001 October 2003), 2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004
(redacted), p. 48.
Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 28.
The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 5.
270
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Omar
Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, 21 April 2008, p. 4.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 6.
The Dark Prison had 20 prisoners after the first
month of operation, meaning that all detainees
in the programme during October 2002, except
for Abu Zubaydah (#1) and Hassan bin Attash
(#10), were held there. CIA (OIG), Special
Review: Counterterrorism Detention and
Interrogation Activities (September 2001 October 2003), 2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004
(redacted), p. 48.
Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 36.
Ibid.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 51. See, also: CIA (OIG), Special
Review: Counterterrorism Detention and
Interrogation Activities (September 2001 October 2003), 2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004
(redacted), p. 80.
Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
CIA, Pakistan, cable 11542, 5-11 June 2002.
Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
Ibid.
Andy Worthington, Judge Denies Guantánamo
Prisoner’s Habeas Petition, Ignores Torture in
Secret CIA Prisons, 22 October 2010. The term
‘Rissat’ seems likely to come from the Arabic
word for ‘directorate’, a term used for the
departments of Afghan intelligence, NDS. See,
also: Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information
on Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 51.
The Dark Prison had 20 prisoners after the first
month of operation, meaning that all detainees
in the programme during October 2002, except
for Abu Zubaydah (#1) and Hassan bin Attash
(#10), were held there. CIA (OIG), Special
Review: Counterterrorism Detention and
Interrogation Activities (September 2001 October 2003), 2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004
(redacted), p. 48.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
54. Frank Daniel, Lawyer Fears Abuse of US
Detainees Transferred to Afghan Custody,
Reuters, 11 December 2014.
55. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
56. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 325.
57. DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Hail
al-Maythali, 19 October 2004, p. 2.
58. David H. Remes, Declaration of Hassan bin
Attash Testimony, 18 October 2011, p. 2.
59. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 27964, 7 October 2002,
19:49.
60. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 28132, 10 October
2002, 11:43.
61. DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Hail
al-Maythali, 19 October 2004, p. 2.
62. CIA, Guantánamo, cable 14353, 23 April 2003,
15:21.
63. CIA, Guantánamo, cable 13386, 9 January
2003, 01:54.
64. Del Quentin Wilber, US Can Keep Detainee at
Guantánamo Bay, Judge Rules, The Washington
Post, 15 December 2009.
65. DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Musab
al-Mudwani, 8 September 2004, p. 8.
66. For example, DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Musab Omar Ali al-Mudwani, 20
June 2008, p. 4.
67. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Ayub
Murshid Ali Salih, 23 May 2008; DoD (JTFGTMO), Detainee Assessment: Bashir Nasir Ali
al-Marwalah, 30 May 2008; DoD (JTF-GTMO),
Detainee Assessment: Hail Aziz Ahmad
al-Maythal, 3 July 2008; DoD (JTF-GTMO),
Detainee Assessment: Musab Omar Ali
al-Mudwani, 20 June 2008; DoD (JTF-GTMO),
Detainee Assessment: Said Salih Said, 13 June
2008; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Shawqi Awad Ba Zahir, 19 May 2008.
68. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo
with the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, pp.
25-26.
69. The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
70. DoD (PRB), Unclassified Summary of Final
Determination: Said Salih Said Nashir, 11
January 2017.
71. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Hassan Ali Bin Attash, 25 June 2008, p. 4.
72. David H. Remes, Declaration of Hassan bin
Attash Testimony, 18 October 2011, para 5.
73. Ibid., para 6-8.
271
APPENDIX 1
33. Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden, Details Emerge on
a Brazen Escape in Afghanistan, The New York
Times, 4 December 2005.
34. United Nations, Security Council Al-Qaida
Sanctions Committee Adds Abu Yahya al-Libi
and Younis al-Mauritani to its Sanctions List,
SC/10385, 15 September 2011.
35. Jason Burke, Abu Yahya al-Libi Obituary, The
Guardian, 6 June 2012.
36. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 51; CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 - October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 81; Laura
Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported CIA
Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October 2016.
37. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 382.
38. CIA, Pakistan, cable 11542, 5-11 June 2002.
39. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
40. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
41. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 52.
42. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 25107, 26 July 2002,
09:03.
43. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
44. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 27054, 10-21
September 2002.
45. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
46. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 27297, 21 September
2002, 07:13.
47. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 53.
48. Ibid., p. 54.
49. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
50. Ibid.
51. Ibid.
52. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
53. DoD, List of Bagram Detainees as of September
2009, (redacted), p. 1.
74. Ibid., para 9-10.
75. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 27.
76. Farah Stockman, 7 Detainees Report Transfer to
Nations that Use Torture, The Boston Globe, 26
April 2006.
77. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 27.
78. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
79. David H. Remes, Declaration of Hassan bin
Attash Testimony, 18 October 2011, para 11.
80. Ibid., para 12.
81. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
82. Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden, Details Emerge on
a Brazen Escape in Afghanistan, The New York
Times, 4 December 2005.
83. David Miliband, Letter to Reprieve: Diego Garcia
Flights, 21 February 2008.
84. Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden, Details Emerge on
a Brazen Escape in Afghanistan, The New York
Times, 4 December 2005.
85. Profile: Omar al-Farouq, BBC News Online, 26
September 2006; Bill Roggio, Senior Al Qaeda
Commander in Afghanistan Killed in US Airstrike,
Long War Journal, 31 July 2008.
86. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abd
al-Heela, 24 September 2008, pp. 4-5.
87. DoD (ARB), Unclassified Summary, Round 1:
Abdul al-Salam al-Hilal, 24 August 2005, p. 3.
88. Amnesty International, Who Are the
Guantánamo Detainees? Case Sheet 15:
Abdulsalam Al-Hela, 11 January 2005, pp. 1-2.
89. Ibid., p. 2
90. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
91. Amnesty International, Who Are the
Guantánamo Detainees? Case Sheet 15:
Abdulsalam Al-Hela, 11 January 2005, pp. 2-3.
92. Ibid., p. 3.
93. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abd
al-Heela, 24 September 2008, p. 5.
94. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
95. DoD (ARB), Unclassified Summary, Round 2:
Rafiq al-Hami, 27 January 2006, p. 2.
96. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Tawfiq
Nassar al-Bihani, 15 February 2008, p. 4.
272
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
DoD (ARB), Unclassified Summary, Round 3:
Talfiq al-Bihani, 17 August 2007, p. 2.
DoD (ARB), Round 1 Transcript, Detainee
Statement: Rafiq al Hami, 25 January 2005, p. 13.
Andy Worthington, Judge Denies Guantánamo
Prisoner’s Habeas Petition, Ignores Torture in
Secret CIA Prisons, 22 October 2010.
Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 28297, 10-29 October
2002; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 28462, 10-29
October 2002.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 102.
Andy Worthington, Judge Denies Guantánamo
Prisoner’s Habeas Petition, Ignores Torture in
Secret CIA Prisons, 22 October 2010.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 425.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Rafiq al Hami,
p. 1.
DoD records give a date of ‘mid-December
2002’, and the men are likely to be the prisoners
transported to Bagram alongside Bisher al-Rawi
(#35) (which took place between 10-18
December). DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Tawfiq Nassar al-Bihani, 15
February 2008, p. 4; Binyam Mohamed et al v.
Jeppesen Dataplan, Declaration of Bisher
al-Rawi, 10 December 2007, para 49.
Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, pp. 26-27.
The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016. See, also: CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 – October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 81.
Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 29036, 25-29 October
2002; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 29352, 27-31
October 2002.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 102.
Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
Ibid.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.
153.
154.
Investigation: Unauthorized Techniques at
[Redacted], 2003-7123-IG, 29 October 2003
(redacted), p. 8.
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007, p.
6.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 66-67.
CIA, ALEC, Application of Enhanced Measures to
‘Abd Al-Rahim al-Nashiri, cable, circa 11 November
2002 (redacted).
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007, p.
11.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
DoJ (OPR), Investigation into the Office of Legal
Counsel’s Memoranda Concerning Issues Relating
to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Use of
“Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” on
Suspected Terrorists, 29 July 2009, p. 85.
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007, p.
17.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
DoD (CSRT), Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 14 March
2007, p. 16.
CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities (September
2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004
(redacted), p. 36.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
Ibid., pp. 67-72.
Ibid., p. 139.
Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 140.
CIA, Morocco, cable 1756, 19 September 2003,
08:00.
CIA, Guantánamo, cable 1091, 3 November 2003,
18:35.
CIA, Guantánamo, cable 1091, 3 November 2003,
18:35; CIA, Guantánamo, cable 1150, 28
November 2003, 20:19; CIA, Guantánamo, cable
1266, 5 January 2004, 23:09; CIA, Guantánamo,
cable 1630, 27 March 2004, 14:40.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141; Matt Apuzzo and Adam
Goldman, CIA Flight Carried Secret from Gitmo,
Associated Press, 7 August 2010.
273
APPENDIX 1
115. DoD, List of Bagram Detainees as of September
2009, (redacted), p. 1.
116. Abigail Williams, US Closes Bagram Detention
Center, Hands Over Last Afghan Prisoners, NBC
News, 10 December 2014.
117. Laura Pitter, Ex-Detainees Describe Unreported
CIA Torture, Human Rights Watch, 3 October
2016.
118. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 325
119. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abdul
Rabbani Abu Rahman, 9 June 2008, pp. 3-4.
120. Ahmed Rabbani, Letter to Guantánamo Bay
Interagency Review Taskforce, 1 May 2009, para
16-22.
121. Ibid.
122. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 368.
123. Ahmed Rabbani, Letter to Guantánamo Bay
Interagency Review Taskforce, 1 May 2009, para
24-45.
124. Ibid.
125. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 29963, 11-18
November 2002.
126. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 54.
127. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abdul
Rabbani Abu Rahman, 9 June 2008, p. 4.
128. Ahmed Rabbani, Letter to Guantánamo Bay
Interagency Review Taskforce, 1 May 2009,, para
41.
129. Ibid.
130. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
131. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abdul
Rabbani Abu Rahman, 9 June 2008, p. 4; DoD
(JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Mohammed
Ahmad Rabbani, 26 May 2008, p. 3.
132. Ahmed Rabbani, Letter to Guantánamo Bay
Interagency Review Taskforce, 1 May 2009, para
49-54.
133. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
134. David Rose, Why Bagram is Guantánamo’s Evil
Twin and Britain’s Dirty Secret, The Mail on
Sunday, 9 December 2009.
135. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 66. One report from the OIG
suggests that al-Nashiri’s capture came in early
November 2002, although this contradicts his
own account. See: CIA (OIG), Report of
155. For earlier reporting placing al-Nashiri on this
flight, see: Thomas Hammarberg, Advancing
Accountability in Respect of the CIA Black Site in
Romania, memo, Council of Europe,
CommDH(2012)38, 30 March 2012, p. 14.
156. See, for example: CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1356, 1 July 2004, 16:44; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1543, 11 August
2004, 16:00; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 1716, 18 September 2004, 07:42; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1959, 11
December 2004, 17:00; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 2038, 21 January 2005, 15:58; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2474, 25 June
2005, 16:22; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 2673, 2 August 2005, 14:51; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 3051, 30
September 2005, 12:35.
157. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1203, 23
May 2004, 17:09.
158. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 3051, 30
September 2005, 12:35.
159. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3910, 24
January 2006, 18:52.
160. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 154.
161. Ibid., pp. 96, 154.
162. CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 1029, 29
June 2006, 17:50; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BROWN, cable 1142, 4 August 2006, 13:58; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 1242, 5
September 2006, 07:44.
163. DoD (ARB), Round 1 Transcript, Detainee
Statement: Lotfi bin Ali, 25 April 2005, p. 3.
164. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
165. Ali is listed on the flight logs as ‘Mohammed
Abdul 2 Rahman’. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of
Death’: Over 700 Prisoners Illegally Rendered to
Guantánamo with the Help of Portugal, 28
January 2008, pp. 26-27.
166. The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
167. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Shawali
Khan, 22 October 2008, p. 3.
168. Interview transcript, Shah Wali Khan and Nazar
Ali, with Singeli Agnew and Sebastian Walker,
Kandahar, Afghanistan, 12 February 2016. See,
also: Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of
the CIA Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March
2016.
169. DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Shawali Khan, 9
September 2004, p. 2.
170. Interview transcript, Shah Wali Khan and Nazar
Ali, with Singeli Agnew and Sebastian Walker,
274
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
176.
177.
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
Kandahar, Afghanistan, 12 February 2016. See, also:
Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of the CIA
Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March 2016.
Interview transcript, Shah Wali Khan and Nazar Ali,
with Singeli Agnew and Sebastian Walker,
Kandahar, Afghanistan, 12 February 2016. See, also:
Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of the CIA
Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March 2016.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Shawali Khan, 9
September 2004, p. 6.
Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of the CIA
Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March 2016.
Interview transcript, Shah Wali Khan and Nazar Ali,
with Singeli Agnew and Sebastian Walker,
Kandahar, Afghanistan, 12 February 2016. See, also:
Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of the CIA
Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March 2016.
Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, pp. 26-27.
DoD, Detainee Transfer Announced, Press Release
NR-625-14, 20 December 2014.
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Bisher al-Rawi, 10 December 2007,
para 4-15.
Ibid., para 20-21.
MI5, Detention of Islamists at Gatwick Airport,
telegram to CIA, 1 November 2002 (redacted).
MI5, Individuals Detained in Gambia, telegram to
MI6 and FCO, 11 November 2002 (redacted).
MI5, Travellers to Gambia, telegram to CIA, 4
November 2002 (redacted).
MI5, Individuals Travelling to Gambia, telegram to
CIA, 8 November 2002 (redacted).
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Bisher al-Rawi, 10 December 2007,
para 29-35.
Ibid., para 36-41.
Ibid., para 46-48.
Ibid., para 49-52.
Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, pp. 26-27.
The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
Adam Goldman and Kathy Gannon, Detainee Death
Sheds Light on CIA Torture, Associated Press, 28
March 2010; Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The
Legacy of the CIA Torture Programme, Al Jazeera,
24 March 2016.
David Rose, Why Bagram is Guantánamo’s Evil Twin
and Britain’s Dirty Secret, The Mail on Sunday, 9
December 2009.
Adam Goldman and Kathy Gannon, Detainee Death
Sheds Light on CIA Torture, Associated Press, 28
March 2010.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
212. Mark Mazzetti, 9/11 Suspect Was Detained and
Taped in Morocco, The New York Times, 17
August 2010. In the declassified version of the
disclosure, the location and prisoner details has
been redacted. See: DoJ, Re: United States v.
Zacarias Moussaoui, 25 October 2007
(redacted).
213. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 75.
214. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 11, 16, 18.
215. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 76-80.
216. Ibid., p. 139.
217. Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
218. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 140, 143.
219. Ibid., p. 141; Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman,
CIA Flight Carried Secret from Gitmo,
Associated Press, 7 August 2010.
220. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 142. For further reporting that
places bin al-Shibh (#41) back in Morocco, see:
Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
221. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1759, 2
October 2004, 13:19. For further reporting that
places bin al-Shibh (#41) in Romania from
October 2004, see: Adam Goldman, Secret Jails:
Terror Suspect’s Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black
Sites’, Associated Press, 2010.
222. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 16, 17.
223. See, for example: CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1878, 14 November 2004, 09:15;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1930, 6
December 2004, 16:20; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 2207, 11 April 2005, 13:19; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2535, 5 July
2005, 18:05; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 2830, 29 August 2005, 13:04.
224. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 34.
Al-Hadrami is a known alias of bin al-Shibh
(#41). See: DoD (CSRT), Ammar al-Baluchi, 30
March 2007, p. 31.
225. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 61, 154.
275
APPENDIX 1
192. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 31118, 9-15 December
2002.
193. David Rose, Why Bagram is Guantánamo’s Evil
Twin and Britain’s Dirty Secret, The Mail on
Sunday, 9 December 2009.
194. Ibid.
195. Ibid.
196. Christina Lamb, US Torturers Held Me For 8
Years – Yet Knew I Was Innocent, The Times, 17
July 2011; Ron Suskind, The One Percent
Doctrine: Deep Inside America’s Pursuit of Its
Enemies Since 9/11, New York: Simon and
Schuster, pp. 159-161.
197. Glenn Carle, The Interrogator: An Education,
New York: Nation Books, 2011; Scott Horton,
Unredacting ‘The Interrogator’, Harper’s
Magazine, 5 July 2011.
198. Christina Lamb, US Torturers Held Me For 8
Years – Yet Knew I Was Innocent, The Times, 17
July 2011.
199. Ibid.
200. DoD, List of Bagram Detainees as of September
2009, (redacted), p. 1.
201. International Justice Network, Client Overview:
Haji Pacha Wazir.
202. International Justice Network, Client Overview:
Amin al-Bakri.
203. Ibid.
204. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
205. DoD, List of Bagram Detainees as of September
2009, (redacted), p. 1.
206. International Justice Network, Client Overview:
Amin al-Bakri.
207. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Hassan
Ali Bin Attash, 25 June 2008, p. 4; SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 75; DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Hail
al-Maythali, 19 October 2004, p. 2.
208. David H. Remes, Declaration of Hassan bin
Attash Testimony, 18 October 2011, para 6-10;
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Hassan
Ali Bin Attash, 25 June 2008, p. 4.
209. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 11.
210. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 22. See, also:
Craig Whitlock, Jordan’s Spy Agency: Holding
Cell for the CIA, The Washington Post, 1
December 2007.
211. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 76.
226. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, pp. 38-39.
227. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 154, 493.
228. Ibid., p. 141.
229. SSCI, Report on Postwar Findings About Iraq’s
WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How
They Compare with Prewar Assessments, 8
September 2006 (redacted), p. 80.
230. ISC, Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition: 20012010, UK Parliament, 28 June 2018, pp. 32, 85.
This report hides the destination of these
renditions behind a codeword, CUPAR, and the
identity of coffin-bound prisoner behind the
codeword CUCKOO. For robust reporting linking
CUPAR with Egypt and CUCKOO with Ibn
Sheikh, see Ian Cobain and Clara Usiskin,
Exclusive: UK Spy Agencies Knew Source of
False Iraq War Intelligence Was Tortured, Middle
East Eye, 6 November 2018.
231. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
232. SSCI, Report on Postwar Findings About Iraq’s
WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How
They Compare with Prewar Assessments, 8
September 2006 (redacted), p. 81.
233. Ibid.
234. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141.
235. Ibid.
236. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
237. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
238. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141.
239. Ibid.
240. Ibid., pp. 141-142.
241. Ibid., p. 142.
242. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 28.
243. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 61, 154.
244. Human Rights Watch, Libya/US: Investigate
Death of Former CIA Prisoner, 11 May 2009.
245. Asadallah (#43) was taken into custody on the
night of Eid-ul-Adha, which in 2003 fell on 12
February. Shahzada Zulfiqar, Silence of the
Mullahs, Newsline, March 2003.
276
246. David Wroe, Jihadist Believes Bin Laden Inspired
Arab Spring Confidence, Sunday Morning
Herald, 10 September 2011.
247. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34098, 23-26
February 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
34294, 26 February – 3 March 2003; CIA,
Afghanistan, cable 34310, 26 February – 3
March 2003.
248. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34241, 26 February
– 3 March 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
34310, 26 February – 3 March 2003. See,
also: SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 415.
249. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 30. See, also:
David Wroe, Jihadist Believes Bin Laden Inspired
Arab Spring Confidence, Sunday Morning
Herald, 10 September 2011.
250. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 30. See, also:
David Wroe, Jihadist Believes Bin Laden Inspired
Arab Spring Confidence, Sunday Morning
Herald, 10 September 2011.
251. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 81.
252. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 9.
253. CIA, Pakistan, cable 41403, 2 March 2003,
09:49; CIA, Pakistan, cable 41484, 3 March
2003, 13:15.
254. DoD (CSRT), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Written
Statement Regarding Alleged Abuse, 21
February 2007, p. 1.
255. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 81.
256. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34491, 5 March 2003,
14:00; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34573, 6 March
2003, 17:51; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34575, 6
March 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34614, 7
March 2003, 15:51.
257. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 33-34.
258. Ibid. See, also: DoD (CSRT), Khaled Sheikh
Mohammed, Written Statement Regarding
Alleged Abuse, 21 February 2007, p. 1.
259. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 83. See, also: DoD (CSRT), Khaled
Sheikh Mohammed, 10 March 2007, p. 16.
260. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 84.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
278. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques, 20047604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), pp. 10-11.
279. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 431-432.
280. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques, 20047604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), pp. 12-13.
281. Ibid., p. 13.
282. Ibid., pp. 13-15.
283. Ibid., p. 6.
284. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 106.
285. Email, 21 November 2003, subject: Al-Hawsawi
incident, reproduced in CIA (OIG), Disposition
Memorandum: Alleged Use of Unauthorized
Interrogation Techniques, 2004-7604-IG, 6
December 2006 (redacted), Exhibit 1.
286. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques, 20047604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), pp. 17-18.
287. Ibid., p. 17.
288. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 51. The report goes on to say: ‘In
meetings between the Committee Staff and the
CIA in the summer of 2013, the CIA was unable to
explain the details of the photograph, to include
the buckets, solution, and watering can, as well
as the water board’s presence at COBALT.’
289. See, for example, the experience of Khalid
al-Sharif (#51); and SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 107-108.
290. Email, 21 November 2003, subject: Al-Hawsawi
incident, reproduced in CIA (OIG), Disposition
Memorandum: Alleged Use of Unauthorized
Interrogation Techniques, 2004-7604-IG, 6
December 2006 (redacted), Exhibit 1.
291. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34491, 5 March 2003,
14:00; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34575, 6 March
2003, 19:29.
292. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 100.
293. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques, 20047604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), pp. 16-17.
294. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34757, 10 March 2003,
17:42.
295. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 121.
296. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques, 20047604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 9.
297. Email, 21 November 2003, subject: Al-Hawsawi
277
APPENDIX 1
261. Ibid., pp. 84-93.
262. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 35-37. See, also: DoD (CSRT), Khaled Sheikh
Mohammed, Written Statement Regarding
Alleged Abuse, 21 February 2007, p. 2.
263. DoD (CSRT), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Written
Statement Regarding Alleged Abuse, 21
February 2007, p. 2.
264. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1281, 13
June 2004, 08:01.
265. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 96.
266. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 31147, 17
December 2005, 19:19.
267. DoD (CSRT), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Written
Statement Regarding Alleged Abuse, 21
February 2007, p. 2.
268. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 154.
269. Ibid., pp. 96, 154.
270. Ibid., pp. 61, 154.
271. Ibid., p. 188; CIA (OIG), Disposition
Memorandum: Alleged Use of Unauthorized
Interrogation Techniques, 2004-7604-IG, 6
December 2006 (redacted), p. 9; DoD (CSRT),
Mustafa al-Hawsawi, 21 March 2007, p. 24.
272. CIA, Pakistan, cable 41403, 2 March 2003,
09:49; CIA, Pakistan, cable 41484, 3 March
2003, 13:15.
273. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p.
9. Description of the site in this report correlates
closely with other accounts of the Dark Prison,
including: SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December
2014 (redacted), p. 49; Amnesty International, A
Case to Answer: From Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA
Custody; the Case of Khaled Al-Maqtari, March
2008, p. 23.
274. One cable from the site, dated March 2003 and
authorising the torture of Khaled Sheikh
Mohammed (#45), was sent two days before his
transfer to Afghanistan. See: CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 34354, 1-3 March 2003. Similarly, cables
from Afghanistan dated 5 March document
KSM’s torture. See CIA, Afghanistan, cable
34491, 5 March 2003, 14:00.
275. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34491, 5 March 2003,
14:00.
276. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 111.
277. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34757, 10 March 2003,
17:42.
incident, reproduced in CIA (OIG), Disposition
Memorandum: Alleged Use of Unauthorized
Interrogation Techniques, 2004-7604-IG, 6
December 2006 (redacted), Exhibit 1.
298. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, CIA Flight
Carried Secret from Gitmo, Associated Press, 7
August 2010.
299. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141; Matt Apuzzo and Adam
Goldman, CIA Flight Carried Secret from Gitmo,
Associated Press, 7 August 2010.
300. Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
301. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3223,
date redacted.
302. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 493.
303. Al-Hawsawi (#46) was one of five CIA prisoners
transferred to third-party countries for medical
care, the others being Janat Gul (#110), Gouled
Dourad (#102), Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41), and
Khaled al-Maqtari (#96). Ibid., pp. 154, 493.
304. Ibid., p. 154.
305. Ibid., pp. 96, 154.
306. Ibid., pp. 61, 154.
307. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 36.
308. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 393.
309. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 35558, 16-25 March
2003.
310. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 103.
311. Ibid., p. 122.
312. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 10990,
25-26 March 2003.
313. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 76.
314. Ibid., p. 394.
315. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 10172, 16
October 2003, 08:21.
316. Al-Jaza’iri (#47) provided this account to Marwan
al-Jabour (#108) in 2006, while both were
detained at DETENTION SITE ORANGE. Human
Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years in
Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, pp. 22-23.
317. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, p. 23.
318. United Nations Security Council, Security
Council ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions
Committee Amends Two Entries on Its Sanctions
List, SC/12880, 20 June 2017.
278
319. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 72.
320. Clara Gutteridge, How the US Rendered, Tortured
and Discarded One Innocent Man, The Nation, 27
June 2012.
321. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 73.
322. Ibid., para 75-107; Salim v. Mitchell, Declaration of
Suleiman Abdullah Salim, 22 May 2017.
323. Salim v. Mitchell, Declaration of Suleiman
Abdullah Salim, 22 May 2017, para 6-7, 10-11.
324. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 96; CIA, Bios [Redacted], undated
(redacted), p. 17.
325. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 35787, 28-31 March 2003.
326. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 36559, 6-18 April 2003.
327. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 37117, 18-22 April 2003.
328. Hassan Abu Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on
Bagram Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1
November 2005.
329. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 108-110.
330. CIA, Bios [Redacted], undated (redacted), p. 17.
331. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 111; Clara Gutteridge, How the US Rendered,
Tortured and Discarded One Innocent Man, The
Nation, 27 June 2012.
332. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 112.
333. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 36682, 10-18 April
2003.
334. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 17.
335. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38836, 20-27 May
2003.
336. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 34-35.
337. Ibid., pp. 35-37.
338. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques, 20047717-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 4.
339. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 37-44.
340. Ibid., p. 44.
341. Ibid., pp. 45-47.
342. Ibid., pp. 48-49.
343. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 36862, 18 April 2003,
13:52.
344. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 36908, 18-22 April
2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 37410, 29 April
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
345.
346.
347.
348.
349.
350.
351.
352.
353.
354.
355.
358.
359.
360.
361.
362.
363.
364. Ammar al-Baluchi, Testimony: Black Site Locations,
CR-157-AAA, undated.
365. Ammar al-Baluchi, Testimony: End of May, Early
June 2003 (Head Trauma), CR-133-AAA, 6 August
2015.
366. Ammar al-Baluchi, Testimony: Black Site Locations,
CR-157-AAA, undated.
367. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 32-33.
368. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 388.
369. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 12371, 21
July 2003, 21:21; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE,
cable 12385, 22 July 2003, 20:45; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 12389, 23 July
2003, 20:40.
370. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007, p.
33.
371. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 12385, 22
July 2003, 20:45.
372. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 11-12.
373. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1260,
20-24 January 2004.
374. Ammar al-Baluchi, Testimony: Black Site Locations,
CR-157-AAA, undated.
375. Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
376. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 61, 154.
377. CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 1242, 5
September 2006, 07:44.
378. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
379. Ibid.
380. Ibid.
381. Ibid.
382. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38576, 19-20 May 2003.
383. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39042, 20-27 May 2003;
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39098, 27-28 May 2003;
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39101, 28-30 May 2003.
384. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 103.
385. Ibid., p. 96.
386. Ibid., p. 104.
387. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 42025, 12-19 July 2003.
388. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 419.
279
APPENDIX 1
356.
357.
2003, 18:28; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 37411, 29
April 2003, 18:29; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 37493,
29 April – 2 May 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
37509, 2 May 2003, 13:09.
CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged Use
of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques20047717-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 2.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38161, 13 May 2003,
13:26.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39582, 4 June 2003,
17:43; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39656, 6 June
2003, 09:55.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38365, 17 May 2003,
06:52.
Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 53-56.
Ibid., pp. 56-59.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 298; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Ammar al-Baluchi, 8 December
2006, p. 4.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 188, 243. CIA, Pakistan, cable
45028, 29-30 April 2003; CIA, Pakistan, cable
14291, 2 May 2003, 16:45; CIA, Pakistan, cable
14304, 2-16 May 2003; CIA, Pakistan, cable
14420, 2-16 May 2003; CIA, Pakistan, cable
14478, 2-16 May 2003.
CIA, Pakistan, cable 14291, 2 May 2003, 16:45.
Ammar al-Baluchi, Testimony: Black Site
Locations, CR-157-AAA, undated.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 243-244.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38325, 16 May 2003.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 388.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38557, 19 May 2003,
16:41; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38597, 20 May
2003, 12:25.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 392.
ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 31-32.
Ibid., p. 32.
CIA, ALEC, Questioning Ammar al-Baluchi and
Mustafa al-Hawsawi on Heathrow Plot Operatives,
cable, 16 July 2003, 18:21 (redacted).
CIA, Afghanistan, CT: Comments by Senior
al-Qa’ida Operative Ammar al-Baluchi on al-Qa’ida
Member Jaffar al-Tayyar, cable 42247, 21 July
2003, 03:57 (redacted).
389. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
390. Ibid.
391. Ibid.
392. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 89; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Majid Khan, 13 June 2008, p. 4;
DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, p. 22.
393. DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, pp.
22-23.
394. CIA, Pakistan, cable 13658, 5 March 2003,
03:18; CIA, Pakistan, cable 13678, 7 March
2003, 07:24; CIA, Pakistan, cable 13833, 20
March 2003, 04:54; CIA, Pakistan, cable 13932,
27 March 2003, 12:44.
395. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 91.
396. CIA, Pakistan, cable 46471, 24 May 2003, 12:42.
397. DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, p. 25.
398. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39077, 27 May 2003,
17:19; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 39099, 28 May
2003, 11:01; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 41772, 12
July 2003, 12:30; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
42025, 12-19 July 2003.
399. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 104.
400. Center for Constitutional Rights, Former CIA
Detainee Majid Khan’s Torture Finally Public, 2
June 2015.
401. DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, p. 25.
402. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 89.
403. DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, pp.
25-26.
404. Carol Leonnig and Eric Rich, US Seeks Silence
on CIA Prisons, The Washington Post, 4
November 2006.
405. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, pp.
21-22.
406. See, for example, CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3183,
16 September 2004, 16:26; CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 3206, 21 September 2004, 18:19.
407. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3240, 23 September
2004, 18:39; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3259, 26
September 2004, 17:34.
408. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3868, 29 December
2004, 15:34.
409. DoD (CSRT), Majid Khan, 15 April 2007, p. 29.
410. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3694, 30 November
2004, 18:00; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 4242, 19
March 2005, 15:50; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
4250, 22 March 2005, 12:13.
280
411. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3724, 3 December
2004, 17:23.
412. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3835, 26 December
2004, 06:59.
413. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 4614, 7 June 2005,
13:58.
414. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 41204, 25 June – 12
July 2003.
415. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 17.
416. Ibid., p. 309; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Mohd Farik Bin Amin, 23
September 2008, p. 4.
417. Center for Human Rights and Global Justice,
Fate and Whereabouts Unknown: Detainees in
the ‘War on Terror’, 17 December 2005, p. 13.
418. CIA, Thailand, cable 84854 8 June – 11
August 2003; CIA, Thailand, cable 84876 8
June – 11 August 2003.
419. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 40568, 18-25 June
2003. Further cables from Afghanistan
documenting his interrogations include: CIA,
Afghanistan, cable 40915, 25 June – 12 July
2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 41017, 25 June
– 12 July 2003.
420. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 96, 104.
421. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 40847, 25 June 2003,
16:19.
422. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 61, 154.
423. Dana Priest, Memo Lets CIA Take Detainees out
of Iraq: Practice Is Called Serious Breach of
Geneva Conventions, The Washington Post, 24
October 2004.
424. Ibid.
425. Edward Pound, Iraq’s Invisible Man: A ‘Ghost’
Inmate’s Strange Life Behind Bars, Nation and
World, 28 June 2004.
426. Jamie McIntyre, Pentagon: Iraqi Held Secretly at
CIA Request, CNN, 16 June 2004.
427. Edward Pound, Iraq’s Invisible Man: A ‘Ghost’
Inmate’s Strange Life Behind Bars, Nation and
World, 28 June 2004.
428. DoD, Defense Department Regular Briefing, 17
June 2004.
429. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Adil
Hadi al-Jaza’iri bin Hamlili, 8 July 2008, p. 4.
430. Sarah Swanz, Status Report: Hamlily et al v.
Bush et al, Civil Action 05-0763, 18 July 2008,
para 1.
431. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Adil
Hadi al-Jaza’iri bin Hamlili, 8 July 2008, p. 4.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
450. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 11-12, 19.
451. Ibid., pp. 14, 17.
452. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1310, 10 September
2003, 18:25; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1323, 16
September 2003, 17:49.
453. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1604, 19 January 2004,
12:32.
454. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 17.
455. Ibid., p. 20.
456. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1144, 1
December 2003, 08:23.
457. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1072, 11
October 2003, 06:06; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1075, 11 October 2003, 18:28; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1113, 11
November 2003, 12:52; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1144, 1 December 2003, 08:23;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1158, 8
December 2003, 14:59.
458. Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
459. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 61, 154.
460. CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 1242, 5
September 2006, 07:44.
461. Amnesty International, Who Are the
Guantánamo Detainees? Case Sheet 25: Sanad
Ali Yislam al-Kazimi, 1 May 2008.
462. Ibid.
463. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Sanad
Yislam al-Kazimi, 8 July 2008, p. 4.
464. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
465. Amnesty International, Secret Detention in CIA
‘Black Sites’, 8 November 2005, pp. 6-7.
466. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 7-34.
467. Ibid., para 27-29.
468. Ibid., para 35-41.
469. Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of
Mohammed Abdullah Saleh al-Asad, 15 January
2011, para 10-14.
470. Ibid., para 17-22.
471. US Geological Survey, Earthquake Catalog:
Djibouti, 1-10 January 2004.
281
APPENDIX 1
432. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
433. The Guantánamo Docket, The New York Times.
434. Amnesty International, Israel Must Hospitalize or
Release Palestinian Hunger Striker on Verge of
Death, 6 September 2012.
435. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, pp. 34-35. See, also:
Amnesty International, Annual Report 2009, 28
May 2009, p. 192.
436. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 393.
437. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 1015, 1
August 2003, 20:57; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLUE, cable 1017, 3 August 2003, 08:12.
438. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 10172, 16
October 2003, 08:21.
439. United Nations, Joint Study on Global Practices
in Relation to Secret Detention in the Context of
Countering Terrorism, 19 February 2010, p. 72
440. Amnesty International, Annual Report 2009, 28
May 2009, p. 192.
441. Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
(Samidoun), Samer al-Barq Enters Fourth Year in
Administrative Detention Without Charge or
Trial, 14 July 2013; Amnesty International, Israel
Must Hospitalize or Release Palestinian Hunger
Striker on Verge of Death, 6 September 2012.
442. CIA, Thailand, cable 87426, 11 August 2003,
12:23; SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 310; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Riduan Isomuddin, 30 October
2008, p. 4.
443. CIA, Thailand, cable 87414, 11 August 2003;
CIA, Thailand, cable 87551, 15 August 2003,
07:31; CIA, Thailand, cable 87552, 15 August
2003, 07:38; CIA, Thailand, cable 87617, date
redacted.
444. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 11, 14.
445. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1243, 15 August 2003,
20:49.
446. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 108, 311.
447. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1241, 15 August 2003,
19:12.
448. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1242, 15 August 2003,
19:14.
449. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 429.
472. Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of
Mohammed Abdullah Saleh al-Asad, 15 January
2011, para 31-39.
473. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 47-83.
474. Ibid., para 66.
475. Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of
Mohammed Abdullah Saleh al-Asad, 15 January
2011, para 42-45.
476. Amnesty International, Secret Detention in CIA
‘Black Sites’, 8 November 2005, pp. 11-13;
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 84-164.
477. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 116-19. At
this point, Bashmilah thought he was being held
at a location outside of Afghanistan.
478. Qaru (#75) was held in CIA custody for 600-609
days from 9 September 2003 (i.e., until 1-10 May
2005); Bashmilah (#89) was held for 550-559
days from 26 October 2003 (i.e. until 28 April – 7
May 2005); and al-Asad (#92) was held for 480489 days from 3-8 January 2004 (i.e. until 27
April – 11 May 2005).
479. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 109, 432.
480. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1373, 16 September
– 20 October 2003.
481. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1393, 20 October 2003,
10:06.
482. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1396, 23 October
2003.
483. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 110.
484. DoD, List of Bagram Detainees as of September
2009, (redacted), p. 1.
485. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 110; Sam Stein, This May Be the
Most Remarkable Story in the CIA Torture
Report, Huffington Post, 9 December 2014.
486. Nick Childs, US Captures ‘Top Iraqi Militant’, BBC
News Online, 14 October 2003.
487. Mahmoud Yasin Kurdi, Leader Explains Declining
Power of Islamic Parties in Kurdistan, Rudaw, 27
May 2014.
488. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1528, 15-31 December
2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1871, 24 January
– 9 March 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2022,
15 March – 22 April 2004; CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 2024, 15 March – 22 April 2004.
282
489. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 15, 111.
490. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 61-62.
491. Ibid., pp. 62-63.
492. Ibid., p. 64.
493. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1758, 24 January – 9
March 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1888, 9
March 2004, 18:23; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
1889, 9 March 2004, 18:36.
494. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 100.
495. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September
, p. 65.
496. Ibid., p. 66.
497. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abdu
Ali Sharqawi, 7 July 2008, p. 4.
498. Ibid.
499. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 386.
500. Human Rights Watch, We’ll Make You See Death,
9 April 2008.
501. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, pp. 23-25.
502. Human Rights Watch, We’ll Make You See Death,
9 April 2008; Human Rights Watch, Double
Jeopardy: CIA Renditions to Jordan, April 2008,
p. 24.
503. Human Rights Watch, We’ll Make You See Death,
9 April 2008.
504. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 380, 382-3, 385.
505. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 24.
506. Ibid., p. 25.
507. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1591, 8-10 January
2004.
508. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
509. Cited in Ibid., p. 23.
510. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2335, 10-17 May 2004.
511. Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
prisoners yillegally rendered to Guantánamo with
the help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
512. Human Rights Watch, Delivered Into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
p. 68.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
513.
514.
515.
516.
517.
518.
519.
520.
521.
522.
523.
524.
525.
526.
527.
528.
529.
530.
531.
532.
533.
534.
535.
536.
537.
538.
539.
542.
543.
544.
545.
546.
547. Khaled El-Masri v. George Tenet et al,
Declaration of Khaled El Masri, 6 April 2006,
para 36-37.
548. Ibid., para 47-57.
549. CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: The Rendition
and Detention of German Citizen Khalid al-Masri,
2004-7601-IG, 16 July 2007 (redacted), pp.
37-40.
550. Khaled El-Masri v. George Tenet et al,
Declaration of Khaled El Masri, 6 April 2006,
para 66-74; CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation:
The Rendition and Detention of German Citizen
Khalid al-Masri, 2004-7601-IG, 16 July 2007
(redacted), p. 41.
551. Amnesty International, Off the Record: US
Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in
the ‘War on Terror’, 30 June 2007, p. 7; SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 130.
552. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 130-131.
553. Ibid., pp. 370-371.
554. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1283,
26-28 January 2004.
555. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1267,
26-28 January 2004.
556. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1285,
26-31 January 2004.
557. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1285,
26-31 January 2004.
558. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1299,
27-31 January 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1308, 27-31 January 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1312, 27-31
January 2004.
559. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1299,
27-31 January 2004.
560. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1308,
27-31 January 2004.
561. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 61, 154.
562. Ibid., p. 326. See, also: United Nations, Joint
Study on Global Practices in Relation to Secret
Detention in the Context of Countering
Terrorism, 19 February 2010, pp. 51-52; Adam
Goldman, Linchpin in Hunt for Bin Laden Back
with al Qaeda, Associated Press, 15 June 2011.
563. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 326.
564. Greg Miller, Julie Tate and Barton Gellman,
Documents Reveal NSA’s Extensive Involvement
in Targeted Killing Program, The Washington
Post, 16 October 2013.
283
APPENDIX 1
540.
541.
Ibid., pp. 68-69.
Ibid., p. 69.
Ibid., p. 70.
Ibid., pp. 71-72.
Ibid., p. 73.
Ibid., p. 75.
Ibid., p. 75.
Reprieve, Memo: FBI Involvement in the Abuse
of Binyam Mohammed (al Habashi), 24 August
2005, pp. 2-3.
Ibid., p. 3.
Ibid.
Ibid., p. 4.
Ibid., p. 7.
Ibid., p. 9.
Ibid., pp. 12-13.
Ibid., pp. 14-16.
Ibid., pp. 17-19.
Ibid., p. 19.
Ibid., pp. 19-20.
Reprieve, The ‘Journey of Death’: Over 700
Prisoners Illegally Rendered to Guantánamo with
the Help of Portugal, 28 January 2008, p. 30.
Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 4.
Ibid., p. 5.
Ibid., pp. 7-10.
Ibid., pp. 16-25.
Ibid., pp. 27-38.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 493.
Ibid., pp. 154, 493.
Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, pp. 38-39.
Ibid., pp. 39-40.
Khaled El-Masri v. George Tenet et al,
Declaration of Khaled El Masri, 6 April 2006,
para 8-25.
CIA, ALEC, D/CTC Approval for the Rendition of
Khalid al-Masri to US Custody, cable, January
2004 (redacted).
CIA (OIG), Report of Investigation: The Rendition
and Detention of German Citizen Khalid al-Masri,
2004-7601-IG, 16 July 2007 (redacted), p. 3.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 130-131.
Khaled El-Masri v. George Tenet et al,
Declaration of Khaled El Masri, 6 April 2006,
para 38-46.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 54301, 27 January
2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 54305, 28
January 2004.
565. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1298,
27-31 January 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1303, 27-31 January 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1311, 27-31
January 2004.
566. CIA, HEADQUATERS, cable, 27 January 2004,
21:55.
567. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1324, 1
February 2004.
568. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 433.
569. Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann,
Disappearing Act: Extraordinary Rendition by the
Numbers, New America Foundation, 3 March
2008; see, also: Tumi Makgetla, Was Pearl
Suspect Rendered?, Mail and Guardian, 25 May
2007.
570. Dafna Linzer, Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA
Still Missing, Fates Unknown, Propublica, 22
April 2009; Jay Solomon and Steve Levine,
Suspect in Pearl Murder Was Held, Covertly
Questioned Before Death, Wall Street Journal,
12 November 2007.
571. Tumi Makgetla, Was Pearl Suspect Rendered?,
Mail and Guardian, 25 May 2007.
572. Dafna Linzer, Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA
Still Missing, Fates Unknown, Propublica, 22
April 2009.
573. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Hassan
Guleed, 19 September 2008; SSCI, Committee
Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted), p. 339.
574. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 337.
575. Ibid., p. 339.
576. Ibid., pp. 141-143.
577. For example, the rendition aircraft landed in
Afghanistan on 9 March, in Morocco between
10-11 March, and in Guantánamo Bay on 12
March. Given that the earliest date for his entry
into CIA custody was 10 March, this would
suggest he was still on board the aircraft when it
left Afghanistan.
578. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 339.
579. Ibid., p. 493.
580. Based upon our analysis of redactions contained
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 154.
581. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 61, 154.
582. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled Al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 22.
284
583. ‘Abdallah (#103) entered CIA custody on the
same day as, or after, Gouled Dourad (#102).
Dourad entered CIA custody between 10-12
March 2004. ‘Abdallah was held for 870-879
days, and given that he would have left CIA
custody no later than 6 September 2006, he will
have been in detention by 19 April 2004.
584. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, pp. 6-9.
585. Ibid., pp. 9-12.
586. Ibid., p. 13.
587. Ibid., pp. 13-23.
588. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2563, 16 June – 7
September 2004.
589. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, pp.
24-25.
590. Ibid., pp. 25-26.
591. Al-Uzbeki (#109) entered CIA custody on the
same day as, or after, Marwan al-Jabour (#108).
Al-Jabour entered CIA custody on 16 June 2004.
See the profile for Marwan al-Jabour, plus SSCI,
Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
592. According to al-Jabour (#108), he was
transferred alongside a Palestinian, a Libyan and
an Afghan, all of whom were then held with him
at DETENTION SITE ORANGE. Our investigation
has determined that the Palestinian was Abd
al-Bari al-Filistini (#106) and the Libyan was
Mustafa al-Mehdi (#107). See Human Rights
Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years in Secret CIA
Detention, February 2007, pp. 12-13.
593. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1654, 24-26 January
2004.
594. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 135.
595. Ibid., pp. 135-136.
596. Ibid., p. 136.
597. See, also: Thomas Hammarberg, Advancing
Accountability in Respect of the CIA Black Site
in Romania, memo, Council of Europe,
CommDH(2012)38, 30 March 2012, p. 15.
598. Ibid.
599. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 346.
600. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1512, 2-8
August 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 1519, 2-8 August 2004; CIA, DETENTION
SITE BLACK, cable 1521, 2-8 August 2004;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1530, 8
August 2004, 16:33; CIA, DETENTION SITE
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
623. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 146.
624. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 4526, 24-27 May 2005.
625. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2319,
26-28 May 2005.
626. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2336, 28
May 2005, 20:03; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 2499, 26 June 2005, 21:23.
627. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 388. See, for example: CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2499, 26 June
2005, 21:23.
628. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 148.
629. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 61, 154.
630. Al-Magrebi (#115) entered CIA custody on the
same day as, or after, Abu Faraj al-Libi (#114).
Abu Faraj entered CIA custody on 24-25 May
2005. See the profile for Abu Faraj al-Libi, plus:
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
631. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. SSCI, Committee Study, 9
December 2014 (redacted), pp. 61, 154.
632. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 148.
633. Ibid., p. 148.
634. Ibid., pp. 148-149.
635. Ibid., p. 149.
636. Ibid.
637. Karen DeYoung, CIA Received Recent Detainee
from Turkey, Al-Qaeda Says, The Washington
Post, 25 May 2007.
638. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 161.
639. For example, CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN,
cable 1335, 2 November 2006, 19:46; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 1370, 7
November 2006, 13:18; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BROWN, cable 1703, 4 December 2006, 09:18;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 1956, 15
January 2007, 12:11.
640. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 162.
641. 641. DoD, Defense Department Takes Custody of
a High-Value Detainee, press release 494-07, 27
April 2007.
642. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 163.
643. Ibid.
285
APPENDIX 1
BLACK, cable 1537, 8-10 August 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1541, 10
August 2004, 12:28; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1542, 10-11 August 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1603, 21
August 2004.
601. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1541, 10
August 2004, 12:28.
602. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1567, 16
August 2004, 17:30.
603. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1622, 25
August 2004.
604. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 417.
605. Along with all those still in CIA custody after
March 2006. Ibid., pp. 61, 154.
606. Ibid., p. 137.
607. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Ahmed
Khalfan Ghailani, 8 December 2006, p. 3.
608. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 138.
609. Ibid., p. 391.
610. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3072, 1-7 September
2004.
611. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3189, 18 September
2004, 15:58.
612. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3221, 21-23
September 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
3242, 23-26 September 2004.
613. Benjamin Weiser, Detainee Acquitted on Most
Counts in ’98 Bombings, The New York Times, 17
November 2010.
614. Amnesty International, Off the Record: US
Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in
the ‘War on Terror’, 30 June 2007, p. 14.
615. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 138.
616. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3191, 18-20
September 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
3192, 18-20 September 2004.
617. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 476-477.
618. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3194, 18-20
September 2004.
619. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3289, 26-30
September 2004.
620. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3802, 16-18
December 2004.
621. Cairo al-Shuruq al-Jadid, 25 June 2011.
622. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 146; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Abu al-Libi, 10 September 2008,
p. 6.
644. CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 2432,
10-18 July 2007.
645. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 164.
646. George W. Bush, Executive Order 13440:
Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions
Common Article 3 as Applied to a Program of
Detention and Interrogation Operated by the
Central Intelligence Agency, 20 July 2007.
647. See, for example, CIA, DETENTION SITE
BROWN, cable 2486, 25 July 2007, 14:50; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 2491, 26 July
2007, 12:37; CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN,
cable 2501, 27 July 2007, 16:24; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 2554, 7
August 2007, 14:53; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BROWN, cable 2654, 30 August 2007, 16:59;
CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 2671, 6
September 2007, 14:50.
648. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 165-6.
649. CIA, DETENTION SITE BROWN, cable 2888, 2
November 2007, 23:55; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BROWN, cable 2915, 8 November 2007, 17:55.
650. DoJ, Authorisation to Use [Redacted]
Techniques on [Redacted], letter from Steven G.
Bradbury to [Redacted], Associate General
Counsel, CIA, 24 July 2007 (redacted); DoJ,
Authorisation to Use [Redacted] Techniques on
[Redacted], letter from Steven G. Bradbury to
[Redacted], Associate General Counsel, CIA, 23
August 2007 (redacted); DoJ, Authorisation to
Use [Redacted] Techniques on [Redacted], letter
from Steven G. Bradbury to [Redacted],
Associate General Counsel, CIA, 6 November
2007 (redacted); DoJ, Authorisation to Use
[Redacted] Techniques on [Redacted], letter
from Steven G. Bradbury to [Redacted],
Associate General Counsel, CIA, 7 November
2007 (redacted).
651. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 166-167.
652. Ibid., p. 167; DoD, Defense Department Takes
Custody of A High-Value Detainee, press release
206-08, 14 March 2008.
653. Fault Lines, The Dark Prison: The Legacy of the
CIA Torture Programme, Al Jazeera, 24 March
2016.
654. Rafiq al-Hami (#18), Tawfiq al-Bihani (#19),
Bisher al-Rawi (#35), Jamil el-Banna (#36) and
Shah Wali Khan (#33) were all transferred to
Bagram in December 2002. One CIA cable
documents Ali as an ‘intellectually challenged’
286
655.
656.
657.
658.
659.
660.
661.
662.
663.
664.
665.
666.
667.
668.
669.
670.
671.
prisoner, who was taped crying during
interrogations. The tapes were later used as
leverage. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 29864, 11-18
November 2002. See, also: Interview transcript,
Shah Wali Khan and Nazar Ali, with Singeli
Agnew and Sebastian Walker, Kandahar,
Afghanistan, 12 February 2016.
Bill Roggio, Senior Al Qaeda Commander in
Afghanistan Killed in US Airstrike, Long War
Journal, 31 July 2008.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 120.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2296, 10 May 2004,
17:09.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 16.
Ibid., p. 120.
DoD, List of Bagram Detainees as of September
2009, (redacted), p. 1. See, also: Hassan Abu
Bakr Qa’id, Some Information on Bagram
Prisoners, Al Mouminine Forum, 1 November
2005.
Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden, Details Emerge on
a Brazen Escape in Afghanistan, The New York
Times, 4 December 2005.
Bill Roggio, Senior Al Qaeda Commander in
Afghanistan Killed in US Airstrike, Long War
Journal, 31 July 2008.
Muhammad al-Garni, The Sad Story of Abu Nasir
al-Qahtani, Arab News, 9 May 2007.
Bill Roggio, Senior Al Qaeda Commander in
Afghanistan Killed in US Airstrike, Long War
Journal, 31 July 2008.
Qari Rehman was captured by the FBI in Quetta,
Pakistan, a week after the capture of Hikmat
Shaukat (#21) on 16 October 2002. See
Shahzada Zulfiqar, Silence of the Mullahs,
Newsline, March 2003.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 33265, 16 December
2002 – 21 February 2003; CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 33693, 16 December 2002 – 21
February 2003.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1528, 15-31 December
2003.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 43701, 4 August – 14
September 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
52893, 16 September 2003 – 27 January
2004.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 46620, 16 September
– 31 October 2003.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2035, 31 March – 22
April 2004.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2179, 31 March – 7
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
687.
688.
689.
690.
691.
692.
693.
694.
695.
696.
697.
operation, meaning that all detainees in the
programme during October 2002, except for
Abu Zubaydah (#1) and Hassan bin Attash (#10),
were held there. CIA (OIG), Special Review:
Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation
Activities (September 2001 - October 2003),
2003-7123-IG, 7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 48.
George W. Bush, Memorandum for Notification,
17 September 2001. Cited in: SSCI, Committee
Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted), p. 11.
These names have been identified through our
analysis of the dates that CIA prisoners entered
and left the programme, cross-matched with a
September 2003 CIA email cited in: Ibid., p. 16.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 33678, 16 December
2002 – 23 February 2003.
Asat Sar Jan (#16). See CIA, Afghanistan, cable
27931, 29 September – 7 October 2002.
Hikmat Shaukat (#21). See CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 30414, 20-27 November 2002.
Hayatullah Haqqani (#34). See CIA,
Afghanistan, cable 33322, 16 December 2002
– 23 February 2003. See, also: cables referring
to Muhammad Khan (#53). CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 1528, 1-31 December 2003.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 29381, 16-31 October
2002.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 35193, 16-22 March
2003.
This safe-house had not been formally
designated a detention site. CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 35341, 16-25 March 2003.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 102-103.
Shahzada Zulfiqar, Silence of the Mullahs,
Newsline, March 2003.
287
APPENDIX 1
May 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2186, 31
March – 7 May 2004.
672. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 83.
673. Ibid., p. 16. Mohammed has testified that he was
shown a photo of Habib by interrogators, and
that he had been ‘stripped and hanged’. DoD
(CSRT), Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, 10 March
2007, p. 16.
674. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 43701, 4 August – 14
September 2003.
675. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 46620, 16 September
– 31 October 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
2035, 31 March – 22 April 2004.
676. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2179, 31 March – 7
May 2004.
677. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2186, 31 March – 7
May 2004.
678. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2185, 31 March – 7
May 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2227, 31
March – 7 May 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
2232, 31 March – 7 May 2004; CIA,
Afghanistan, cable 2233, 31 March – 7 May
2004.
679. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 133.
680. Ibid., p. 477.
681. Ibid., pp. 16, 111.
682. These twelve are: Asat Sar Jan (#16), Zakaria
Zeineddin (#17), Hikmat Shaukat (#21), Yaqub
al-Baluchi (#22), Haji Ghalgi (#27), Nazar Ali
(#28), Adel (#31), Hayatullah Haqqani (#34), Abu
Khalid (#44), Ibrahim Haqqani (#54), Abdullah
al-Qahtani (#84) and Awwad al-Shammari (#85).
683. Shahzada Zulfiqar, Silence of the Mullahs,
Newsline, March 2003.
684. Police Asked to Produce Iraqi Doctor in Court,
Dawn, 13 December 2002.
685. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 27931, 29 September
– 7 October 2002; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
29381, 16-31 October 2002; CIA, Afghanistan,
cable 30414, 20-27 November 2002; CIA,
Afghanistan, cable 33678, 16 December 2002
– 23 February 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
33322, 16 December 2002 – 23 February
2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 35193, 16-22
March 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 35341,
16-25 March 2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
1528, 1-31 December 2003.
686. These five are: Asat Sar Jan (#16), Zakaria
Zeineddin (#17), Hikmat Shaukat (#21), Yaqub
al-Baluchi (#22) and Abu Khalid (#44). The Dark
Prison had 20 prisoners after the first month of
APPENDIX 2
THE RENDITIONS
APPENDIX 2:
THE RENDITIONS
This appendix provides detailed profiles of 62 separate rendition circuits by CIA aircraft
between October 2001 and August 2006. Through triangulating our flight data with the facts
we have established regarding the locations of individuals held within the torture programme,
we document here 121 renditions as part of these 62 operations. Some of these renditions were
to US military or foreign custody, either directly or after a period of CIA detention. Others were
into, out of, or between CIA black sites. Most were for the purposes of (continued) secret detention and torture. All took place outside of the law.
Each profile sets out our evidence regarding the dates and destinations of individual prisoner
transfers, alongside an account of the corresponding movements of a known CIA rendition
aircraft. Where we have them, each profile also provides links to billing and other documents
which pertain to the specific circuit, and which provide confirmatory evidence that the circuit
was situated within the overall rendition programme.
Where our claims derive from calculations based on known detention periods and other
aspects of an individual’s time in the CIA programme, we provide enough detail here for others
to understand fully the basis of our claims and the corresponding degree of certainty in each
case. Profiles also include an extract from our CIA Flights Database. This extract provides a legby-leg account of the aircraft’s movements, with specific departure and arrival times (in GMT)
where we have these. For ease of interpretation, we have replaced the airport-specific ICAO
codes with the names of the city or region which the airport serves.1 Where false flight plans were
filed to disguise landings at black site destinations, we have noted this in the table (which primarily
lists the true destination). Rows in bold denote those flights which transported prisoners.
APPENDIX 2
291
CIA FLIGHTS DATABASE: SOURCES
AG
Portuguese MEP Ana Gomes
ATC
Aircraft and airport data, such as pilot logs and communications over the AFTN, all of
which are footnoted in the profiles
BMVBS
German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development
CAA-LT
Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration
CAA-NO
Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority
CNSD
Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) inquiry into CIA rendition and secret detention
CSC
Billing documents from within DynCorp/Computer Sciences Corporation network
DTTAS
Irish Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
EC
Eurocontrol
FAA
US Federal Aviation Administration
GC
Documents from a Guardia Civil inquiry in Spain
IMWG
Danish Inter-Ministerial Working Group relating to CIA rendition flights
ISAVIA
Icelandic air navigation provider
PANSA
Polish Air Navigation Services Agency
SG
Straż Graniczna (Polish Border Guard)
In some cases, our profiles simply confirm the findings of earlier investigations, some of which
have formed the basis of legal action or parliamentary investigation. We have reproduced this
data here to paint as full a picture as possible. In most cases, however, our profiles present for
the first time a full account of particular renditions, including many newly-identified operations.
A word is needed here about our thresholds for determining which circuits – and which
particular renditions – to profile. If a circuit is profiled here, it is because our data documents
the movement of an aircraft which we know to have been part of the CIA rendition network,
between locations which correlate strongly with known prisoner transfers, at a time which also
correlates. In some cases, the exact destination and date of the transfer is known, and there is
an exact match with the flight data. In other cases, the destination is known but the date is within
a range of a number of days or weeks. Here, we profile circuits when we have only one or two
corresponding flights between the two locations during the relevant period (where there are
two flights, we profile both as possible). At other times, we know the date of a prisoner’s transfer,
but only the location from which, or to which, they were moved (but not both). These cases are
profiled where there is only one corresponding flight in our data, and the flight lands at a location known to have played a role in the torture programme.
These thresholds are relatively high, and there are many possible (indeed, likely) rendition
operations in our data which we do not profile here. In some cases, profiled operations include
flights which are possible additional renditions, but which we have not listed as such (as they
292
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
do not meet our thresholds). For example, we have identified that Ramzi bin al-Shibh was rendered from Morocco to Romania in October 2004 (Circuit 51). The aircraft involved, N227SV,
stopped off in Jordan en route, with no obvious reason to do so. It is possible that a second
prisoner was rendered from Morocco on this flight, and taken to further detention in Jordan. But
without independent evidence of this transfer, we have not been able to list this here.
In other cases, there are additional flight circuits by known rendition aircraft in our data which
are highly suggestive of rendition operations, moving between black site locations during their
periods of operation. For example, N63MU flew between Afghanistan and Jordan on 3 September
2006, as the two remaining black sites in Afghanistan were being emptied. This is the only flight
in our data by a known rendition aircraft from Afghanistan during this time, and is likely to have
transferred prisoners out of the CIA’s programme. Possible candidates include Khaled al-Maqtari
(#96), rendered from Afghanistan to Yemen between 29 August – 6 September 2006; Abu Ja’far
al-Iraqi (#117), rendered from Afghanistan to US military custody in Iraq between 1-6 September
2006; and four prisoners who were transferred from the programme during this time but whose
fate and whereabouts afterwards are unknown (Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri (#47), Abdi Rashid Samatar
(#113); Abu Munthir al-Magrebi (#115) and Ibrahim Jan (#116)). However, without additional evidence of these men’s fate, we are unable to confirm their presence on board this flight.
Our full Flights Database, available on The Rendition Project website (www.therenditionproject.co.uk), provides access to all of our flight data, including records of flights likely to have
involved renditions but not profiled here.
APPENDIX 2
293
CIRCUIT 1: 15-24 OCTOBER 2001 (N379P)
RENDITION: JAMIL QASIM SAEED MOHAMMED, PAKISTAN TO JORDAN
Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed was a Yemeni microbiology student, who is reported to have been
rendered from Pakistan to Jordan on 23 October 2001. The original report – the first to refer to
the use of rendition in the ‘War on Terror’ – identified the aircraft N379P on the ground at Karachi
airport in the early hours of 23 October, and claimed that Pakistani intelligence handed Mohammed
over to US agents.2 According to this report, the aircraft landed from Amman, Jordan, at around
1am local time, and departed back to Amman with Mohammed on board at around 2.40am.
Flight data for N379P shows that it was on the ground in Jordan on both 22 October and 23
October, with enough time between its arrival and departure to fly to Karachi and back. Although
our data does not document this part of the circuit, a landing in Karachi at 01:00 local time (20:00
GMT the day before) fits with a departure from Amman at around 15:00-16:00 GMT on 22 October.
Likewise, a departure at 02:40 local time (21:40 GMT the day before) fits with a landing in Amman
at around 02:00-03:00 GMT on 23 October.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
15 Oct 01
Washington, DC
Prestwick, UK
23:53
05:48
EC; FAA
16 Oct 01
Prestwick, UK
Frankfurt, Germany
06:40
08:09
EC
16 Oct 01
Frankfurt, Germany
Lisbon, Portugal
12:22
14:55
EC
16 Oct 01
Lisbon, Portugal
Frankfurt, Germany
15:52
18:07
EC
Several flights between Germany, Georgia and Jordan, 18-19 October. Not shown here.
19 Oct 01
Amman, Jordan
Algiers, Algeria
19:55
00:19
EC
20 Oct 01
Algiers, Algeria
Frankfurt, Germany
00:50
02:46
EC
22 Oct 01
Frankfurt, Germany
Amman, Jordan
10:25
14:44
EC
Return flight, Jordan → Pakistan → Jordan
23 Oct 01
Amman, Jordan
Frankfurt, Germany
03:24
08:17
EC
24 Oct 01
Frankfurt, Germany
Prestwick, UK
04:52
06:18
EC
24 Oct 01
Prestwick, UK
Washington, DC
07:30
13:41
EC; FAA
24 Oct 01
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
15:43
16:26
FAA
APPENDIX 2
295
CIRCUIT 2: 18-20 DECEMBER 2001 (N379P)
RENDITION: MOHAMED EL-ZERY, SWEDEN TO EGYPT
AHMED AGIZA, SWEDEN TO EGYPT
On 18 December 2001, Mohamed el-Zery and Ahmed Agiza were rendered from Sweden to
Egypt, where they were detained and tortured for several months before being brought to trial.
An investigation by the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman found that this rendition was conducted with the full knowledge of the Swedish authorities, who rejected the men’s asylum
applications, arrested them, and drove them to Stockholm-Bromma Airport. Once there, the
Swedish Security Police (SÄPO) handed them over to US and Egyptian officials, with the CIA
renditions team preparing the men for transfer using the CIA’s standard modus operandi.
Just before 9 p.m. the American plane touched down. Officer Y went to speak to
the occupants of the plane. These included, in addition to its crew, a security team
of seven or eight, among them a doctor and two Egyptian officials. Officer Y
informed the American officials that A. and E.Z. were waiting in the vehicles parked
in front of the police station and the Americans were taken to them.
The security team, all of whom were disguised by hoods around their heads, then
went up to the vehicles in which A. and E.Z. were sitting. One of the men was taken
first to the police station by the team. Inside the station, in a small changing room, the
American officials conducted what they had referred to as a security check.
According to reports, a doctor was present in the changing room. When the check
had been completed, the second man was sent for and the same procedure repeated.
The inquiry has revealed that this security check comprised at least the following.
A and E.Z. were subjected to a body search, their clothes were cut to pieces and
placed in bags, their hair was thoroughly examined, as were their oral cavities and
ears. In addition they were handcuffed and their ankles fettered, each was then
dressed in an overall and photographed. Finally loose hoods without holes for their
eyes were placed over their heads. A and E.Z. were then taken out of the police
station in bare feet and led to the aircraft.3
Swedish Ombudsman
N379P flew between Sweden and Egypt on 18 December 2001, matching the transfer of el-Zery
and Agiza between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive
Transport Services as the operator, and Jeppesen Dataplan acted as trip planners for the circuit,
filing flight plans that were coded STS/STATE.4 Billing documents for this circuit include invoices
to Jeppesen Dataplan from Luftfartsverket, the Swedish air navigation service,5 and from the
Swedish Civil Aviation Administration.6
296
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
18 Dec 01
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
00:13
00:59
FAA
18 Dec 01
Washington, DC
Cairo, Egypt
02:19
13:19
EC; FAA
18 Dec 01
Cairo, Egypt
Stockholm, Sweden
14:43
19:43
ATC; EC; other
18 Dec 01
Stockholm, Sweden
Cairo, Egypt
20:48
01:30
ATC; EC; other
20 Dec 01
Cairo, Egypt
Prestwick, UK
06:56
12:03
EC
20 Dec 01
Prestwick, UK
Washington, DC
13:07
19:18
EC; FAA
20 Dec 01
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
21:21
22:02
FAA
CIRCUIT 3: 9-15 JANUARY 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: MOHAMMED SAAD IQBAL MADNI, INDONESIA TO EGYPT (VIA DIEGO GARCIA)
On 10 January 2002, Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni was rendered from Jakarta, Indonesia, to
Egypt, having been detained since the early hours of 9 January at the request of the CIA.7 Once
in Egypt, Madni says that he was detained and tortured for 92 days before being rendered to
Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan.8 Our calculations show that this further rendition took place on
12 April 2002, and we have identified the rendition circuit involved (Circuit 5).
N379P left its home base of Johnston County Airport in the afternoon of 9 January, just
hours after Madni had been arrested in Jakarta. It then flew to Cairo (via Washington), before
disappearing from flight records until 15 January, when it reappears in Cairo, heading back to
the United States (via the UK).
Although there are no flight records documenting the whereabouts of N379P between 10-15
January, evidence points to this aircraft being involved in the rendition of Madni. Eyewitnesses
have spoken of an unmarked Gulfstream V jet on the ground in Jakarta on the night of 10 January,9
and Madni himself has testified that there were Egyptian officials at the airport, one of whom
confirmed that he had travelled to Indonesia specifically to pick him up.10 These officials would
have been picked up during the stopover in Cairo on the way out.
Madni has testified that he was flown for 5-7 hours before landing for around 30 minutes, durfor a further 3-4 hours before landing in Cairo in the morning of 11 January.11 These flying times,
the distances involved, and the known speed of a Gulfstream V all suggest that the stopover
location was Diego Garcia.12 Confirmatory evidence for the role of Diego Garcia comes from the
former UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, who has acknowledged that an aircraft with a
detainee on board refuelled in Diego Garcia in January 2002.13 There is no other known detainee
transfer at that time whose route would have taken them via Diego Garcia.
297
APPENDIX 2
ing which time he was photographed but kept on the plane. The aircraft then took off again, flying
I was detained in Jakarta around 4.30am on 9 January 2002. Twenty Indonesian
officers came to my house and took me away. The following day, 10 January, at
around 8.00pm, I was taken to the airport at Jakarta. I was met by seven or eight
people… They took me to a room. A man picked me by the scruff of the neck and
threw me against the wall. The left side of my face banged against the wall and my
ear drum burst. It even started bleeding. Then they took me to a room and stripped
me naked. They shackled me from my neck all the way down to my feet… They then
dressed me in other clothes, threw me in the car and drove me to a plane… The
intelligence personnel covered my eyes with a hood, and pushed me aboard a jet
aircraft. I was then put in a coffin-shaped wooden box lying horizontal on the floor.
The box was open but I was bound with plastic, with shackles wound so tighly all
around my body that I was unable to move. A plastic sheet was then placed over
the box. The plane took off around two hours later, I would estimate at around
10.00pm. As a result of the beating, I was bleeding from my nose, mouth and ears,
and I later learned that there was blood in my urine….14
Once N379P landed in Cairo on 11 January, it stayed on the ground for four days before heading
back to the US. Again this matches with Madni’s testimony: he has said that masked men were
present during a series of long interrogations by Egyptian agents on 11-12 January. These masked
men did not speak, but passed notes with questions to the Egyptians.15
Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the
operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
9 Jan 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
15:04
15:47
FAA
9 Jan 02
Washington, DC
Cairo, Egypt
16:47
03:32
EC; FAA
Likely return flight, Egypt → Indonesia → Egypt, via a stopover in Diego Garcia on return
15 Jan 02
Cairo, Egypt
Prestwick, UK
08:37
13:31
EC
15 Jan 02
Prestwick, UK
Washington, DC
14:40
21:48
EC; FAA
15 Jan 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
23:16
23:55
FAA
298
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 4: 6-16 FEBRUARY 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: ALI AL-HAJJ AL-SHARQAWI (#93), PAKISTAN TO JORDAN
Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, on 7 February 2002,16 and then transferred to Jordanian custody on xx February 2002.17 Al-Sharqawi has confirmed his detention in
Jordan, where he was held and tortured for nearly two years, before being rendered to Afghanistan
in January 2004.18 This second transfer has also been matched with flight data (Circuit 36).
Flight data for N379P shows that the aircraft left the United States the day before al-Sharqawi’s
capture, and was in the region at the time of his transfer to Jordan. While gaps in the data do
not allow us to track the aircraft’s full movements, it was on the ground in Jordan on both 11 and
15 February, with preceding gaps in the data allowing for flights to and from Pakistan. No other
rendition aircraft landed in Jordan during this time. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company
Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
6 Feb 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
11:12
11:57
FAA
6 Feb 02
Washington, DC
Prestwick, UK
13:34
19:19
EC; FAA
6 Feb 02
Prestwick, UK
Dubai, UAE
21:19
04:53
EC; FAA
Possible flights, UAE → Pakistan → Jordan
11 Feb 02
Amman, Jordan
Prestwick, UK
23:40
06:00
EC
13 Feb 02
Prestwick, UK
Bahrain
11:43
18:58
EC
Possible flights, Bahrain → Pakistan → Jordan
15 Feb 02
Amman, Jordan
Rome, Italy
22:35
02:04
EC
16 Feb 02
Rome, Italy
Washington, DC
07:24
15:32
EC; FAA
16 Feb 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:47
19:29
FAA
Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni was rendered from Indonesia to Egypt on 10 January 2002 (Circuit
3). According to Madni, he was held in Egyptian custody for 92 days before being rendered again,
299
APPENDIX 2
CIRCUIT 5: 8-15 APRIL 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: MOHAMMED SAAD IQBAL MADNI, EGYPT TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA UZBEKISTAN)
MAMDOUH HABIB, EGYPT TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA UZBEKISTAN)
this time to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan.19 Calculation shows that this further rendition took
place on 12 April 2002, and this is confirmed by a Department of Defense (DoD) document which
notes his handover to US forces on 13 April.20
Madni has testified that he was rendered alongside another prisoner, Mamdouh Habib, and
that they were both shackled in the foetal position, and beaten and given electric shocks by the
guards on the flight. After several hours, the aircraft landed, and they were transferred to a
second aircraft and flown to Bagram.21 A DoD document confirms that Habib was transferred
from Egyptian to American custody at around this time, having spent six months in Egyptian
detention after his October 2001 capture in Pakistan.22
On or around 11 April 2002, I was taken to an office in the Egyptian Intelligence
building where I was being held, and forced to sign a piece of paper saying that I had
been given excellent treatment and that no-one had tortured me. I was then taken
out of the building to an airport in Cairo. I was handed over to some US personnel
dressed in back uniforms with a US flag on one arm. They taped my mouth and put
me on a plane. On the plane was another man I later learned was an Egyptian/
Australian citizen called Mamdouh Habib… For the duration of the flight, Mamdouh
and I were shacked in a foetal position and we were beaten and given electric
shocks by the American guards if we tried to ask for anything. After several hours
our plane stopped and we were unshackled. We were brought off the plane and
made to run by our US guards dragging us by our shackles, for ten minutes to
another plane, which we were taken onto. This plane took off and flew us to our final
destination, which I later learned was Bagram Airbase, near Kabul in Afghanistan.23
Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni
N379P flew between Egypt and Uzbekistan on 12 April 2002, matching Madni and Habib’s transfer
from Egypt to a location where they were loaded onto a second aircraft and flown to Afghanistan.
Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
8 Apr 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
23:07
23:52
FAA
9 Apr 02
Washington, DC
Cairo, Egypt
02:04
13:06
EC; FAA
12 Apr 02
Cairo, Egypt
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
17:45
22:47
EC
13 Apr 02
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Frankfurt, Germany
06:09
12:08
EC; PANSA24
15 Apr 02
Frankfurt, Germany
Washington, DC
11:45
19:14
EC; FAA
15 Apr 02
Washington, DC
Williamsburg, VA
21:40
22:14
FAA
300
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 6: 30 APRIL - 3 MAY 2002 (N63MU)
RENDITION: ZAKARIYA (#2), GEORGIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA UZBEKISTAN)
JAMAL BOUDRAA (#3), GEORGIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA UZBEKISTAN)
ABBAR AL-HAWARI (#4), GEORGIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA UZBEKISTAN)
Zakariya, Jamal Boudraa and Abbar al-Hawari were captured together in Georgia on 28 April
2002.25 After being held in a warehouse for four days,26 they were transferred to Afghanistan.27
Our own calculations have established that the latest date these men were rendered to CIA
custody was 2 May 2002. These are based on the fact that Boudraa was later rendered to Algeria
on 22 January 2004 (Circuit 37), and that he was held in CIA custody for 630-639 days.28
When I was first captured, a car came around and the people inside were talking
Russian and Georgian. I also heard a little Chechnya. We were delivered to another
group who spoke perfect Russian. They sold us to the dogs. The Americans came
two days later with a brief case full of money. They took us to a forest, then a
private plane to Kabul, Afghanistan.29
Abbar al-Hawari
N63MU flew from Georgia to Uzbekistan on 1-2 May 2002, matching the transfer of these three
men. It is likely that another aircraft then took them from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan.
N63MU was operated by FirstFlight, and billing documents for this circuit include an invoice
from FirstFlight to AirMarketing for $203,388.65,30 one from AirMarketing to SportsFlight,31 and
another from Capital Aviation to the prime contractor, DynCorp.32
Flight data extract For N63mu
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
30 Apr 02
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
23:57
00:41
FAA
1 May 02
Washington, DC
Shannon, Ireland
02:00
08:03
FAA
1-2 May 02
Shannon, Ireland
Tbilisi, Georgia
CSC
1-2 May 02
Tbilisi, Georgia
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
CSC
2 May 02
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Shannon, Ireland
IMWG33
3 May 02
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
08:10
15:09
FAA
3 May 02
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
16:40
17:29
FAA
APPENDIX 2
301
CIRCUIT 7: 22-26 MAY 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: ABOU ELKASSIM BRITEL, PAKISTAN TO MOROCCO
UNKNOWN DETAINEE, PAKISTAN TO MOROCCO
Abou Elkassim Britel has testified that he was captured on 10 March 2002 in Lahore, Pakistan,
and detained and tortured by Pakistani forces for several weeks. He was moved to the headquarters of the ISI in Islamabad on 5 May 2002, where he was interrogated on multiple occasions
by US officials.34 He was then rendered to Morocco on 24 May 2002, alongside another prisoner
(whom we have, as yet, been unable to identify).
On the night of May 24, 2002, I was handcuffed, blindfolded, and taken by car to an
airport. About one half hour thereafter, I was grabbed around the neck from behind
so tightly I thought I would suffocate. I was forced into what seemed to me to be a
small bathroom where my clothes were sliced off me. My blindfold was then
removed and I saw four or five men dressed in black from head to toe, with only
their eyes showing. I was photographed, had a diaper put on me, and was dressed
in a torn t-shirt. I was again blindfolded and placed in a metallic slip and chained to
the shackles that bound my hands and feet. I was then dragged on board a small
aircraft and forced onto my back… I was instructed not to move, and when I did I
was hit or kicked. My back began to hurt during the flight and I asked for
permission to change positions. My request was refused and instead I had my
mouth taped shut.35
N379P flew from Pakistan to Morocco on 24 May 2002, matching these transfers. Eurocontrol
data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator, and Jeppesen
Dataplan filed flight plans, which were coded STS/STATE.36
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
22 May 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
22:08
22:56
FAA
23 May 02
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
00:45
07:39
EC; FAA
23 May 02
Frankfurt, Germany
Dubai, UAE
10:09
16:10
EC
Flight, Dubai to Pakistan
24 May 02
Islamabad, Pakistan
Rabat, Morocco
21:05
07:03
ATC; EC
25 May 02
Rabat, Morocco
Porto, Portugal
07:58
09:19
ATC; EC
26 May 02
Porto, Portugal
Washington, DC
08:00
15:09
EC; FAA
26 May 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
17:06
17:45
FAA
302
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 8: 17-23 JULY 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: MOHAMEDOU OULD SLAHI, JORDAN TO AFGHANISTAN
BINYAM MOHAMED (#95), PAKISTAN TO MOROCCO
TWO UNKNOWN DETAINEES, PAKISTAN TO MOROCCO
According to a DoD document, Mohamedou Ould Slahi was captured in Mauritania on 20
November 2001, and transferred to Jordan on 28 November. He was held in Jordan for around
eight months before being transferred to US custody in Bagram on 19 July 2002.37 Slahi has
confirmed the date of this rendition in an extensive account.38
According to the Committee Study, Binyam Mohamed was rendered from Pakistan to proxy
detention in [redacted] on xx July 2002.39 Mohamed himself has testified that the rendition took
place on 21 July 2002, and that he was flown to Morocco. During the 8-10 hour flight, he was
strapped to his seat alongside two other detainees.40
N379P flew between Jordan and Afghanistan on 19 July 2002, matching Slahi’s transfer
between the two countries. It then flew between Pakistan and Morocco on 21 July 2002, matching Binyam Mohamed’s rendition. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive
Transport Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
17 Jul 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
21:20
22:07
FAA
18 Jul 02
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
00:26
07:46
EC; FAA
18 Jul 02
Frankfurt, Germany
Incirlik AB, Turkey
10:14
13:56
EC
18 Jul 02
Incirlik AB, Turkey
Frankfurt, Germany
12:14
15:31
EC
19 Jul 02
Frankfurt, Germany
Amman, Jordan
15:48
19:41
EC
19 Jul 02
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
21:15
01:35
EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Pakistan
21 Jul 02
Islamabad, Pakistan
Rabat, Morocco
17:35
03:42
EC
22 Jul 02
Rabat, Morocco
Shannon, Ireland
04:44
07:21
EC
23 Jul 02
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
09:55
16:07
EC; FAA
23 Jul 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
17:55
18:37
FAA
APPENDIX 2
303
CIRCUIT 9: 11-19 SEPTEMBER 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: UMAR FARUQ (#14), INDONESIA TO EGYPT (VIA DIEGO GARCIA)
HASSAN BIN ATTASH (#10), AFGHANISTAN TO JORDAN
RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), AFGHANISTAN TO MOROCCO
It has been reported that Umar Faruq was captured in Jakarta, Indonesia, in early June 2002,41
and our investigation has established that he was transferred into CIA custody between 14-29
September 2002.42 It is possible that Faruq was the prisoner who was flown through Diego Garcia
in September 2002, as acknowledged by the British Government in 2008.43 N379P is the only
known rendition aircraft to land in Diego Garcia during September 2002 and, while there are
gaps in the flight data, the known movements of the aircraft at this time are consistent with a
rendition flight from Southeast Asia to North Africa.44 It is possible that Faruq was rendered to
Egypt, and then onwards to CIA custody in Afghanistan on 29 September 2002 (Circuit 10).
On 15 February British officials were informed by their US counterparts that,
contrary to earlier assurances by the US that Diego Garcia had not been used for
rendition flights, recent US investigations had revealed two occasions, in January
and September 2002, when this had in fact occurred. In both cases a US plane
refuelled in Diego Garcia whilst a detainee was on board.45
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband
Hassan bin Attash and Ramzi bin al-Shibh were captured together in Karachi, Pakistan, on 11
September 2002, and held in Pakistan for 3-4 days.46 Bin Attash has testified that he was then
transferred to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan, and held for 2-3 days before being rendered
onwards to Jordan.47 This transfer would have been between 16-18 September 2002.
Bin al-Shibh’s testimony suggests a similar length of time at the Dark Prison: he was shackled
in a standing stress position for 2-3 days while in Afghanistan, his second place of detention.48
The Committee Study notes that bin al-Shibh was rendered to a foreign government on xx
September 2002, and that he was rendered into CIA custody in Poland on x February 2003.49
We have identified this second rendition operation – a flight from Morocco to Poland on 8
February 2003 (Circuit 17) – and thus can verify that bin al-Shibh was held in Morocco from
September 2002. Video and audio recordings of bin al-Shibh’s interrogations in Morocco are
also reported to be held by the CIA.50
N379P flew between Afghanistan, Jordan and Morocco on 17 September 2002, matching
the transfer of bin Attash to Jordan, and bin al-Shibh to Morocco. Eurocontrol data lists the shell
company Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator.
304
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
11 Sep 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
21:28
22:11
FAA
12 Sep 02
Washington, DC
Athens, Greece
00:16
09:05
EC; FAA
13 Sep 02
Athens, Greece
Diego Garcia
08:12
17:14
EC
Possible flights, Diego Garcia → Jakarta → Diego Garcia → Egypt
15 Sep 02
Cairo, Egypt
Rabat, Morocco
15:17
20:10
EC
15 Sep 02
Rabat, Morocco
Porto, Portugal
21:40
22:57
EC
17 Sep 02
Porto, Portugal
Kabul, Afghanistan
04:47
12:02
EC
17 Sep 02
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
13:45
18:37
EC
17 Sep 02
Amman, Jordan
Rabat, Morocco
18:23
01:22
EC
18 Sep 02
Rabat, Morocco
Shannon, Ireland
02:14
04:47
EC; FAA
19 Sep 02
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
10:01
15:57
EC; FAA
19 Sep 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:10
18:47
FAA
APPENDIX 2
305
CIRCUIT 10: 27-30 SEPTEMBER 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: ABD AL-SALAM AL-HILAH (#15), EGYPT TO AFGHANISTAN
UMAR FARUQ (#14), EGYPT TO AFGHANISTAN
Abd al-Salam al-Hilah was captured in Egypt on or around 20 September,51 and held in Egyptian
custody for about a week before being rendered to CIA custody.52 According to Amnesty
International, he was initially held in the Dark Prison in Afghanistan,53 a fact confirmed by his
description of the site, as well as the testimony of other prisoners.54
It is possible that Umar Faruq was rendered between Egypt and Afghanistan alongside alHilah, having been captured in Indonesia and rendered to Egypt two weeks previously (Circuit
9). Faruq entered CIA custody at the same time as, or before, al-Hilah,55 and if he was in Egypt
during September 2002 it is likely that both men were rendered together.
N379P flew between Egypt and Afghanistan on 29 September 2002, matching al-Hilah’s
(and possibly Faruq’s) transfer between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
27 Sep 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
06:44
07:24
FAA
27 Sep 02
Washington, DC
Athens, Greece
09:46
19:05
EC; FAA
28 Sep 02
Athens, Greece
Cairo, Egypt
18:42
20:11
EC
29 Sep 02
Cairo, Egypt
Kabul, Afghanistan
21:45
02.23
EC
29 Sep 02
Kabul, Afghanistan
Athens, Greece
03:55
09:14
EC
30 Sep 02
Athens, Greece
Shannon, Ireland
07:24
11:09
EC
30 Sep 02
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
13:00
19:00
EC; FAA
30 Sep 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
21:00
21:41
FAA
306
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 11: 7-8 OCTOBER 2002 (N63MU)
RENDITION: PACHA WAZIR (#38), UAE TO MOROCCO
Pacha Wazir was captured in the United Arab Emirates in late 2002.56 An account by a former
CIA interrogator, Glenn Carle, describes his ongoing interrogation of a man whose description
fits closely with Wazir’s, in a location whose description fits closely with Morocco.57
N63MU flew from Dubai to Morocco between 7-8 October 2002, and is the only flight by a
known rendition aircraft between the two countries during this time. It is therefore likely that
Wazir was on board this flight. The aircraft was operated by Airborne, and flight plans were filed
by Universal Weather and Aviation. Billing documents for this circuit include an invoice from
Universal Weather to Airborne for overflight permissions, the submission of flight plans, and the
arrangement of diplomatic permits,58 and an invoice from brokers AirMarketing Services to
SportsFlight, for $174,103.90.59 In turn, costs were passed up the contracting chain, with brokers
Capital Aviation submitting an invoice to DynCorp for $217,890.00.60
Flight data extract For N63mu
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
7 Oct 02
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
12:00
00:48
FAA
7 Oct 02
Washington, DC
Luton, UK
01:59
08:10
FAA
7 Oct 02
Luton, UK
Dubai, UAE
10:16
16:13
FAA
7-8 Oct 02
Dubai, UAE
Rabat, Morocco
CSC
7-8 Oct 02
Rabat, Morocco
Luton, UK
CSC
8 Oct 02
Luton, UK
Washington, DC
07:29
15:38
FAA; IMWG; ISAVIA61
8 Oct 02
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
16:59
17:52
FAA
APPENDIX 2
307
CIRCUIT 12: 8-10 OCTOBER 2002 (N829MG)
RENDITION: MAHER ARAR, US TO JORDAN (VIA ITALY)
On 8 October 2002, Maher Arar was rendered from New York, where he had been held for almost
two weeks by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), to Jordan, where he was taken
overland to Syria and transferred into the custody of Syrian military intelligence. He was held in
secret detention in Syria, and repeatedly tortured, for almost a year.62
On October 8, 2002, Mr. Arar was awakened at three o’clock in the morning and
told that he was to be removed to Syria. Mr. Arar [said] that, at that point, he had
begun to cry and say that he would be tortured if sent to Syria. He said he had felt
‘destroyed’. Mr. Arar was taken to New Jersey, put on a corporate jet, and flown to
Amman, Jordan, with brief stops in Washington, D.C., Portland, Maine, and Rome,
Italy. Throughout the journey, he was chained and shackled in the back of the plane.
The shackles were removed only at the end of the trip, when he was given the
opportunity to have a meal with his guards. He could not eat.63
Canadian Commission of Inquiry
N829MG flew between Maine (US) and Jordan on 8 October 2002, via a stopover in Italy, matching Arar’s transfer between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Presidential
Aviation as the operator.
Flight data extract For N829mg
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
8 Oct 02
Bangor, ME
Rome, Italy
13:45
20:22
EC
8 Oct 02
Rome, Italy
Amman, Jordan
20:59
23:54
EC
9 Oct 02
Amman, Jordan
Athens, Greece
01:15
03:23
EC
9 Oct 02
Athens, Greece
Santa Maria, Azores
17:36
23:09
EC
10 Oct 02
Santa Maria, Azores
Washington, DC
00:01
06:30
EC
308
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 13: 8-13 NOVEMBER 2002 (N85VM)
RENDITION: ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), DUBAI TO AFGHANISTAN
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was captured in the UAE in mid-October 2002, and held in proxy detention until his rendition to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan on xx November 2002.64 One CIA cable
from the site, dated no later than 18 November, documents this rendition.65 Al-Nashiri was held
at the site for five days, and then rendered again to the CIA black site in Thailand.66 A declassified report by the Department of Justice (DoJ) makes clear that al-Nashiri was brought to the
Thai site on 15 November,67 and our investigation has identified a possible rendition flight for this
onward transfer (Circuit 14). This would suggest that al-Nashiri was flown from Dubai to
Afghanistan on 10 November 2002.
During the rendition subject was alert and appeared orientated to the situation. No
evidence of psychosis or severe mental disorder was observed. He was tearful and
distressed, but not in excess to the situation. He was able to understand complex
nonverbal commands. During the flight to [redacted] the subject slept or remained
quiet approximately [redacted] hours. He made one request in English for water
immediately upon entering the aircraft, and did not speak again. He displayed no
CIA cable
emotions during the flight.68
Flight data for the known rendition aircraft N85VM includes a flight from Dubai to Afghanistan
between 8-12 November 2002, matching al-Nashiri’s transfer between the two countries on
10 November. Eurocontrol data shows Richmor Aviation as the aircraft operator for this circuit,
and billing documentation includes an invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for
$198,930.30.69
Flight data extract For N85vm
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
8 Nov 02
Washington, DC
Shannon, Ireland
07:07
12:42
CSC; EC; FAA
8 Nov 02
Shannon, Ireland
Dubai, UAE
13:55
20:53
CSC; EC
8-12 Nov 02
Dubai, UAE
Kabul, Afghanistan
CSC
8-12 Nov 02
Kabul, Afghanistan
Dubai, UAE
CSC
12 Nov 02
Dubai, UAE
Luton, UK
07:23
16:13
CSC; EC; FAA
12 Nov 02
Luton, UK
Washington, DC
17:23
16:13
CSC; EC; FAA
13 Nov 02
Washington, DC
Columbia County, NY
17:04
00:14
FAA
APPENDIX 2
date
309
CIRCUIT 14: 12-18 NOVEMBER 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), AFGHANISTAN TO THAILAND
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was rendered to Afghanistan on 10 November 2002 (Circuit 13), and
held at the Dark Prison for five days before being rendered again to the CIA black site in Thailand.70
Although there are no records in our data of a flight between Afghanistan and Thailand in
November 2002, N379P was in the area during that time, with incomplete data regarding its full
circuit. Moreover, the known legs of this circuit suggest that the missing data – relating to its
movements between Central Asia and Southeast Asia between 13-16 November 2002 – may
well have included the rendition of al-Nashiri to the CIA site in Thailand. The circuit includes a
stopover in Hawaii for 24 hours towards the end, as in Circuit 16, and such rest stopovers postrendition are a common feature of rendition circuits. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company
Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator for this circuit.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
12 Nov 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
22:31
23:15
FAA
13 Nov 02
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
01:28
08:09
EC; FAA
13 Nov 02
Frankfurt, Germany
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
09:59
15:14
EC; PANSA71
Possible flight, Afghanistan to Thailand
16 Nov 02
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Saipan, Mariana Islands
13.33
15:27
FAA
16 Nov 02
Saipan, Mariana Islands
Honolulu, HI
16:43
23:55
FAA
18 Nov 02
Honolulu, HI
Washington, DC
06:32
15:15
FAA
18 Nov 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
16:19
16:58
FAA
310
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 15: 3-6 DECEMBER 2002 (N63MU)
RENDITION: ABU ZUBAYDAH (#1), THAILAND TO POLAND (VIA DUBAI)
ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), THAILAND TO POLAND (VIA DUBAI)
Between 4-5 December 2002, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri were rendered from
the CIA black site in Thailand to the newly-opened black site in Poland. The Committee Study
acknowledges that this transfer took place ‘in December 2002’,72 and it is clear that al-Nashiri
was subjected to sustained torture at the Thai site up until 4 December,73 and again at the new
site from 5 December.74
N63MU flew between Thailand and Poland, 4-5 December 2002, matching Zubaydah and
al-Nashiri’s transfer between the two countries. The aircraft was operated by FirstFlight
Management, with trip planner Universal Weather filing the flight plans. Although flight plans
filed with Eurocontrol attempt to disguise the aircraft’s landing at Szymany airport,75 Polish Border
Guard records document its landing at the airport, and note that the aircraft had eight passengers
on landing, and left with none.76 The owner of N63MU's registered company International Group
LLC, Steve Marchionda, has also admitted that the aircraft landed at Szymany during the circuit,77
and airport documentation confirms this.78
Billing documentation for this circuit includes a series of invoices passed up the contracting
chain, involving Universal Weather and Aviation, AirMarketing, Capital Aviation and DynCorp,79
as well as a payment receipt from Capital Aviation to SportsFlight Air.80
Flight data extract For N63mu
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
3 Dec 02
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
19:28
20:14
FAA
3 Dec 02
Washington, DC
Anchorage, AL
21:19
04:27
CSC; FAA
4 Dec 02
Anchorage, AL
Osaka, Japan
05:22
13:17
CSC; FAA
4-5 Dec 02
Osaka, Japan
Bangkok, Thailand
CSC
4-5 Dec 02
Bangkok, Thailand
Al Minhad AB, UAE
CSC
5 Dec 02
Al Minhad AB, UAE
Szymany, Poland
ATC; CSC; EC; SG81
5 Dec 02
Szymany, Poland
Warsaw, Poland
CSC; SG
5-6 Dec 02
Warsaw, Poland
Luton, UK
ATC; CSC
6 Dec 02
Luton, UK
Washington, DC
12:52
21:14
ATC; FAA
6 Dec 02
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
23:30
00:38
FAA
APPENDIX 2
311
CIRCUIT 16: 8-17 DECEMBER 2002 (N379P)
RENDITION: BISHER AL-RAWI (#35), THE GAMBIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA EGYPT)
JAMIL EL-BANNA (#36), THE GAMBIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA EGYPT)
PACHA WAZIR (#38), MOROCCO TO AFGHANISTAN
On 8 December 2002, Bisher al-Rawi and Jamil el-Banna were rendered from The Gambia, where
they had been held in a US-controlled safe-house, to Afghanistan, where they were detained
and interrogated at the Dark Prison.
Jamil and I were driven to the airport in Banjul. At the airport we were taken into
a dark room where Americans placed hoods over our heads, cuffed our hands
behind our backs, and shackled our feet. I was placed on a seat between two
Gambian officials and I could hear the sound of jet engines as we neared the
airport… I was immediately grabbed from behind by two other men and dragged
into a small, dark room located somewhere on the airport perimeter. In this room
there were several men and women present. All of them wore hoods. Using
flashlights to guide them in the darkness and in complete silence, they quickly
removed my handcuffs and shackles, cut off my clothes, and dressed me in what
I later learned to be a diaper and a different set of clothing. They cuffed my hands
and shackled my legs again and thereafter placed me in some sort of restraining
harness. I then had something placed in and around my ears that impaired my
hearing and both a blindfold and goggles were placed over my eyes. I was then
roughly manhandled onboard an awaiting aircraft and placed on a stretcher-like
platform and restrained. For the entire flight I was unable to move. I was also
denied access to food, water, or even a toilet. The aircraft landed once before
reaching its final desination. I was restrained the whole time.82
Bisher al-Rawi
Pacha Wazir was held in Morocco from 8 October 2002, where he was interrogated by Glenn
Carle.83 We have established that he was formally transferred into CIA custody between 9-31
December 2002,84 and know that this was to Afghanistan.85
N379P flew between The Gambia and Afghanistan on 8 December 2002, via a stopover in
Egypt. This matches the transfer of al-Rawi and el-Banna between the two countries. After an
overnight stop in Frankfurt the aircraft flew from Morocco to Afghanistan on 12 December 2002.
This is the only flight by a known or suspected rendition aircraft between the two countries in
December 2002, and is therefore likely to have rendered Wazir.
The aircraft is then documented as flying to Bangkok, Thailand. Given that the CIA black site
close to the airport was closed the week before, is possible that it was picking up US officials,
materials or equipment for return to the United States.
312
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator, while flight plans were submitted by Jeppesen Dataplan. These were marked as STS/
ATFMEXEMPTAPPROVED and STS/STATE.86
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
8 Dec 02
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
10:47
11:32
FAA
8 Dec 02
Washington, DC
Banjul, The Gambia
13:15
20:19
EC; FAA
8 Dec 02
Banjul, The Gambia
Cairo, Egypt
21:45
03:45
ATC; EC
9 Dec 02
Cairo, Egypt
Kabul, Afghanistan
04:45
09:04
ATC; EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Uzbekistan
10 Dec 02
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Frankfurt, Germany
06:52
13:01
EC; PANSA87
11 Dec 02
Frankfurt, Germany
Rabat, Morocco
23:09
01:55
EC
12 Dec 02
Rabat, Morocco
Kabul, Afghanistan
03:56
11:03
EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Thailand
15 Dec 02
Bangkok, Thailand
Saipan, Mariana Islands
08:27
10:23
FAA
15 Dec 02
Saipan, Mariana Islands
Honolulu, HI
11:11
17:44
FAA
16 Dec 02
Honolulu, HI
Washington, DC
19:11
03:12
FAA
17 Dec 02
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
04:40
05:15
FAA
APPENDIX 2
313
CIRCUIT 17: 6-13 FEBRUARY 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), MOROCCO TO POLAND
IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), EGYPT TO AFGHANISTAN
Ramzi bin al-Shibh was rendered from proxy detention into CIA custody on x February 2003.88
Our investigation has established that he had been held in Morocco since September 2002
(Circuit 9), and that he was transferred from there to the CIA black site in Poland by 10 February
2003 at the latest.89
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi was also rendered from proxy detention into CIA custody on x February
2003.90 He had been held and tortured while in Egyptian custody,91 and was transferred from
there to CIA custody in Afghanistan.92
N379P flew between Morocco and Poland on 7-8 February 2003, and between Egypt and
Afghanistan on 9-10 February 2003, matching the rendition dates of both bin al-Shibh and Ibn
Sheikh. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the
operator. Jeppesen Dataplan filed flight plans for the circuit, including false plans designed to
disguise the landing at Szymany.93 Polish flight records, however, document the landing at Szymany,
with seven passengers on board (three of whom disembarked).94
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
6 Feb 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
20:01
20:43
FAA
7 Feb 03
Washington, DC
Rabat, Morocco
13:46
20:10
EC; FAA
8 Feb 03
Rabat, Morocco
Szymany, Poland
21:30
01:00
ATC; EC; PANSA; SG95
8 Feb 03
Szymany, Poland
Larnaca, Cyprus
01:51
04:40
PANSA
9 Feb 03
Larnaca, Cyprus
Cairo, Egypt
18:53
19:46
EC
9 Feb 03
Cairo, Egypt
Kabul, Afghanistan
21:45
02:32
EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Uzbekistan
11 Feb 03
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Glasgow, UK
12:02
18:17
EC; IMWG96
12 Feb 03
Glasgow, UK
Washington, DC
14:31
20:44
EC; FAA
12 Feb 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
23:20
00:01
FAA
314
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 18: 4-19 FEBRUARY 2003 (N85VM)
RENDITION: ABU OMAR, ITALY TO EGYPT (VIA GERMANY)
On 17 February 2003, Abu Omar (Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr) was rendered from Italy, where
he had been captured in Milan in a joint CIA-Italian operation, to Germany. The operation was
undertaken onboard a US military aircraft, which flew Abu Omar from the US airbase at Aviano
to the US airbase at Ramstein. He was then flown from Germany to Egypt, where he was held
and tortured for a total of four years.97
N85VM flew from Germany to Egypt on 17 February 2003, matching Abu Omar’s transfer.
Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was operated by Richmor Aviation, and billing documentation for this circuit includes an invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for
$138,389.70.98
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
4 Feb 03
Washington, DC
Ramstein AB, Germany
03:20
10:27
CSC; EC; FAA
17 Feb 03
Ramstein AB, Germany
Cairo, Egypt
18:52
22:32
CSC; EC
18 Feb 03
Cairo, Egypt
Shannon, Ireland
00:22
05:42
CSC; EC; FAA
18 Feb 03
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
14:52
21:43
CSC; EC; FAA
18 Feb 03
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
23:47
00:41
FAA
APPENDIX 2
315
CIRCUIT 19: 1-9 MARCH 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: KHALED SHEIKH MOHAMMED (#45), AFGHANISTAN TO POLAND
Khaled Sheikh Mohammed was captured in Pakistan on 1 March 2003, and rendered to the Dark
Prison in Afghanistan by 5 March 2003.99 He was held at the site until at least 6 March, before
being rendered to the Polish black site on x March 2003.100 CIA cables from the Polish site, dated
between 7-9 March, document Mohammed’s torture immediately upon his arrival.101 Mohammed’s
own testimony confirms these dates, and in particular a rendition in early March to a site he
thought was Poland.
After three days in Afghanistan I was dressed in a tracksuit. My eyes were covered
with a cloth tied around my head. A cloth bag was then pulled over my head.
Headphones were placed over my ears – playing music, but not too loud. I was
transported about ten minutes by vehicle and then placed in a plane sitting, leaning
back, with my hands and ankles shackled in a high chair. I fell asleep. The first
proper sleep in over five days.102
N379P left the United States on 1 March 2003, just several hours after Mohammed was captured.
It then flew between Afghanistan and Poland on 7 March 2003, matching Mohammed’s transfer
between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport
Services as the operator, while Jeppesen Dataplan filed flight plans for the circuit. These were
coded as both ATFMEXEMPTAPPROVED and ‘Department of State Support’, and included false
plans to disguise the landing at Szymany.103 Polish flight records, however, document the landing
at Szymany, with the aircraft flying without a flight plan. Two passengers were on board, both
of whom disembarked.104
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart arrive
SourceS
1 Mar 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
22:50
00:34
FAA
2 Mar 03
Washington, DC
Prague, Czech Republic
02:44
09:57
EC; FAA
3 Mar 03
Prague, Czech Republic
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
11:07
16:10
EC; PANSA105
15:50
ATC; EC; PANSA; SG106
Flight, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan
7 Mar 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Szymany, Poland
7 Mar 03
Szymany, Poland
Prague, Czech Republic
18:25
19:16
EC; PANSA
7 Mar 03
Prague, Czech Republic
Glasgow, UK
20:44
22:42
ATC; EC; IMWG107
9 Mar 03
Glasgow, UK
Washington, DC
09:56
16:16
EC; FAA
9 Mar 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:26
19:08
FAA
316
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 20: 23-28 MARCH 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: ABU YASIR AL-JAZA’IRI (#47), AFGHANISTAN TO POLAND
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri was captured in Pakistan in March 2003,108 and was transferred into CIA
detention in Afghanistan that same month, where he was tortured in the Dark Prison.109 He was
then transferred relatively quickly to the black site in Poland, with one CIA cable from the site,
dated between 24-26 March 2003, documenting a request to CIA Headquarters to use ‘enhanced
interrogation techniques’ on al-Jaza’iri.110
N379P flew between Afghanistan and Poland on 25 March 2003, matching al-Jaza’iri’s transfer
between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport
Services as the operator, and Jeppesen Dataplan filed flight plans for the circuit. These included
false plans designed to disguise the flight into Szymany, listing Warsaw as the destination instead.111
However, Polish records document the landing at Szymany, with the aircraft flying in with no
flight plan.112 There was one passenger listed on landing, who disembarked before the aircraft
took off again.113 Flights were given the status STS/ATFMEXEMPTAPPROVED.114
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
23 Mar 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
19:02
19:47
FAA
23 Mar 03
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
22:29
23:35
FAA
24 Mar 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
06:56
12:37
EC; PANSA115
Szymany, Poland
10:10
17:03
ATC; EC;
Flight, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan
25 Mar 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
PANSA; SG116
25 Mar 03
Szymany, Poland
Prague, Czech Republic
17:26
18:12
EC; PANSA
27 Mar 03
Prague, Czech Republic
Washington, DC
18:04
02:46
FAA
28 Mar 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
04:00
04:38
FAA
APPENDIX 2
317
CIRCUIT 21: 25-29 MARCH 2003 (N63MU)
RENDITION: SULEIMAN ABDULLAH (#48), DJIBOUTI TO AFGHANISTAN
On or around 26 March 2003, Suleiman Abdullah was rendered from Djibouti to Afghanistan,
where he was held at the Dark Prison and subjected to sustained torture.117
The CIA began its torture of Mr. Salim [Abdullah] during his rendition, subjecting him
to severe physical and mental pain and suffering through humiliation, extreme
sensory deprivation, and other forms of abusive treatment… CIA personnel first cut
Mr. Salim’s clothes from his body. Once he was naked, they forcibly inserted an
object into his anus, causing him excruciating pain. They photographed him… He was
then dressed in a diaper, a pair of trousers, and a short-sleeved shirt. CIA personnel
stuffed earplugs in his ears, placed a hood over his head, and over those, placed a
pair of goggles and headphones. They cuffed and shackled him. Disorientated and
terrified, Mr. Salim was shoved aboard a small aircraft, chained to the floor between
two guards, and flown some eight or more hours. Upon landing, CIA personnel
unchained Mr. Salim, forced him off the plane, and threw him into the back of a truck.
He was pinned to the floor on his stomach – with someone’s knee pressing into the
small of his back – and driven a short distance down a bumpy dirt track road.118
Suleiman Abdullah’s account
N63MU flew between Djibouti and Afghanistan on 27-28 March 2003, matching Abdullah’s transfer between the two countries. Airborne/FirstFlight operated the aircraft during this circuit, and
Universal Weather and Aviation filed flight plans.119 These included a false flight plan to disguise
the flights from US to East Africa. Billing documents for the circuit include an invoice from
Universal Weather to Airborne,120 an invoice from brokers AirMarketing Services to SportsFlight,121
and an invoice from Capital Aviation to DynCorp.122 They also include a flight log which documents
each of the flights in the circuit.123
Flight data extract For N63mu
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
25 Mar 03
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
21:15
22:02
ATC; FAA
26 Mar 03
Washington, DC
Dakar, Senegal
00:57
08:21
ATC; CSC; EC; FAA124
26 Mar 03
Dakar, Senegal
Nairobi, Kenya
10:40
18:45
ATC; CSC
27 Mar 03
Nairobi, Kenya
Ambouli, Djibouti
19:35
21:42
ATC; CSC
27 Mar 03
Ambouli, Djibouti
Kabul, Afghanistan
22:36
04:03
ATC; CSC
28 Mar 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Frankfurt, Germany
06:45
13:54
ATC; CSC; EC
29 Mar 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Washington, DC
10:09
18:19
ATC; CSC; EC
29 Mar 03
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
19:30
20:14
ATC; FAA
318
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 22: 14-24 MAY 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: LAID SAIDI (#57), MALAWI TO AFGHANISTAN
Laid Saidi has testified that he was captured in Tanzania on 10 May, and held in Malawi for about
a week, before being rendered to Afghanistan in an operation which followed the established
modus operandi for CIA renditions.125
We have been able to independently establish a date range for Saidi’s rendition to Afghanistan.
Said has testified that he was rendered from CIA custody to Tunisia in late spring or early summer 2004, and then immediately returned to Afghanistan when it was realised that he was not
Tunisian. He then spent a further 75 days in CIA custody, before being rendered to Algeria.126
Our investigation has identified both of these flights, which took place 9-10 June 2004 and 26-27
August 2004 respectively (Circuit 46 and Circuit 50). Given that he was held in CIA custody for
460-469 days,127 our calculations show that Saidi entered CIA custody no earlier than 15 May
2003. Further, we have established that was in detention in Afghanistan by 20 May at the latest,
given that one CIA cable from the country, dated between 19-20 May, documents his torture.128
N379P flew from East Africa to Afghanistan between 15-19 May 2003, at a time which matches
Laid Saidi’s transfer into CIA custody. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive
Transport Services as the operator. As part of this circuit, N379P also flew between Afghanistan
and Egypt, and made a return flight from Algeria to Afghanistan. These may have been further
rendition operations.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
14 May 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
16:44
17:23
FAA
14 May 03
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
20:40
03:38
EC; FAA
15 May 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Ambouli, Djibouti
05:00
11:29
EC
Flights, Djibouti → Malawi → Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan
Cairo, Egypt
13:15
18:22
EC
19 May 03
Cairo, Egypt
Porto, Portugal
18:59
23:46
EC
22 May 03
Porto, Portugal
Algiers, Algeria
21:10
22:35
EC
23 May 03
Algiers, Algeria
Kabul, Afghanistan
00:29
07:03
EC
23 May 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Algiers, Algeria
09:03
15:51
EC
23 May 03
Algiers, Algeria
Porto, Portugal
16:42
18:15
EC
24 May 03
Porto, Portugal
Washington, DC
10:54
17:30
EC; FAA
24 May 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
19:39
20:22
FAA
APPENDIX 2
19 May 03
319
CIRCUIT 23: 3-7 JUNE 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: WALID BIN ATTASH (#56), AFGHANISTAN TO POLAND
ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), POLAND TO MOROCCO
RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), POLAND TO MOROCCO
Walid bin Attash was captured together with Ammar al-Baluchi (#55) in Karachi, Pakistan, on 29
April 2003,129 and rendered to CIA custody in Afghanistan 15-16 May 2003, at which point he was
immediately subjected to torture.130 Bin Attash has testified that he was held at this site for around
three weeks (i.e. until around 5-6 June 2003), before being rendered on an aircraft to another
black site.131 CIA cables from the Polish black site make clear that bin Attash was rendered to
this location, where he was detained and tortured throughout July 2003.132
After approximately three weeks in Afghanistan I was transferred to another place. I
was blindfolded and earphones were placed over my ears. I was transported in a
sitting position, shackled by the ankles and by the wrists with my hands in front of
my body…. If I shifted my position too much during the journey somebody hit me by
hand on the head.133
Walid bin Attash
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was held at the Polish black site from December 2002 until June 2003,134
while Ramzi bin al-Shibh was also held at the site from February 2003.135 Then, in June 2003, the
CIA placed both men ‘within an already existing Country [redacted] detention facility.’ This was
seen as a ‘temporary patch’, while discussions continued around the construction of a permanent
CIA facility in the country.136 Our investigation has confirmed definitively that this country was
Morocco.
N379P flew between Afghanistan and Poland on 5 June 2003, and then between Poland
and Morocco on 6 June 2003, matching the transfer dates of bin Attash, al-Nashiri and bin alShibh. Eurocontrol data state that the aircraft was operated by the shell company Premier Executive
Transport Services, while Jeppesen Dataplan filed flight plans for the circuit. These were given
the status STS/STATE and ATFMEXEMPTAPPROVED, and included false plans to and from Warsaw
to disguise the true destination.137 Polish flight records, however, document the landing at Szymany,
as well as the fact that there was one passenger on board, who disembarked.138
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
3 Jun 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
20:47
21:33
FAA
3 Jun 03
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
23:22
06:42
EC; FAA
4 Jun 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
08:33
13:55
EC; PANSA139
320
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Flight, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan
5 Jun 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Szymany, Poland
17:00
23:00
ATC; EC; PANSA; SG140
6 Jun 03
Szymany, Poland
Rabat, Morocco
00:58
04:39
PANSA
6 Jun 03
Rabat, Morocco
Porto, Portugal
05:30
06:45
ATC; EC
7 Jun 03
Porto, Portugal
Washington, DC
09:07
16:26
EC
7 Jun 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:00
18:56
FAA
CIRCUIT 24: 17-21 JUNE 2003 (N614RD)
RENDITION: ZUBAIR (#62), THAILAND TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA SRI LANKA)
Zubair was captured in Thailand on 8 June 2003,141 and held initially in Thai custody.142 He was
then rendered to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan, where cables dated no later than 25 June document his torture.143
N614RD flew from Thailand to Afghanistan on 19-20 June 2003, with a stopover en route in
Sri Lanka. These dates match Zubair’s transfer between the two countries. Universal Weather
and Aviation paid for charges through European airspace, and billing documents for this circuit
include an invoice from AirMarketing to SportsFlight for $243,278.73.144 They also include a flight
log which documents each of the flights in the circuit.145
Flight data extract For N614rd
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
17 Jun 03
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
17:44
18:29
ATC; CSC; FAA
17 Jun 03
Washington, DC
Cold Bay, AL
19:34
03:38
ATC; CSC; FAA
18 Jun 03
Cold Bay, AL
Osaka, Japan
04:35
11:34
ATC; CSC; FAA
19 Jun 03
Osaka, Japan
Bangkok, Thailand
12:40
18:04
ATC; CSC
19 Jun 03
Bangkok, Thailand
Colombo, Sri Lanka
19:20
22:35
ATC; CSC
20 Jun 03
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kabul, Afghanistan
00:12
06:35
ATC; CSC
20 Jun 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Bagram, Afghanistan
08:10
08:19
ATC; CSC
20 Jun 03
Bagram, Afghanistan
Luton, UK
10:24
18:09
ATC; CSC; IMWG146
21 Jun 03
Luton, UK
Washington, DC
12:07
20:26
ATC; CSC; FAA
21 Jun 03
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
22:22
22:59
ATC; CSC; FAA
APPENDIX 2
date
321
CIRCUIT 25: 1-10 JULY 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: HIWA RASHUL (#64), IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN
SAIFULLAH PARACHA, THAILAND TO AFGHANISTAN
Hiwa Rashul was captured in Iraq in June or July 2003, and turned over to the CIA, who subsequently rendered him to Afghanistan.147 He was held in CIA custody for 110-119 days,148 during
which time the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) ruled that he was a ‘protected person’ under the
Geneva Conventions, and therefore had to be returned to Iraq. It has been reported that this
transfer back to Iraq took place on 29 October 2003,149 and this matches a flight between
Afghanistan and Iraq by N379P (Circuit 32). Given this, our calculations show that Rashul’s initial
rendition to Afghanistan took place between 2-11 July 2003.
Saifullah Paracha has testified that he was captured at Bangkok International Airport on 6
July 2003, and driven to a detention facility where he was held ‘for a few days’. He then says that
he was he was rendered from Thailand to Afghanistan, where he was held and interrogated for
15 months before being transferred to Guantánamo Bay.150 A DoD document confirms that the
CIA led the capture operation,151 while the Committee Study states that he was detained in
Thailand on 5 July 2003 and rendered to US military custody at Bagram Airbase ‘shortly
thereafter’.152
N379P flew between Iraq and Afghanistan on 3 July 2003, matching Rashul’s transfer between
the two countries. It then disappears from the flight data until 9 July 2003, when it reappears in
Azerbaijan. This gap in the data would be consistent with a flight from Afghanistan to Thailand
and back in order to render Paracha to Bagram Airbase. There are no other flights into Afghanistan
by known rendition aircraft at that time. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive
Transport Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive SourceS
1 Jul 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
21:23
22:02
FAA
2 Jul 03
Washington, DC
Amman, Jordan
01:43
12:42
EC; FAA
Kabul, Afghanistan
10:15
13:57
EC
Flight, Jordan to Iraq
3 Jul 03
Baghdad, Iraq
Possible return flight, Afghanistan → Thailand → Afghanistan
9 Jul 03
Baku, Azerbaijan
Glasgow, UK
06:24
11:51
EC; IMWG; PANSA153
10 Jul 03
Glasgow, UK
Washington, DC
08:49
15:05
EC; FAA
10 Jul 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:01
18:45
FAA
322
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 26: 21-25 JULY 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: ASADALLAH (#43), AFGHANISTAN TO EGYPT
Asadallah was captured in Quetta, Pakistan, on 12 February 2003,154 and transferred into CIA custody
in Afghanistan before 26 February, by which time he was being tortured.155 He was held in CIA
custody for 150-159 days,156 before being rendered to secret detention in Egypt for around a year.157
Our calculations show that this rendition would have taken place between 12 July – 4 August 2003.
N379P flew between Afghanistan and Egypt on 23 July 2003, matching Asadallah’s transfer
between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive Transport
Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
21 Jul 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
18:58
19:42
FAA
21 Jul 03
Washington, DC
Prague, Czech Republic
21:32
05:03
EC; FAA
22 Jul 03
Prague, Czech Republic
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
06:54
11:50
EC; PANSA158
Flight, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan
23 Jul 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Cairo, Egypt
15:45
21:13
EC
23 Jul 03
Cairo, Egypt
Glasgow, UK
23:06
04:07
EC
25 Jul 03
Glasgow, UK
Washington, DC
08:03
14:30
EC; FAA
25 Jul 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
16:13
16:57
FAA
CIRCUIT 27: 27 JULY – 1 AUGUST 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: SAMR AL-BARQ (#67), AFGHANISTAN TO POLAND
AMMAR AL-BALUCHI (#55), AFGHANISTAN TO POLAND
Samr al-Barq was captured in Pakistan on 15 July 2003,159 and held for around two weeks in
Given that he was held in CIA custody for 80-89 days,161 before being rendered to Jordan on 26
October 2003,162 our calculations confirm that he would have entered CIA custody no earlier than
28 July 2003. Al-Barq was almost immediately transferred onward to Poland, and CIA cables
from the site document his torture from 1 August.163
Ammar al-Baluchi was captured on 29 April 2003, alongside Walid bin Attash (#56), and held
323
APPENDIX 2
Pakistani detention before being rendered to CIA custody at a secret prison in Afghanistan.160
in Pakistani custody ‘for approximately two weeks.’164 Both men were then rendered to the Dark
Prison in Afghanistan and tortured. By early June, bin Attash had been rendered to the Polish
black site (Circuit 23). CIA cables from Afghanistan suggest that al-Baluchi remained in Afghanistan
throughout July,165 and he has testified that at some point ‘after the place of darkness was the
place of sterile, white light… Here they blazed light that was bright and intense because of the
sterile white of the walls, floors and ceilings. Here it felt as if I was “living in a refrigerator”.’166 The
facility described matches what is known about the Polish black site, and our analysis of prisoner
numbers in Poland leads us to conclude that a detainee was moved to the site alongside either
bin Attash (in June) or al-Barq (in July). Al-Baluchi is the most likely person.
N379P flew between Afghanistan and Poland on 28-29 July 2003, matching al-Barq and
(likely) al-Baluchi’s rendition between the two countries. Eurocontrol data show that the aircraft
was operated by the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services, and flight plans were
submitted by Jeppesen Dataplan. These were given the status STS/STATE and STS/
ATFMEXEMPTAPPROVED, included false flight plans to and from Warsaw, disguising the landing
at Szymany.167 Polish records document its actual landing at Szymany.168
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart arrive
SourceS
27 Jul 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
18:47
19:29
FAA
27 Jul 03
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
21:29
04:34
EC; FAA
28 Jul 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
06:45
12:06
EC; PANSA169
00:49
ATC; EC; PANSA; SG170
Flight, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan
29 Jul 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Szymany, Poland
18:30
30 Jul 03
Szymany, Poland
Kabul, Afghanistan
02:42
PANSA
Flight, Afghanistan to Uzbekistan
31 Jul 03
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Glasgow, UK
10:10
16:41
EC
01 Aug 03
Glasgow, UK
Washington, DC
08:01
14:16
EC
01 Aug 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
16:02
16:44
FAA
324
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 28: 12-15 AUGUST 2003 (N85VM)
RENDITION: HAMBALI (#73), THAILAND TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA SRI LANKA)
LILLIE (#72), THAILAND TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA SRI LANKA)
Hambali (Riduan Isamuddin) and Lillie (Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep) were captured in Thailand on
11 August 2003, in a joint operation between the Thai security forces and the CIA.171 CIA cables
confirm that both men were held in Thai custody for a number of days,172 and a short period of
initial detention has been verified by the prisoners themselves.173 We have established that both
men had been rendered to CIA detention in Afghanistan by 15 August, by which time their torture
had begun.174
N85VM left the United States on 12 August, the day after Hambali and Lillie were captured,
and flew a global circuit which included a flight from Thailand to Afghanistan between 13-14
August 2003 (via a stopover in Sri Lanka), matching Hambali and Lillie’s transfer between the
two countries. The aircraft was operated by Richmor Aviation, which filed flight plans with
Eurocontrol. Billing documentation for this circuit includes an invoice from Richmor Aviation to
SportsFlight Air for $301,113.92.175
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
12 Aug 03
Schenectady, NY
Washington, DC
11:05
12:03
FAA
12 Aug 03
Washington, DC
Cold Bay, AL
12 Aug 03
Cold Bay, AL
Osaka, Japan
13-14 Aug 03
Osaka, Japan
Trat, Thailand
CSC
13-14 Aug 03
Trat, Thailand
Colombo, Sri Lanka
CSC
13-14 Aug 03
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kabul, Afghanistan
CSC
14-15 Aug 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Dubai, UAE
CSC
15 Aug 03
Dubai, UAE
Shannon, Ireland
03:15
11:17
CSC; EC; FAA
15 Aug 03
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
12:09
18:36
CSC; EC
15 Aug 03
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
19:46
20:33
FAA
CSC
22:00
05:22
CSC; FAA
APPENDIX 2
325
CIRCUIT 29: 11-18 AUGUST 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: SANAD AL-KAZIMI (#74), UAE TO AFGHANISTAN
Sanad al-Kazimi was captured in Dubai, UAE, in January 2003, and held there for a number of
months.176 No public source gives an account of al-Kazimi’s transfer to CIA custody, although it
has been established that he was held at the Dark Prison in Afghanistan.177 A DoD document
suggests that he was transferred out of CIA custody on 13 May 2004.178 Given that he was held
in CIA detention for 270-279 days,179 our calculations show that he entered CIA custody between
8-17 August 2003.
N379P likely flew between UAE and Afghanistan between 14-17 August 2003, matching alKazimi’s entry into CIA custody and his likely location of initial detention. Although there are no
records which document this flight, the aircraft was on the ground in Dubai on 14 August, and
a flight plan was filed from Uzbekistan to the United Kingdom on 17 August. It is unclear whether
this was a false flight plan, disguising the true flight from Afghanistan, or whether there was an
additional flight from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan not captured in the data. Eurocontrol data lists
the shell company Premier Executive Transport Services as the operator for this circuit.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
11 Aug 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
21:31
22:13
FAA
12 Aug 03
Washington, DC
Porto, Portugal
19:24
01:51
EC; FAA
14 Aug 03
Porto, Portugal
Dubai, UAE
14:18
21:10
EC
Flight, Dubai to Afghanistan
17 Aug 03
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Prestwick, UK
04:27
10:58
EC
18 Aug 03
Prestwick, UK
Washington, DC
10:04
16:23
EC; FAA
18 Aug 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:05
18:43
FAA
326
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 30: 5-13 SEPTEMBER 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: SALAH QARU (#75), JORDAN TO AFGHANISTAN
Salah Qaru was captured in Jakarta, Indonesia, in August 2003, before being transferred to
Jordan, where he was tortured by Jordanian intelligence for approximately 10 days. At this point,
he has testified that he was hooded and shackled, had foam stuffed into his ears, and was taken
to a plane where he was chained to the floor while laid on his back.180 His description of the
prison to which he was taken makes it clear that Qaru was held in the Dark Prison in Afghanistan,181
and other detainees at the site have confirmed that he was held there.182 Mohamed Bashmilah
(#89), who was detained alongside Qaru during their time in CIA custody, has also given a clear
account of the site, matching other descriptions of the Dark Prison.183
It has been reported that Qaru was rendered from CIA custody to Yemen, alongside Bashmilah
and Mohammed al-Asad (#92), on 5 May 2005.184 Although we have not been able to identify the
rendition circuit for this transfer, cross-referencing our calculations for the three men enables
us to independently establish that it took place between 1-7 May 2005.185 Given that Qaru was
held in CIA custody for 600-609 days,186 our calculations show that he was transferred into CIA
custody between 28 August – 15 September 2003.
On 10 September 2003, N379P flew between Jordan and Afghanistan, matching Salah Qaru’s
transfer between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Premier Executive
Transport Services as the operator.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
5 Sep 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
18:56
19:38
FAA
5 Sep 03
Washington, DC
Amman, Jordan
22:56
09:46
EC; FAA
Flight, Jordan to Iraq
6 Sep 03
Baghdad, Iraq
Frankfurt, Germany
13:43
18:57
EC
8 Sep 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Amman, Jordan
20:23
23:56
EC
10 Sep 03
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
01:30
05:46
EC
10 Sep 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Frankfurt, Germany
07:12
13:36
EC; PANSA187
11 Sep 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Baghdad, Iraq
07:54
11:46
EC
12 Sep 03
Aqaba, Jordan
Prestwick, UK
08:27
14:09
EC
12 Sep 03
Prestwick, UK
Washington, DC
15:53
23:00
EC; FAA
13 Sep 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
14:15
14:54
FAA
APPENDIX 2
Flight, Iraq to Jordan
327
CIRCUIT 31: 20-25 SEPTEMBER 2003 (N313P)
RENDITION: HAMBALI (#73), AFGHANISTAN TO ROMANIA
ABU YASIR AL-JAZA’IRI (#47), POLAND TO ROMANIA
SAMR AL-BARQ (#67), POLAND TO ROMANIA
KHALED SHEIKH MOHAMMED (#45), POLAND TO ROMANIA
AMMAR AL-BALUCHI (#55), POLAND TO ROMANIA
WALID BIN ATTASH (#56), POLAND TO ROMANIA
ABU ZUBAYDAH(#1), POLAND TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY
ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), MOROCCO TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY
September 2003 saw a reshuffling of detainees in CIA custody, as facilities were closed and
opened. As acknowledged in the Committee Study, the Polish black site was closed in September
2003, after ‘multiple, ongoing difficulties’ between the host and the CIA.188 Likewise, ‘CIA detainees were transferred to DETENTION SITE BLACK… in the fall of 2003,’189 while the CIA detention
facility at Guantánamo Bay also began holding detainees from September 2003.190
Between 20-25 September 2003, N313P completed a circuit which included stopovers in
Afghanistan, Poland, Romania, Morocco and Guantánamo Bay. One anonymous official labelled
this circuit a ‘five-card straight revealing the program to outsiders: five stops, five secret facilities, all documented’.191 Our investigation has established that this circuit involved the rendition
of Samr al-Barq, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri and Walid bin Attash from Poland
to Romania; the rendition of Abu Zubaydah from Poland to a black site at Guantánamo Bay; and
the rendition of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri from Morocco to Guantánamo Bay. Ammar al-Baluchi
is likely to have been held in Poland from July 2003, and moved to Romania on this flight. It is
also possible that Hambali was rendered from Afghanistan to Romania, although evidence for
this is not definitive.
Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Stevens Express Leasing as the operator, and
Jeppesen Dataplan filed the flight plans. These were coded as STS/STATE and STS/ATFM
EXEMPT APPROVED throughout, and included false flight plans to disguise the landings at
Szymany and Bucharest.192 Polish data confirms the landing in Szymany on 22 September, where
it picked up five passengers.193
328
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Flight data extract For N313P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
20 Sep 03
Kinston, NC
Washington, DC
19:09
19:57
FAA
20 Sep 03
Washington, DC
Prague, Czech Republic 22:02
06:07
EC; FAA
21 Sep 03
Prague, Czech Republic Tashkent, Uzbekistan
07:38
12:36
EC; PANSA194
18:51
ATC; EC; PANSA; SG195
Flight, Uzbekistan to Afghanistan
22 Sep 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Szymany, Poland
13:16
22 Sep 03
Szymany, Poland
Bucharest, Romania
21:00
22 Sep 03
Bucharest, Romania
Rabat, Morocco
23:08
03:06
ATC; EC
23 Sep 03
Rabat, Morocco
Guantánamo Bay
20:10
05:00
AG; EC; FAA197
24 Sep 03
Guantánamo Bay
Providenciales, Caicos
07:59
08:39
FAA
25 Sep 03
Providenciales, Caicos
Washington, DC
13:00
15:48
FAA
25 Sep 03
Washington, DC
Kinston, NC
17:56
18:39
FAA
ATC; EC; PANSA196
APPENDIX 2
329
CIRCUIT 32: 24-30 OCTOBER 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: SAMR AL-BARQ (#67), ROMANIA TO JORDAN
ABU YASIR AL-JAZA’IRI (#47), ROMANIA TO AFGHANISTAN
MOHAMED BASHMILAH (#89), JORDAN TO AFGHANISTAN
HIWA RASHUL (#64), AFGHANISTAN TO IRAQ
ASO HAWLERI (#88), AFGHANISTAN TO IRAQ
N379P flew between a number of detention locations in October 2003, with a series of flights
matching the dates we have established for a number of prisoner transfer operations.
The flight from Romania to Jordan on 25 October matches Samr al-Barq’s transfer between
the two countries. It has been reported that he was rendered to Jordanian custody on 26 October
2003,198 and although this report was unclear where he had been held, we have established that
he was at the Romanian black site during mid-October 2003.199
Our analysis of CIA cables also suggests that Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri was held at the Romanian
black site during mid-October 2003, where he was still being subjected to interrogations.200 We
also know that he was in Afghanistan in early 2004,201 and this circuit is the only flight in our data
between the two countries during this period.
The onward flight from Jordan to Afghanistan on 26 October also matches Mohamed
Bashmilah’s rendition date. Bashmilah was captured in Amman on 21 October 2003, and was
held and repeatedly tortured by Jordanian intelligence in Amman.202 According to Bashmilah’s
own testimony, in the early hours of 26 October he was blindfolded and his hands were tied
behind his back. He was led down a corridor, driven to the airport, and rendered to the Dark
Prison in Afghanistan.203 Bashmilah’s account of the Dark Prison matches that of others, and
other detainees at the site have confirmed that he was held there.204
I was driven for about thirty minutes to the airport. At the airport I was pulled from
the car and placed in a room. I was seated on a chair with my hands still in cuffs and
my blindfold still on. Very shortly thereafter, I was taken violently to another room
where my clothing was rapidly cut off until I was entirely naked. My blindfold was
taken off and strong light beams were directed at my face while someone put their
hand over my eyes. I was not able to see clearly because of this, but I could see
some things in the room by peeking through the fingers of the hand over my face.
There were at least three people there. One of them was the one holding me from
behind and covering my eyes with his hand. I didn’t see the person holding me, but
the other two that I did see were dressed head to toe in black, with black masks
covering their faces and surgical gloves on their hands. They beat me and kicked me,
330
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
roughing me up badly. Another person took pictures of me, and then one of them
forcefully stuck his finger into my anus. I was in severe pain and began to faint.205
Mohamed Bashmilah
Finally, the flight from Afghanistan to Iraq on 29 October matches our information regarding the
rendition of two men – Hiwa Rashul and Aso Hawleri – who had been captured in Iraq, held in
Afghanistan, and then transferred back to Iraq. It has been reported that Rashul was transferred
back to Iraq on 29 October 2003,206 and we have been able to confirm this by identifying an
earlier rendition flight from Iraq to Afghanistan on 3 July 2003 (Circuit 25), which matches with
his known period of time in CIA custody (110-119 days).207
It has been reported that Aso Hawleri was captured by US forces on 10 October 2002, in
Mosul, Iraq.208 We have established that he was transferred into CIA custody on or before 26
October 2003,209 and almost certainly held in a secret prison in Afghanistan. Hawleri was held
by the CIA for 10-19 days,210 and was subsequently rendered back to Iraq.211 Our calculations
show that this second rendition took place between 20 October – 14 November 2003. The flight
by N379P on 29 October is the only flight by a known or suspected rendition aircraft between
Afghanistan and Iraq during this time.
Eurocontrol data state that the aircraft was operated by the shell company Stevens Express
Leasing for this circuit, while Jeppesen Dataplan filed the flight plans.212 These included at least
one false flight plan, filed to disguise the landing at Bucharest.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
24 Oct 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
15:04
15:48
FAA
24 Oct 03
Washington, DC
Prague, Czech Republic
18:03
01:46
EC; FAA; IMWG213
25 Oct 03
Prague, Czech Republic
Bucharest, Romania
20:48
22:16
EC214
25 Oct 03
Bucharest, Romania
Amman, Jordan
23:12
01:10
EC
26 Oct 03
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
04:15
08:25
EC
29 Oct 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Baghdad, Iraq
08:45
12:55
EC
29 Oct 03
Baghdad, Iraq
Porto, Portugal
13:33
20:04
EC
30 Oct 03
Porto, Portugal
Washington, DC
13:00
19:53
EC; FAA
30 Oct 03
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
22:10
22:51
FAA
APPENDIX 2
331
CIRCUIT 33: 13-23 NOVEMBER 2003 (N313P)
RENDITION: MUSTAFA AL-HAWSAWI (#46), AFGHANISTAN TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY (VIA MOROCCO)
IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), AFGHANISTAN TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY (VIA MOROCCO)
Mustafa al-Hawsawi was detained in the Dark Prison in Afghanistan from x March to xx November
2003,215 with CIA cables documenting his detention and torture in the country.216 He was then
‘rendered to another location.’217 Ibn Sheikh al-Libi was also held in the Dark Prison in 2003,
arriving there at the end of the summer and staying for ‘a few months’.218
CIA records cited by the Committee Study reveal that Ibn Sheikh was one of five detainees
held at one of the CIA black sites at Guantánamo Bay between September 2003 and April 2004.219
Other reporting has also placed al-Hawsawi as one of these detainees.220
N313P flew between Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, 21-22 November 2003, via a stopover
in Morocco. It is the only flight in our data between the two countries during the period that the
black sites were open in Guantánamo Bay, and indeed the only flight out of Afghanistan by a
rendition aircraft in November 2003. It is therefore likely that both al-Hawsawi and Ibn Sheikh
were on board this flight. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Stevens Express Leasing as
the operator for this circuit.
Flight data extract For N313P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
13 Nov 03
Kinston, NC
Washington, DC
20:18
21:03
FAA
13 Nov 03
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
23:28
07:27
EC; FAA
14 Nov 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Moscow, Russia
10:19
12:49
EC; PANSA221
14 Nov 03
Moscow, Russia
Frankfurt, Germany
13:58
16:57
EC; PANSA222
17 Nov 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Baghdad, Iraq
09:00
12:55
EC
Flight, Iraq to UAE
19 Nov 03
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Rabat, Morocco
12:31
20:43
EC
19 Nov 03
Rabat, Morocco
Frankfurt, Germany
22:05
01:09
EC
21 Nov 03
Frankfurt, Germany
Kabul, Afghanistan
04:37
10:20
EC; PANSA223
21 Nov 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Rabat, Morocco
13:14
22:22
EC
21 Nov 03
Rabat, Morocco
Guantánamo Bay
23:51
08:12
AG; EC; FAA224
22 Nov 03
Guantánamo Bay
Providenciales, Caicos
10:45
11:05
FAA
23 Nov 03
Providenciales, Caicos
Washington, DC
13:45
16:42
FAA
23 Nov 03
Washington, DC
Kinston, NC
18:18
19:01
FAA
332
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 34: 2-4 DECEMBER 2003 (N379P)
RENDITION: RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), MOROCCO TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY
Ramzi bin al-Shibh was held in secret detention in Morocco alongside Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
(#26) for several months from June 2003. By December 2003, both men had been ‘transferred
out of Country [redacted] to the CIA detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.’225 Our cable
analysis has established that al-Nashiri was rendered from Morocco in September 2003 (Circuit
31),226 suggesting that bin al-Shibh was held at the site until December.
N379P flew between Morocco and Guantánamo Bay on 3 December 2003, matching bin
al-Shibh’s transfer. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Stevens Express Leasing as the
operator for this circuit.
Flight data extract For N379P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
2 Dec 03
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
13:18
14:00
FAA
2 Dec 03
Washington, DC
Porto, Portugal
15:30
21:29
EC; FAA
3 Dec 03
Porto, Portugal
Rabat, Morocco
19:11
20:23
EC
3 Dec 03
Rabat, Morocco
Guantánamo Bay
21:42
05:29
AG; EC; FAA
4 Dec 03
Guantánamo Bay
Washington, DC
07:22
10:17
FAA
CIRCUIT 35: 15-18 DECEMBER 2003 (N85VM)
RENDITION: ALI SAEED AWADH (#90), DJIBOUTI TO AFGHANISTAN
Although little is known about Ali Saeed Awadh, our analysis of CIA cables indicates that he was
held in Afghanistan between at least December 2003 and March 2004.227 He was held for 170179 days,228 before being released with a cash payment.229
Our investigation has identified two rendition flights between Djibouti and Afghanistan, 179
days apart, which fit with Awadh’s period of CIA custody, and not with any other prisoner. In the
was operated by Richmor Aviation, and billing documents for this circuit include invoices from
Air Routing to Richmor Aviation for a range of trip planning services,230 an invoice from Richmor
Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $216,984.61,231 and invoices to Richmor from Eurocontrol and
NATS, charging for overflight fees.232
333
APPENDIX 2
first of these, N85VM flew between Djibouti and Afghanistan on 17 December 2003. The aircraft
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart arrive
SourceS
15 Dec 03
Columbia County, NY
Washington, DC
18:10
FAA
15 Dec 03
Washington, DC
Madrid, Spain
21:03
16 Dec 03
Madrid, Spain
Luxor, Egypt
05:19
17 Dec 03
Luxor, Egypt
Ambouli, Djibouti
CSC
17 Dec 03
Ambouli, Djibouti
Kabul, Afghanistan
CSC
17 Dec 03
Kabul, Afghanistan
Shannon, Ireland
11:23
19:28
CSC; EC; IMWG233
18 Dec 03
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
10:12
16:37
CSC; EC; FAA
18 Dec 03
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
18:15
19:06
FAA
19:03
CSC
09:51
CSC; EC
CIRCUIT 36: 5-10 JANUARY 2004 (N313P)
RENDITION: HASSAN BIN ATTASH (#10), JORDAN TO AFGHANISTAN
ALI AL-HAJJ AL-SHARQAWI (#93), JORDAN TO AFGHANISTAN
MOHAMMED AL-ASAD (#92), DJIBOUTI TO AFGHANISTAN
In early January 2004, three men were rendered into CIA custody in Afghanistan: Mohammed
al-Asad, who had been secretly detained in Djibouti for a number of days; and Hassan bin Attash
and Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi, who had both been held and tortured by Jordanian intelligence for
16 and 23 months respectively.234 Once in Afghanistan, all three were detained at the Dark Prison.
Al-Asad was in Djiboutian custody until at least 3 January 2004,235 and was rendered to
CIA custody either at the same time as, or before, al-Sharqawi.236 CIA cables document that
al-Sharqawi was rendered to CIA custody between 1-9 January 2004,237 confirming his own
account.238 Hassan bin Attash has stated that he was moved from Jordan to Afghanistan around
7 January 2004.239
After riding in the car with these guards for about twenty or twenty-five minutes,
we arrived at an airport, where I was assaulted and experienced very humiliating,
painful and terrifying treatment. I was pulled roughly out of the car. I was lifted off
the ground and my blindfold was ripped off. I saw about five black-clad individuals
whose faces were concealed by balaclavas. They tore off all of my clothing. One
shoved a finger into my rectum. They photographed me naked. Then they put a
diaper on me and… plugged my ears with cotton, placed headphones and a hood
over my head, and securely taped the hood. They chained my hands, waist, and
feet. I was blind, deaf, and could barely walk. I was in severe pain and felt deeply
334
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
humiliated and weak… After experiencing this terrible treatment, I half-walked and
was half-carried onto a waiting plane by people holding me on both sides. I was
forced to lie on my back on the floor, and then was strapped down around my legs
and waist… The position they put me in was very painful. I could not shift my
position as I could barely move because of the straps. I have a back injury from
before my detention, and I asked to be allowed to change positions to alleviate the
pain but the guards did nothing. I even tried using English, pleading ‘Help me, help
me please!’ but no one did anything.240
Mohammed al-Asad
N313P flew between Jordan and Afghanistan on 8 January 2004, matching bin Attash and alSharqawi’s transfer between the two countries, and al-Asad’s transfer to CIA custody. Moreover,
the aircraft had landed in Jordan two days earlier, on 6 January, and – while it disappears from
the flight data for two days – it is possible that it either undertook a roundtrip to Djibouti in this
time, or met with another aircraft from Djibouti.241 Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Stevens
Express Leasing as the operator.
He was taken to the airport in a black hood that came down to his shirt. When [he
and the Americans] arrived at the airport, they cut his clothes off, searched his anus
and gave him diapers, shorts, a sleeveless shirt and plastic handcuffs. He stood in
the room for an hour in handcuffs tied to the walls. They took pictures of him. Then
they came for him, tied his feet together and tied his hands together. One other
man was thrown into a luggage cart, and Shergawi was picked up lke a sack and
thrown on top of him. Then they carried him like a sack and threw him into the
plane. Two men were already in the plane, and they were American.242
Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi
Flight data extract For N313P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
5 Jan 04
Kinston, NC
Washington, DC
16:04
16:45
FAA
5 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Frankfurt, Germany
18:57
02:30
EC; FAA
6 Jan 04
Frankfurt, Germany
Amman, Jordan
04:03
07:51
EC
Return flight, Jordan → Djibouti → Jordan
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
01:15
05:12
EC
8 Jan 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Prague, Czech Republic
07:28
13:46
EC
9 Jan 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Washington, DC
15:21
23:52
EC; FAA; IMWG243
10 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Kinston, NC
16:49
17:28
FAA
335
APPENDIX 2
8 Jan 04
CIRCUIT 37: 15-28 JANUARY 2004 (N313P)
RENDITION: BINYAM MOHAMED (#95), MOROCCO TO AFGHANISTAN
SALEH DI’IKI (#94), MOROCCO TO AFGHANISTAN
JAMAL BOUDRAA (#3), AFGHANISTAN TO ALGERIA
KHALED EL-MASRI (#97), MACEDONIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA IRAQ)
HASSAN GHUL (#98), IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN AND THEN TO ROMANIA
MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM (#99), AFGHANISTAN TO ROMANIA
According to the Committee Study, on xx January 2004 Binyam Mohamed was rendered from
proxy detention in [redacted], where he had been held since xx July 2002, to CIA custody.244 One
CIA cable from Afghanistan, dated between 19-31 January 2004, details the rendition,245 and
Mohamed himself has testified that he was rendered from Morocco to the Dark Prison in
Afghanistan on 22 January 2004, alongside other detainees.246
Saleh Di’iki has testified that he was captured in Mauritania on 12 October 2003, and held
for 4-5 weeks before being rendered to Morocco. He was held at this site for another month,
before being rendered to Afghanistan in January 2004 alongside another detainee.247 Di’iki was
held by the CIA for 210-219 days,248 before being rendered to Libya alongside Mohammed alShoroeiya. Our investigation has identified the rendition circuit which transferred Di’iki back to
Libya, on 22 August 2004 (Circuit 49). Our calculations show that he was therefore transferred
into CIA custody between 16-25 January 2004.
After a month, his guards took him to a place where he could hear a plane. This was
sometime in early January 2004, possibly January 7. Another detainee was there –
he could hear him walking – and he counted six Amerian guards. They used mainly
sign language, but sometimes they said a word or two in English, which they spoke
with an American accent. They wore military uniforms with American flags on them
and had masks on their faces… They told him to bathe, and if he didn’t do it himself,
they said they would bathe him. His Moroccan handcuffs were removed and he was
re-handcuffed and his legs shackled. They cut off all his clothes using sissors… Then
they diapered him, put patches over his eyes, plugs in his ears, and a hood over his
head. Then they wrapped him in what he described as adhesive tape all around his
head… Then they took him to the plane and threw him in the back. They lay him on
one side and bound him by rope. It was a very long trip.249
Saleh Di’iki
Jamal Boudraa was rendered to CIA custody between 1-2 May 2002 (Circuit 6), and held for
630-639 days.250 Our calculations show that he was transferred out of CIA detention between
21-31 January 2004, whereupon he was handed over to Algerian authorities.251
336
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
On xx January 2004, Khaled el-Masri was rendered by the CIA to ‘a Country [redacted] facility used by the CIA for detention purposes.’252 This was clearly in Afghanistan: CIA cables from
country discussing the rendition are dated between 24-31 January, and make clear that he was
in Afghanistan by 27 January.253
Once outside [the hotel], two men approached me. They grabbed hold of my arms
and a third man then handcuffed and blindfolded me… I was placed in the jeep and
it drove off… After about half an hour, the vehicle came to a halt... As I was led into
[a] room, I felt two people violently grab my arms, one from the right side and the
other from the left. They bent both my arms backwards. This violent motion caused
me a lot of pain. I was beaten severely from all sides. I then felt someone else grab
my head with both hands so I was unable to move. Others sliced my clothes off. I
was left in my underwear. Even this they attempted to take off. I tried to resist at
first, shouting out loudly for them to stop, but my efforts were in vain. The pain from
the beatings was severe. I was terrified and utterly humiliated… I was then pulled to
my feet and pushed into the corner of a room. My feet were tied together, and then,
for the first time since the hotel, they took off my blindfold…. I saw seven to eight
men standing around me, all dressed in black, with hood and black gloves. I was
dressed in a diaper, over which they fitted a dark blue sports suit with short sleeves
and legs. I was once again blindfolded, my ears were plugged with cotton, and
headphones were placed over my ears. A bag was placed over my head and a belt
around my waist. My hands were chained to the belt. They put something hard over
my nose. Because of the bag, breathing was getting harder and harder for me. I
struggled for breath and began to panic. I pictured myself like the images I had
seen in the media of the Muslims that were brought to Guantánamo.254
Khaled el-Masri
Hassan Ghul was rendered from US military custody in Iraq to the Dark Prison in Afghanistan on
xx January 2004, with CIA cables from Afghanistan between 21-31 January discussing the transfer.255 After less than two days, during which time he was held at both the Dark Prison and a nearby
facility, Ghul was rendered to the Romanian black site.256 One cable from the Romanian site, dated
20-31 January 2004, documents a request to begin the torture of Ghul.
Muhammad Ibrahim was transferred into CIA custody between 25-27 January 2004. There
were two flights by CIA rendition aircraft into Romania during this time, and this circuit was one
of them. The profile for the alternative circuit (Circuit 39) includes a full discussion of the calcuN313P flew a circuit, 15-28 January 2004, that matches with all of these prisoner transfers.
Thus, it flew between Morocco and Afghanistan on 22 January, between Afghanistan and Algeria
on 22 January, between Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan on 24 January and between Afghanistan
and Romania on 26 January 2004. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Stevens Express
Leasing as the operator, while Jeppesen Dataplan filed the flight plans. These included false
337
APPENDIX 2
lations regarding Ibrahim.
flight plans into Romania, disguising the landing at Bucharest.257 Further documents obtained
from a Guardia Civil inquiry confirm both overnight landings in Mallorca, and include a number
of invoices, hotel records and flight communications.258
Flight data extract For N313P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
15 Jan 04
Kinston, NC
Washington, DC
23:14
00:00
FAA
16 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Shannon, Ireland
01:25
07:29
EC; FAA
17 Jan 04
Shannon, Ireland
Larnaca, Cyprus
10:33
15:03
EC
21 Jan 04
Larnaca, Cyprus
Rabat, Morocco
18:39
23:48
EC
22 Jan 04
Rabat, Morocco
Kabul, Afghanistan
02:05
09:58
EC
22 Jan 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Algiers, Algeria
12:09
19:54
EC
22 Jan 04
Algiers, Algeria
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
21:36
22:08
EC; GC
23 Jan 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Skopje, Macedonia
17:40
19:56
EC; GC
24 Jan 04
Skopje, Macedonia
Baghdad, Iraq
01:30
05:53
EC
24 Jan 04
Baghdad, Iraq
Kabul, Afghanistan
07:15
11:14
EC
25 Jan 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Bucharest, Romania
18:23
23:51
EC259
26 Jan 04
Bucharest, Romania
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
01:03
03:45
EC; GC
28 Jan 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Washington, DC
10:08
18:41
EC; FAA; GC
28 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Kinston, NC
20:56
21:36
FAA
338
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 38: 20-29 JANUARY 2004 (N8068V)
RENDITION: KHALED AL-MAQTARI (#96), IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN
UNKNOWN DETAINEE(S), IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN
On 22 January 2004, Khaled al-Maqtari was rendered from Iraq, where he had been tortured for
over a week by US forces in Abu Ghraib prison, to Afghanistan, where he was held for several
months in the Dark Prison. Al-Maqtari has stated that this transfer took place alongside one,
possibly two, other detainees.
They do not talk, not even a word, the same as the ninjas in the secret prisons. It is
clear that they have a lot of experience. They know what they are doing, and each of
them had a specific role…. Whenever they put on or take off the chains, they grab
you harshly, so that we do not escape. They were very strong, everything was
horrifying, they even closed the doors violently to terrify us. I was not able to see
anything, everything was black. They did not want you to be comfortable; they
wanted us to be in an atmosphere of terror all the way there.260
N8068V (previously registered as N379P) flew between Iraq and Afghanistan on 22 January 2004,
matching al-Maqtari’s transfer between the two countries. Eurocontrol data lists the shell company
Stevens Express Leasing as the operator, and flight plans were filed by Jeppesen Dataplan.261
Flight data extract For N8068v
date
From
to
dePart arrive SourceS
20 Jan 04
Washington, DCw
Shannon, Ireland
15:06
21:00
DTTAS; EC; FAA
20 Jan 04
Shannon, Ireland
Larnaca, Cyprus
22:16
02:38
BMVBS; DTTAS; EC262
21 Jan 04
Larnaca, Cyprus
Baghdad, Iraq
23:04
00:10
EC
22 Jan 04
Baghdad, Iraq
Kabul, Afghanistan
02:15
06:08
EC
22 Jan 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Prague, Czech Republic
08:15
14:01
ATC; EC
25 Jan 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Geneva, Switzerland
11:05
12:16
BMVBS; EC263
29 Jan 04
Geneva, Switzerland
Washington, DC
09:21
17:04
EC; FAA
29 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
19:26
20:11
FAA
APPENDIX 2
339
CIRCUIT 39: 25-28 JANUARY 2004 (N85VM)
RENDITION: MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM (#99), JORDAN TO ROMANIA (ALTERNATIVE)
Muhammad Ibrahim was transferred into CIA custody on or after 24 January 2004.264 We have
also established that he was detained in the Romanian black site from, at the latest, 27 January:
CIA cables from the site document the use of sleep deprivation for three days straight, from
27-30 January 2004.265 Ibrahim was held in CIA custody for 260-269 days,266 and we have identified his likely rendition flight out of Romania on 20 October 2004 (Circuit 52). Our calculations
show that he was therefore brought into the programme between 25-27 January 2004.
There were two flights by CIA rendition aircraft into Romania during this time. This one, by
N85VM, flew between Jordan and Romania, landing on 26 January 2004. The other was by N313P
(Circuit 37). Eurocontrol data shows that Richmor Aviation operated N85VM. Billing documentation for this circuit includes an invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $202,248.50.267
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
25 Jan 04
Palm Beach, FL
Washington, DC
11:30
13:21
FAA
25 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Geneva, Switzerland
14:35
22:11
CSC; EC; FAA
25 Jan 04
Geneva, Switzerland
Doha, Qatar
22:57
04:12
CSC; EC
26 Jan 04
Doha, Qatar
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
CSC
26 Jan 04
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Amman, Jordan
CSC
26 Jan 04
Amman, Jordan
Bucharest, Romania
CSC
27 Jan 04
Bucharest, Romania
Barcelona, Spain
00:26
03:18
CSC; EC
28 Jan 04
Barcelona, Spain
Washington, DC
09:09
17:36
CSC; EC; FAA
28 Jan 04
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
19:03
20:01
FAA
340
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 40: 6-14 MARCH 2004 (N313P)
RENDITION: ABDEL HAKIM BELHADJ, THAILAND TO LIBYA
FATIMA BOUDCHAR, THAILAND TO LIBYA
ABU ‘ABDALLAH (#103), IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN
Between 6-14 March 2004, N313P completed a circuit involving stops in several key destinations,
including Libya, Thailand, Iraq and Afghanistan. These movements match with the rendition of
Abdel Hakim Belhadj and Fatima Boudchar from Thailand to Libya, and Abu ‘Abdallah from Iraq
to Afghanistan.
A memo from the CIA to Libyan intelligence, discovered in Libya in September 2011, sets out
the planned route for the aircraft for the purposes of rendering Belhadj from Thailand to Libya:
the aircraft would leave Tripoli at 13:30 on 7 March, and fly to the Seychelles, landing in the evening. It would stay there overnight, with the memo advising the accompanying Libyan agents to
‘have the proper documentation for that location’ in order to be allowed to leave the aircraft. The
itinerary then had the aircraft leaving the Seychelles in the afternoon of 8 March, flying direct to
Bangkok and landing at 20:30. The aircraft was then scheduled to return to Tripoli two hours
later, stopping on the island of Diego Garcia en route for refuelling.268
Before being transferred out of the detention centre for rendition to Libya, Ms
Bouchar (sic) was forced onto a stretcher. US agents in balaclavas proceeded to
wind tape around her body from her feet to her neck, fixing her to the stretcher. The
agents taped one of her hands so that it pressed tightly against her womb. Her
eyes were also taped over – when the tape was applied, her left eye had been
closed, however, her right eye had been open and it remained taped open for the
next 17 or so hours. Ms Bouchar was in such excruciating pain that she almost lost
consciousness. She was hooded, made to wear ear-defenders and driven back to
the airport. She had no idea whether her husband was being transferred with her,
indeed whether he was dead or alive.269
Fatima Boudchar
The question of whether or not this rendition operation used British territory in Diego Garcia for
refuelling has generated significant public interest, not least because of legal action taken against
the Commissioner for the territory.270 The UK government has acknowledged possession of
The government has also consistently denied that any rendition flights landed in Diego Garcia
during March 2004,272 and a recent internal Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) report
found no evidence in the flight records for any such landing on the island.273
Whether or not the aircraft landed on Diego Garcia, it was scheduled to touchdown in Tripoli
at 16:30 on 9 March. It then flew to Palma de Mallorca, where it stayed on the ground for 48 hours.
341
APPENDIX 2
landing records from the island for March 2004, but has consistently refused to release these.271
Documents obtained from a Guardia Civil inquiry confirm the overnight landing in Mallorca before
the rendition, and include a number of invoices, hotel records and flight communications.274
N313P then flew between Iraq and Afghanistan on 11-12 March, probably with Abu ‘Abdallah
on board. Abu ‘Abdallah is likely to be the Saudi prisoner who, according to Khaled al-Maqtari (#96),
had been captured in Iraq in February 2004 and transferred to Afghanistan.275 Calculations show
that Abu ‘Abdallah was rendered to CIA custody between 10-31 March 2004, fitting closely with
this flight.
Eurocontrol data lists the shell company Stevens Express Leasing as the operator, while
Jeppesen Dataplan filed the flight plans.
Flight data extract For N313P
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
6 Mar 04
Kinston, NC
Washington, DC
21:48
22:28
FAA
7 Mar 04
Washington, DC
Tripoli, Libya
02:51
12:01
EC; FAA
Return flight, Libya → Thailand → Libya. CIA memo has full planned schedule,
including landing in Seychelles and Diego Garcia for refuelling.276
9 Mar 04
Tripoli, Libya
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
16:47
18:57
EC; GC
11 Mar 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Baghdad, Iraq
16:38
20:47
EC; GC
11 Mar 04
Baghdad, Iraq
Kabul, Afghanistan
22:45
02:42
EC
13 Mar 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Larnaca, Cyprus
04:15
08:58
EC
14 Mar 04
Larnaca, Cyprus
Shannon, Ireland
06:40
12:18
EC
14 Mar 04
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
14:18
21:28
EC; FAA
14 Mar 04
Washington, DC
Kinston, NC
22:33
23:18
FAA
342
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 41: 6-13 MARCH 2004 (N8068V)
RENDITION: GOULED DOURAD (#102), DJIBOUTI TO AFGHANISTAN
Gouled Dourad was captured in Djibouti on 4 March 2004,277 held there, and then rendered to
CIA custody on xx March 2004.278 His whereabouts during his time in CIA detention are unknown.
N8068V (previously registered as N379P) left the US two days after Dourad’s capture, heading to Djibouti. It then flew between Djibouti and Afghanistan on 8-9 March 2004, matching
Dourad’s rendition into CIA custody. Further flights between Afghanistan and Morocco, and
Morocco and Guantánamo Bay, may have included further renditions, although the Moroccan
facility was closed at that point while all five CIA detainees held at Guantánamo Bay appear to
have been there by early February 2004 at the very latest.279 Eurocontrol data lists the shell
company Stevens Express Leasing as the operator.
Flight data extract For N8068v
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
6 Mar 04
Johnston County, NC
Washington, DC
14:55
15:34
FAA
6 Mar 04
Washington, DC
Shannon, Ireland
18:14
00:08
EC; FAA
7 Mar 04
Shannon, Ireland
Ambouli, Djibouti
01:15
08:18
EC
8 Mar 04
Ambouli, Djibouti
Kabul, Afghanistan
19:15
01:40
EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Morocco
11 Mar 04
Rabat, Morocco
Guantánamo Bay
22:03
06:15
AG; EC; FAA280
12 Mar 04
Guantánamo Bay
Providenciales, Caicos
07:44
08:17
FAA
13 Mar 04
Providenciales, Caicos
Washington, DC
14:54
17:33
FAA
13 Mar 04
Washington, DC
Johnston County, NC
18:42
19:23
FAA
APPENDIX 2
343
CIRCUIT 42: 11-13 APRIL 2004 (N85VM)
RENDITION: ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO ROMANIA
ABU ZUBAYDAH (#1), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO ROMANIA OR MOROCCO
MUSTAFA AL-HAWSAWI (#46), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO ROMANIA OR MOROCCO
IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO MOROCCO
RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO MOROCCO
In April 2004, five prisoners who had been held at the CIA secret prison in Guantánamo Bay for
a number of months were rendered to other secret detention facilities.281 These transfers came
as the US Supreme Court was considering whether US prisoners on the island had habeas corpus
rights, a legal decision which would have impacted on CIA prisoners in Guantánamo Bay.282
According to one US official speaking anonymously, ‘anything that could expose these detainees
to individuals outside the government was a nonstarter,’ necessitating their removal from
Guantánamo Bay.283 The five prisoners transferred from the island – Mustafa al-Hawsawi, Abu
Zubaydah, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Ibn Sheikh al-Libi – were rendered
to Romania and Morocco.
There were two flights from Guantánamo Bay during this period. The first, by N85VM, flew
between Guantánamo Bay, Romania and Morocco on 12 April 2004. The second (Circuit 43),
flew direct to Morocco. We have established that al-Nashiri was rendered directly to Romania,
and so he will have been on the first of these. The other four men will have been on either of
these flights. In addition, this operation may have been transferring detainees from secret detention in Romania to further secret detention in Morocco.
Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was operated by Richmor Aviation. A false flight
plan was filed from Tenerife to the Romanian city of Constanta, disguising the true flight into
Bucharest. Billing documentation for this circuit includes an invoice from Richmor Aviation to
SportsFlight Air for $165,957.96.284
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
11 Apr 04
Schenectady, NY
Washington, DC
22:40
23:50
FAA
12 Apr 04
Washington, DC
Guantánamo Bay
00:51
03:58
CSC; FAA
12 Apr 04
Guantánamo Bay
Tenerife, Canaries
08:02
14:40
AG; CSC; FAA285
12 Apr 04
Tenerife, Canaries
Bucharest, Romania
17:09
CSC; EC
12 Apr 04
Bucharest, Romania
Rabat, Morocco
22:53
CSC; EC286
13 Apr 04
Rabat, Morocco
Washington, DC
04:09
11:51
CSC; EC; FAA
13 Apr 04
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
13:33
14:20
FAA
344
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 43: 12-14 APRIL 2004 (N368CE)
RENDITION: ABU ZUBAYDAH (#1), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO MOROCCO (ALTERNATIVE)
MUSTAFA AL-HAWSAWI (#46), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO MOROCCO (ALTERNATIVE)
IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO MOROCCO (ALTERNATIVE)
RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), GUANTÁNAMO BAY TO MOROCCO (ALTERNATIVE)
In April 2004, five prisoners who had been held at the CIA secret prison in Guantánamo Bay for
a number of months were rendered to other secret detention facilities.287 These transfers came
as the US Supreme Court was considering whether US prisoners on the island had habeas corpus
rights, a legal decision which would have impacted on CIA prisoners in Guantánamo Bay.288
According to one US official speaking anonymously, ‘anything that could expose these detainees
to individuals outside the government was a nonstarter,’ necessitating their removal from
Guantánamo Bay.289 The five prisoners transferred from the island – Mustafa al-Hawsawi, Abu
Zubaydah, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Ibn Sheikh al-Libi – were rendered
to Romania and Morocco.
There were two flights from Guantánamo Bay during this period. The first (Circuit 42), flew
to Romania and Morocco, and will have rendered al-Nashiri to Romania. This second operation,
by N368CE, flew direct between Guantánamo Bay and Morocco, and is likely to have rendered
some or all of the remaining four men. Eurocontrol data lists Club Excellence as the operator.
Billing documents for this circuit include an invoice from SportsFlight Air to Computer Sciences
Corporation for $17,725.290
Flight data extract For N368ce
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
12 Apr 04
Wilmington, NC
Washington, DC
20:56
21:42
FAA
13 Apr 04
Washington, DC
Guantánamo Bay
01:14
04:41
FAA
13 Apr 04
Guantánamo Bay
Cape Verde
12:00
18:03
FAA
Flight, Cape Verde to Morocco
14 Apr 04
Rabat, Morocco
Santa Maria, Azores
00:01
02:41
EC
14 Apr 04
Santa Maria, Azores
Washington, DC
04:03
10:41
EC; FAA
14 Apr 04
Washington, DC
Wilmington, NC
11:55
12:53
FAA
APPENDIX 2
345
CIRCUIT 44: 3-7 MAY 2004 (N85VM)
RENDITION: MUSTAFA EL-MADAGHI, MOROCCO TO LIBYA (VIA ITALY)
Mustafa el-Madaghi was captured in Mauritania on 5 February 2004, and held there until the
end of March. He was then transferred to Morocco, where he was held until 5 May 2004.291 One
CIA memo to its Libyan counterparts, dated 15 April 2004, makes it clear that the CIA had access
to el-Madaghi while he was detained in Morocco, and that ‘our service is in a position to deliver
[him] to your physical custody, similar to what we have done with other senior LIFG members in
the recent past. We respectfully request an expression of interest from your service regarding
taking custody of [el-Madaghi].’292 On 5 May 2004, el-Madaghi says he was rendered to Libya,
on a flight which stopped for refuelling en route.293
N85VM flew between Morocco and Libya, via a stopover in Italy, on 4-5 May 2004, matching
el-Madaghi’s transfer between the two countries. Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was
operated by Richmor Aviation, and billing documentation for this circuit includes an invoice from
Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $197,192.10 for the trip.294 Further documents obtained
from a Guardia Civil inquiry confirm the overnight landing in Mallorca before the rendition, and
include a number of invoices, hotel records and flight communications.295
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
3 May 04
Schenectady, NY
Washington, DC
13:25
14:26
FAA
3 May 04
Washington, DC
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
15:03
23:04
CSC; EC; FAA; GC
4 May 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Rabat, Morocco
21:31
22:52
CSC; EC; GC
4 May 04
Rabat, Morocco
Sigonella AB, Italy
23:50
02:35
EC
5 May 04
Sigonella AB, Italy
Naples, Italy
04:56
5 May 04
Naples, Italy
Tripoli, Libya
06:48
08:03
CSC; EC
5 May 04
Tripoli, Libya
Tenerife, Canaries
08:44
13:06
CSC; EC
7 May 04
Tenerife, Canaries
Washington, DC
06:17
13:14
CSC; EC; FAA
7 May 04
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
15:15
16:04
FAA
346
EC
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 45: 25-29 MAY 2004 (N982RK)
RENDITION: KHALED EL-MASRI (#97), AFGHANISTAN TO ALBANIA
Khaled el-Masri was rendered to CIA custody in Afghanistan on 24 January 2004 (Circuit 37),
and held for 120-129 days.296 Calculation shows that he was transferred out of CIA detention
between 23 May – 1 June 2004, and the Committee Study notes that he was transferred to
Albania on xx May 2004.297
The next morning, May 28, the doctor and the American prison director arrived in
my cell. I was handcuffed, shackled, and blindfolded before being led outside and
put inside a jeep. I was driven for about ten minutes and then taken inside a large
empty shipping container. They sat me down in a chair so that I was unable to see
out and was forced to face the wall. From this position I could hear the sound of an
approaching aircraft… My hands were cuffed again. My ears were plugged and
headphones were placed over my ears. I was blindfolded again and led back to the
jeep. We drove a short distance to the waiting airplane. Once inside I was chained
to the seat… When the plane landed… I was then bundled out of the plane and
placed in the backseat of what I sensed to be a Japanese-made minivan-type
vehicle…I was driven in the car, up and down mountains, on paved and unpaved
roads for more than three hours. The vehicle came to a halt and I was aware of the
three men in the car getting out, closing the doors and then three men climbing in
to the vehicle. All of them had South European/Slavic accents, but said very little.
The vehicle proceeded to drive for another three hours, again up and down
mountains and on paved and unpaved roads. Eventually, the vehicle was brought to
a halt. I was taken out of the car and before my blindfold was removed, one of my
captors turned me around. He then removed the blindfold, sliced the cuffs from my
wrists, gave me my suitcase and passport, and directed me to walk down a path
without turning back. I heard the car leave and began to walk as instructed. It was
dark. No one was around. As I walked I feared that I was about to be shot in the
back and left to die.298
N982RK flew between Afghanistan and Albania on 28 May 2004, matching el-Masri’s transfer
between the two countries. Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was operated by Richmor
Aviation, and billing documents for the circuit include an invoice from SportsFlight Air to Computer
planning services (including transport to and from the Golden Bay Beach Hotel in Cyprus).300
347
APPENDIX 2
Sciences Corporation,299 and invoices from Air Routing to Richmor Aviation for a range of trip
Flight data extract For N982rK
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
25 May 04
Columbia County, NY
Washington, DC
21:34
22:26
FAA
26 May 04
Washington, DC
Shannon, Ireland
10:51
17:02
EC; FAA
26 May 04
Shannon, Ireland
Larnaca, Cyprus
17:46
22:27
EC; FAA
27 May 04
Larnaca, Cyprus
Kabul, Afghanistan
21:44
01:52
EC
28 May 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kucove, Albania
03:45
10:06
EC
28 May 04
Kucove, Albania
Sarajevo, Bosnia
and Herzegovina
10:22
11:08
EC
28 May 04
Sarajevo, Bosnia
and Herzegovina
Prague, Czech Republic
11:52
12:55
EC
29 May 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Reykjavik, Iceland
09:07
12:20
EC; FAA;
ISAVIA
29 May 04
Reykjavik, Iceland
Washington, DC
17:47
23:15
FAA; IMWG;
ISAVIA301
29 May 04
Washington, DC
Columbia County, NY
20:34
21:18
FAA
CIRCUIT 46: 7-12 JUNE 2004 (N982RK)
RENDITION: LAID SAIDI (#57), AFGHANISTAN TO TUNISIA AND BACK (VIA JORDAN)
Laid Saidi was rendered into CIA custody in Afghanistan between 15-19 May 2003 (Circuit 22),
and held in CIA detention for 460-469 days.302 He was then transferred to Algeria, where he was
handed over to Algerian authorities and eventually released.303 We have identified the rendition
circuit for this transfer, which took place on 26 August 2004 (Circuit 50). However, this rendition
followed an earlier attempt to transfer Saidi to his country of origin: he has testified that, in late
spring or early summer 2004, he was rendered from Afghanistan to Tunisia before the CIA realised he was not in fact Tunisian, and took him back to Afghanistan.304 The Tunisian government
has confirmed that these events took place on 9-10 June 2004.
Laid Saidi had arrived with a ‘special flight’ on the 9 June 2004, where he was
presented by four foreign security officials to Tunisian authorities at the airport of
Tunis Carthage under the name of Ramzi Ben Fredj. The Tunisian security services
conducted an audit and concluded that the person had usurped the identity of the
real Ramzi Ben Fredj. The person then acknowledged that he was actually Laid Saidi.
The next day, on the 10 June 2004, Saidi was sent back with the same special flight
to a ‘foreign country’; he was then still accompanied by the same foreign agents.305
348
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
N982RK flew a return trip from Afghanistan to Tunisia, 9-10 June 2004, matching Saidi’s aborted
transfer between the two countries. Eurocontrol data shows that Richmor Aviation operated the
aircraft for this circuit, and billing documentation includes billing records from SportsFlight Air,306
and a number of receipts for landing permits, hotel accommodation and overflight rights. These
include an ‘urgent permit’ request for landing in Amman, which points to the unplanned nature
of the flight, as well as eight rooms booked at the Marriott Hotel in Palma de Mallorca.307 However,
in the event the aircraft did not stay overnight on the island.
Tunisian government
Flight data extract For N982rK
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
7 Jun 04
Columbia County, NY
Washington, DC
20:42
21:30
FAA
7 Jun 04
Washington, DC
Luton, UK
22:59
06:14
EC; FAA
8 Jun 04
Luton, UK
Larnaca, Cyprus
07:06
11:07
EC; FAA
9 Jun 04
Larnaca, Cyprus
Kabul, Afghanistan
05:07
09:01
EC
9 Jun 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
9 Jun 04
Amman, Jordan
Tunis, Tunisia
15:40
19:27
EC
9 Jun 04
Tunis, Tunisia
Amman, Jordan
23:10
02:29
EC
10 Jun 04
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
10:10
14:30
EC
10 Jun 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Baku, Azerbaijan
11 Jun 04
Baku, Azerbaijan
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
08:55
14:01
EC
11 Jun 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Gander, Canada
15:16
20:49
EC; FAA
11 Jun 04
Gander, Canada
Washington, DC
21:51
00:46
FAA
12 Jun 04
Washington, DC
Columbia County, NY
01:44
02:34
FAA
CSC
CSC
APPENDIX 2
349
CIRCUIT 47: 11-15 JUNE 2004 (N85VM)
RENDITION: ALI SAEED AWADH (#90), AFGHANISTAN TO DJIBOUTI
Although little is known about Ali Saeed Awadh, our analysis of CIA cables indicates that he was
held in Afghanistan during both December 2003 and March 2004.308 He was held for 170-179
days,309 before being released with a cash payment.310
Our investigation has identified two rendition flights between Djibouti and Afghanistan, 179
days apart, which fit with Awadh’s period of CIA custody and not with any other prisoner. In the
second of these, N85VM flew between Afghanistan and Djibouti on 13 June 2004.311 The aircraft
was operated by Richmor Aviation, and billing documents for this circuit include invoices from
Air Routing to Richmor Aviation for a range of trip planning services,312 an invoice from Richmor
Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $218,395.77,313 and an invoice to Richmor from Eurocontrol, charging for overflight fees.314 Documents obtained from a Guardia Civil inquiry confirm the overnight
landing in Mallorca after the rendition, and include a number of invoices, hotel records and flight
communications.315
Flight data extract For N85vm
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
11 Jun 04
Schenectady, NY
Washington, DC
21:08
22:12
FAA
11 Jun 04
Washington, DC
Shannon, Ireland
23:44
05:50
CSC; EC; FAA
12 Jun 04
Shannon, Ireland
Paphos, Cyprus
07:11
11:55
CSC; DTTAS;
EC; FAA
13 Jun 04
Paphos, Cyprus
Kabul, Afghanistan
08.03
11.59
CSC; EC
13 Jun 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Ambouli, Djibouti
13 Jun 04
Ambouli, Djibouti
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
18.57
01.52
CSC; EC; GC
15 Jun 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Washington, DC
02:00
09:45
CSC; EC; GC
15 Jun 04
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
11:13
12:17
FAA
350
CSC
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 48: 29 JULY – 2 AUGUST 2004 (N288KA)
RENDITION: JANAT GUL (#110), AFGHANISTAN TO ROMANIA (VIA JORDAN)
Janat Gul was transferred into CIA custody on xx July 2004,316 and cables from the black site in
Romania document his torture from 3 August 2004.317
N288KA flew between Afghanistan and Romania on 31 July 2004, stopping off for refuelling
in Jordan en route. This matches Gul’s transfer to the black site in Romania.318 Eurocontrol data
shows that the aircraft was operated by Kookabura Air, and billing documentation for this circuit
includes a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences
Corporation.319
Flight data extract For N288Ka
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
29 Jul 04
Washington, DC
Prestwick, UK
21:29
03:58
EC; FAA
30 Jul 04
Prestwick, UK
Paphos, Cyprus
04:45
09:35
EC
31 Jul 04
Paphos, Cyprus
Kabul, Afghanistan
05:28
09:55
EC
31 Jul 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
11:20
16:41
EC
31 Jul 04
Amman, Jordan
Bucharest, Romania
18:52
21:24
EC
31 Jul 04
Bucharest, Romania
Prague, Czech Republic
22:49
00:10
EC
1 Aug 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Gander, Canada
18:14
00:05
EC; FAA
2 Aug 04
Gander, Canada
Washington, DC
00:53
03:54
FAA
CIRCUIT 49: 20-24 AUGUST 2004 (N63MU)
RENDITION: MOHAMMED AL-SHOROEIYA (#52), AFGHANISTAN TO LIBYA
MAJID AL-MAGHREBI (#91), AFGHANISTAN TO LIBYA
SALEH DI’IKI (#94), AFGHANISTAN TO LIBYA
custody, and then rendered to CIA custody on 18 April 2003.320 One CIA cable from Afghanistan,
dated 18 April, documents his inspection by a CIA physician.321 He was held in CIA custody for
490-499 days,322 and calculation shows that he was transferred out between 20-29 August 2004.
According to al-Shoroeiya himself, he was rendered back to Libya on 22 August.323
Majid al-Maghrebi was captured in Pakistan on 14 November 2003, and states that he was
351
APPENDIX 2
Mohammed al-Shoroeiya was captured in Pakistan on 3 April 2003, held for two weeks in Pakistani
held in Pakistani detention for around 40 days before rendition to CIA custody.324 This will have
been on or around 24 December 2003, which matches with our independent findings of the date
of his transfer into CIA custody, between 17-31 December 2003.325 He was held in CIA custody
for 240-249 days,326 and our calculations show that he was transferred out between 20-30 August
2004. According to al-Maghrebi himself, he was rendered back to Libya on 22 August, alongside
Di’iki and al-Shoroeiya.327
Saleh Di’iki was captured in Mauritania on 12 October 2003,328 and transferred to CIA custody
in Afghanistan on 22 January 2004 (Circuit 37). He was held in CIA custody for 210-219 days,329
and our calculations show that he was transferred out between 19-28 August 2004. According
to Di’iki himself, he was rendered back to Libya alongside al-Shoroeiya on 22 August 2004.330
N63MU flew between Afghanistan and Libya on 22 August 2004, matching the transfer dates
of these three men. The aircraft was operated by International Group, and billing documents for
this circuit include a series of invoices passed up the contracting chain – involving Air Culinaire
(for catering), trip planners Universal Weather Aviation, International Group, SportsFlight and
Computer Sciences Corporation – as well as a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between
SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences Corporation.331 They also include a flight log which
documents the flights between Dubai, Afghanistan, Libya and Palma de Mallorca.332
Flight data extract For N63mu
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
20 Aug 04
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
12:34
13:18
FAA
20 Aug 04
Washington, DC
Barcelona, Spain
15:02
22:34
EC; FAA
20 Aug 04
Barcelona, Spain
Dubai, UAE
23:53
05:51
EC
22 Aug 04
Dubai, UAE
Kabul, Afghanistan
08:54
11:56
ATC; CSC
22 Aug 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Tripoli, Libya
14:02
21:17
ATC; CSC; EC
22 Aug 04
Tripoli, Libya
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
22:28
00:11
ATC; CSC; EC
23 Aug 04
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Gander, Canada
15:06
20:48
CSC; EC; FAA
23 Aug 04
Gander, Canada
Washington, DC
22:05
01:09
CSC; FAA
24 Aug 04
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
02:20
03:04
CSC; FAA
352
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 50: 23-28 AUGUST 2004 (N308AB)
RENDITION: LAID SAIDI (#57), AFGHANISTAN TO ALGERIA (VIA JORDAN)
Laid Saidi was rendered into CIA custody in Afghanistan between 15-19 May 2003 (Circuit 22),
and held in CIA detention for 460-469 days.333 Our calculations show that he left the programme
between 17-30 August 2004, and he was transferred to Algeria, where he was handed over to
Algerian authorities and eventually released.334 This rendition followed an earlier attempt to
transfer Saidi to his country of origin: believing that he was Tunisian, in June 2004 the CIA
had rendered him from Afghanistan to Tunisia before realising their mistake and taking him back
to Afghanistan (Circuit 46).
N308AB flew between Afghanistan and Algeria on 26 August 2004, matching Saidi’s transfer
between the two countries. As part of this circuit, the aircraft also flew between Romania, Morocco
and Afghanistan, and these flights may have involved further rendition operations.
Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was operated by Prime Jet, while Baseops provided
trip planning services. Billing documentation for this circuit includes a series of invoices passed
up the contracting chain – involving Baseops, Prime Jet, AirMarketing, SportsFlight and Computer
Sciences Corporation – as well as a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between SportsFlight
Air and Computer Sciences Corporation.335
Flight data extract For N308aB
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
23 Aug 04
Washington, DC
Prague, Czech Republic
12:00
18:25
EC; FAA
24 Aug 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Constanta, Romania
19:24
20:59
EC
24 Aug 04
Constanta, Romania
Rabat, Morocco
22:33
03:03
EC
25 Aug 04
Rabat, Morocco
Dubai, UAE
04:45
12:09
EC
Flight, Dubai to Afghanistan
26 Aug 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
13:19
18:38
EC
26 Aug 04
Amman, Jordan
Algiers, Algeria
20:16
00:50
EC
27 Aug 04
Algiers, Algeria
Tenerife, Canaries
01:51
04:40
EC
28 Aug 04
Tenerife, Canaries
Washington, DC
08:04
14:54
EC; FAA
APPENDIX 2
353
CIRCUIT 51: 29 SEPTEMBER – 3 OCTOBER 2004 (N227SV)
RENDITION: RAMZI BIN AL-SHIBH (#41), MOROCCO TO ROMANIA (VIA JORDAN)
Ramzi bin al-Shibh was held in Morocco from April 2004, having been transferred from secret
detention in Guantánamo Bay.336 It has been reported that he was then rendered to the Romanian
black site on 1 October 2004,337 and one CIA cable from the site confirms that he was held there
on 2 October 2004.338 This cable reported a psychological assessment of bin al-Shibh, which
may have taken place upon his arrival at the site.
N227SV (previously N85VM) flew between Morocco, Jordan and Romania on 1 October 2004,
matching bin al-Shibh’s transfer to Romania. The stopover in Jordan may have involved another
rendition, either from Morocco to Jordan or from Jordan to Romania. Billing documents for this
circuit include an invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $196,449.71,339 and a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences Corporation.340
Flight data extract For N227Sv
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
29 Sep 04
Schenectady, NY
Washington, DC
21:48
22:54
FAA
30 Sep 04
Washington, DC
Tenerife, Canaries
00:00
06:40
CSC; EC; FAA
1 Oct 04
Tenerife, Canaries
Rabat, Morocco
01:57
03:27
CSC; EC
1 Oct 04
Rabat, Morocco
Amman, Jordan
04:53
09:51
CSC; EC
1 Oct 04
Amman, Jordan
Constanta, Romania
18:10
20:40
CSC; EC
1 Oct 04
Constanta, Romania
Prague, Czech Republic
21:25
23:06
CSC; EC
2 Oct 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Shannon, Ireland
14:02
16:22
CSC; DTTAS;
EC; FAA
2 Oct 04
Shannon, Ireland
Washington, DC
17:18
23:57
CSC; DTTAS;
EC; FAA
3 Oct 04
Washington, DC
Schenectady, NY
01:30
02:16
FAA
354
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 52: 17-22 OCTOBER 2004 (N789DK)
RENDITION: MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM (#99), ROMANIA TO JORDAN OR AFGHANISTAN
Muhammad Ibrahim entered CIA custody between 24-26 January 2004, and was rendered to
the black site in Romania on either 25 or 26 January (Circuit 37 or Circuit 39). He was held in
the programme for 260-269 days,341 and our calculations show that he was transferred out of
CIA custody between 10-21 October 2004.
N789DK flew between Romania, Jordan and Afghanistan on 20 October 2004, matching
Ibrahim’s exit dates from the programme. Billing documentation for this circuit includes an invoice
from SportsFlight Air to Computer Sciences Corporation for $337,605.65,342 and a ‘subcontract
task order modification’ between SportsFlight and Computer Sciences Corporation.343
Flight data extract For N789dK
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
17 Oct 04
Elmira, NY
Washington, DC
23:37
00:15
FAA
18 Oct 04
Washington, DC
Prague, Czech Republic
16:43
00.49
EC; FAA
19 Oct 04
Prague, Czech Republic
Constanta, Romania
21:29
22:56
EC
20 Oct 04
Constanta, Romania
Amman, Jordan
00:05
02:09
EC
20 Oct 04
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
03:40
08:21
EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Dubai
21 Oct 04
Dubai, UAE
Glasgow, UK
09:06
16:57
EC; FAA
21 Oct 04
Glasgow, UK
Washington, DC
18:03
00:28
EC; FAA
22 Oct 04
Washington, DC
Elmira, NY
13:44
14:25
FAA
APPENDIX 2
355
CIRCUIT 53: 14-17 DECEMBER 2004 (N227SV)
RENDITION: SHARIF AL-MASRI (#112), AFGHANISTAN TO EGYPT (VIA JORDAN)
Sharif al-Masri was captured in Pakistan on 29 August 2004,344 and held in foreign custody before
being rendered to the CIA on xx September 2004.345 This transfer took place after the CIA had
initiated a ‘counterintelligence review’, which began on 17 September 2004.346 CIA cables from
Afghanistan document al-Masri’s presence in CIA custody by 20 September 2004, including a
request to Headquarters to approve his torture.347 Al-Masri was held for 80-89 days,348 at which
point he was rendered to Egypt.349 CIA cables documenting this rendition come from Afghanistan,350
and our calculations show that he left the CIA programme between 7-18 December 2004.
N227SV (previously registered as N85VM) flew between Afghanistan and Egypt on 16 December
2004, matching al-Masri’s transfer between the two countries. Billing documents for this circuit
include invoices from Air Routing to Richmor Aviation for a range of trip planning services,351 and
an invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $240,937.95.352 SportsFlight billing records
show that they passed the costs onto Computer Sciences Corporation (with a commission of
over $48,000 added on).353 Documents also include a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between
SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences Corporation.354
Flight data extract For N227Sv
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
14 Dec 04
Washington, DC
Luton, UK
23:23
06:10
CSC; EC; FAA
15 Dec 04
Luton, UK
Paphos, Cyprus
06:57
10:58
BMVBS; CSC; EC355
16 Dec 04
Paphos, Cyprus
Kabul, Afghanistan
06:43
10:52
CSC; EC
16 Dec 04
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
11:45
16:26
CSC; EC
16 Dec 04
Amman, Jordan
Cairo, Egypt
16 Dec 04
Cairo, Egypt
Luqa, Malta
19:36
22:11
CSC; EC
17 Dec 04
Luqa, Malta
Reykjavik, Iceland
09:59
15:18
BMVBS; CAA-NO;
CSC; EC; IMWG;
ISAVIA356
17 Dec 04
Reykjavik, Iceland
Washington, DC
17:00
23:00
CSC; FAA; IMWG;
ISAVIA357
356
CSC
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 54: 16-17 FEBRUARY 2005 (N724CL)
RENDITION: IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), MOROCCO TO JORDAN
CIA detainees held in Morocco were transferred out in February 2005 as a result of developing
tensions between the CIA and its Moroccan counterparts.358 Our investigation has established
that those likely to have been held at the site in February 2005 include Abu Zubaydah, Ibn Sheikh
al-Libi and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41) was also held at the site in 2004, but
had been rendered to Romania in October 2004 (Circuit 51).
Between 15-18 February 2005, two rendition aircraft flew between Morocco and other key
locations, in operations that likely transferred prisoners to other sites in the programme. As one
of these circuits, N724CL flew between Morocco, Jordan and Lithuania on 17 February. Reports
have suggested that Ibn Sheikh was held in Jordan during 2004 and 2005,359 and if so then this
circuit probably rendered him there. Although the aircraft then landed in Lithuania, pilot logs suggest that no one was on board at this point, with all passengers having disembarked in Jordan.360
N724CL was owned and operated by Classic Limited Air, while Eurocontrol data shows that
Universal Weather and Aviation provided trip planning services. The investigation by the Lithuanian
Parliament into CIA rendition and detention in the country did not identify this flight,361 but data
obtained from the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration, as well as airport documents from
Vilnius, confirm the landing of the aircraft on 17 February 2005.362
Billing documents for this circuit include a private carriage agreement between Classic
Limited Air and Computer Sciences Corporation, outlining the agreement to supply Computer
Sciences Corporation with the use of N724CL.363 They also include an invoice from Classic Limited
Air to Computer Sciences Corporation for $282,419.60,364 a ‘subcontract task order modification’
between SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences Corporation,365 and a flight log which documents each of the flights in the circuit.366
Flight data extract For N724cl
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
14 Feb 05
Van Nuys, CA
Baltimore, MD
17:33
21:51
ATC
15 Feb 05
Baltimore, MD
Santa Maria, Azores
04:37
10:25
ATC
16 Feb 05
Santa Maria, Azores
Las Palmas, Canaries
11:10
13:24
ATC; EC
17 Feb 05
Las Palmas, Canaries
Rabat, Morocco
00:24
01:58
ATC; EC
17 Feb 05
Rabat, Morocco
Amman, Jordan
03:05
08:30
ATC; EC
17 Feb 05
Amman, Jordan
Vilnius, Lithuania
14:15
18:15
ATC; CAA-LT; EC
17 Feb 05
Vilnius, Lithuania
Reykjavik, Iceland
19:30
23:35
ATC; CAA-LT; EC
18 Feb 05
Reykjavik, Iceland
Goose Bay AFB, Canada
13:57
17:25
ATC
18 Feb 05
Goose Bay AFB, Canada
Baltimore, MD
18:20
21:08
ATC
18 Feb 05
Baltimore, MD
Van Nuys, CA
22:41
04:25
ATC
357
APPENDIX 2
date
CIRCUIT 55: 14-20 FEBRUARY 2005 (N787WH)
RENDITION: ABU ZUBAYDAH (#1), MOROCCO TO LITHUANIA
MUSTAFA AL-HAWSAWI (#46), MOROCCO TO LITHUANIA
CIA detainees held in Morocco were transferred out in February 2005 as a result of developing
tensions between the CIA and its Moroccan counterparts.367 Our investigation has established
that those likely to have been held at the site in February 2005 include Abu Zubaydah (#1), Ibn
Sheikh al-Libi (#42) and Mustafa al-Hawsawi (#46). Ramzi bin al-Shibh (#41) was also held at the
site in 2004, but had been rendered to Romania in October 2004 (Circuit 51).
Between 15-18 February 2005, two rendition aircraft flew between Morocco and other key
locations, in operations that likely transferred prisoners to other sites in the programme. As one
of these circuits, N787WH flew between Morocco, Romania and Lithuania on 18 February. The
Lithuanian black site received its first detainees in February 200x,368 and this is the flight which
brought them to the facility. CIA cables document the presence of Abu Zubaydah in Lithuania
by March 2005,369 and he will have been on this flight. Mustafa al-Hawsawi was also held in
Lithuania during 2005,370 and it is likely that he was on board as well.
Eurocontrol data shows that N787WH was operated by Victory Aviation, while Baseops
International filed the flight plans, including false plans to disguise the landing in Lithuania.371
The true flight, from Romania to Lithuania on 18 February 2005, is confirmed by the Lithuanian
Parliament investigation, which noted that ‘the aircraft arrived carrying five passengers and three
crew members.’372 Data from the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration,373 and airport documents from Palanga,374 also confirm the landing.
Billing documents for this circuit include an invoice from Palanga Air and Terminal Navigations
Service to Victory Air Transport, for the landing of N787WH at Palanga,375 as well as a ‘subcontract task order modification’ between SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences Corporation.376
Flight data extract For N787Wh
date
From
to
dePart
arrive SourceS
14 Feb 05
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Baltimore, MD
18:24
20:34
FAA
15 Feb 05
Baltimore, MD
Santa Maria, Azores
09:40
15:27
EC; FAA
15 Feb 05
Santa Maria, Azores
Salzburg, Austria
16:51
17 Feb 05
Salzburg, Austria
Malaga, Spain
14:22
16:49
EC
18 Feb 05
Malaga, Spain
Rabat, Morocco
02:07
02:40
EC
18 Feb 05
Rabat, Morocco
Bucharest, Romania
04:43
18 Feb 05
Bucharest, Romania
Palanga, Lithuania
16:04
17:42
ATC; CAA-LT; CNSD; EC379
18 Feb 05
Palanga, Lithuania
Copenhagen, Denmark
19:30
20:20
CAA-LT; CNSD; EC; IMWG380
19 Feb 05
Copenhagen, Denmark
Gander, Canada
13:27
19:24
EC; FAA; IMWG381
19 Feb 05
Gander, Canada
Baltimore, MD
20:35
23:34
FAA
20 Feb 05
Baltimore, MD
Fort Lauderdale, FL
01:02
03:20
FAA
358
EC; other377
EC378
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 56: 19-22 APRIL 2005 (N740JA)
RENDITION: MUSTAFA AL-MEHDI (#107), AFGHANISTAN TO LIBYA
KHALID AL-SHARIF (#51), AFGHANISTAN TO LIBYA
Khalid al-Sharif was captured in Pakistan on 3 April 2003, and rendered to CIA custody alongside
another prisoner, Mohammed al-Shoroeiya (#52).382 Although al-Sharif was unclear of the date
of this transfer, al-Shoroeiya has testified that it took place on 18 April,383 and a CIA cable from
Afghanistan dated 18 April documents his inspection by a CIA physician.384 Al-Sharif was held
in CIA custody for 730-739 days,385 and our calculations show that he was transferred out between
17-26 April 2005. According to al-Sharif himself, he was rendered back to Libya on 20 April.
His US captors secured his hands, blindfolded him, took off his clothes, examined
his body, and took photographs of him naked. They then drove him by car
somewhere five or ten minutes away. When they took the hood off his head, he
found himself in a shipping container and his arm was handcuffed to a steel ring
welded to the wall of the container. The container was in a hangar that appeared to
be some sort of military storage facility. He said he could tell because it was filled
with boxes of ammunition and other military equipment, even large airplane bombs.
At that point he was informed he was being transported to Libya.386
Khalid al-Sharif
Mustafa al-Mehdi was captured in Pakistan on 23 February 2004, held in Peshawar and then
Islamabad for several months, and then transferred to CIA custody in Afghanistan ‘one night in
June’.387 Another prisoner, Marwan al-Jabour (#108), testified to being rendered to Afghanistan
on 16 June 2004 alongside three men who had been held with him in Islamabad (one of whom
was a Libyan).388 Given al-Mehdi’s position next to al-Jabour on the Committee Study list, it is
likely that both entered the CIA programme on this date.389 Al-Mehdi was held in CIA custody for
300-309 days,390 and our calculations show that he was transferred out between 12-21 April 2005.
According to al-Mehdi himself, he was rendered back to Libya on 21 April, alongside al-Sharif.
The next day the US personnel overseeing his detention transferred him to another
room where they took off all his clothes. They made note on a human body chart of
every mark on his body. They also took photographs of him naked. Before boarding
a plane, they replaced one blindfold with another, which allowed him to see a huge
base. He said he was put into a container containing a three-person American team
wearing black T-shirts. These men accompanied him on the flight back to Libya. He
was stripped again and more photos were taken of him naked. Then they put him in
diapers and put on earplugs, eye patches, and a hood over his head. He was given
something to drink and some clothes. They handcuffed him to the seat and
wrapped an adhesive or belt around him. He did not know it at the time but later
359
APPENDIX 2
hangar with military equipment and large aerial bombs, indicating he was at an air
learned that Khalid Sharif was with him. Upon arrival he heard Libyan voices all
around him. ‘Being returned to Libya was the worst fear I had,’ he said. ‘I thought
this was the end – that the real interrogations were going to start and the real
suffering was going to begin.’391
Mustafa al-Mehdi
N740JA filed a flight plan between Uzbekistan and Tunisia on 21 April 2005, matching the
transfer of both men from Afghanistan to Libya. This is likely to have been a false flight plan,
given that the aircraft was on the ground in Libya at the end of the day on 21 April, less than an
hour after the plan shows a landing in Tunis. From Tripoli, the aircraft filed a flight back to Europe.
Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was operated by Air Castle, while billing documents
for this circuit include an invoice from the operating company Jet Alliance to Air Marketing,392
and SportsFlight billing records which show that Air Marketing passed the costs onto
SportsFlight, who subsequently passed them onto Computer Sciences Corporation (with a
commission of over $25,000 added on).393
Flight data extract For N740Ja
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
19 Apr 05
Millville, NJ
Teterboro, NJ
12:00
12:34
FAA
19 Apr 05
Teterboro, NJ
Porto, Portugal
18:35
02:06
EC; FAA
20 Apr 05
Porto, Portugal
Adana, Turkey
02:55
07:15
EC
21 Apr 05
Adana, Turkey
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
08:05
11:36
EC
21 Apr 05
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Tunis, Tunisia
13:09
21:07
EC
Flight, Tunisia to Libya (alternatively, aircraft may have flown to Libya directly,
with Tunisia as a false flight plan)
21 Apr 05
Tripoli, Libya
Brest, France
22:00
01:20
EC
22 Apr 05
Brest, France
New York, NY
10:00
17:36
EC; FAA
22 Apr 05
New York, NY
Millville, NJ
18:45
19:13
FAA
360
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 57: 23-28 MAY 2005 (N450DR / N308AB)
RENDITION: ABU FARAJ AL-LIBI (#114), AFGHANISTAN TO ROMANIA (VIA JORDAN)
ABU MUNTHIR AL-MAGREBI (#115), TUNISIA TO ROMANIA (VIA JORDAN)
Abu Faraj al-Libi was captured in Pakistan on 2 May 2005, and rendered to CIA custody at
DETENTION SITE ORANGE (in Afghanistan) on xx May 2005.394 This rendition took place after
24 May.395 After at least one day at DETENTION SITE ORANGE, Abu Faraj was rendered from
Afghanistan to Romania,396 where he was tortured from 28 May.397
N450DR flew from Afghanistan to Jordan between 25-26 May, and was on the ground in
Amman in the afternoon of 26 May, at the same time as another rendition aircraft, N308AB. This
second aircraft then flew to Romania, landing on 26 May. Together, these two aircraft provided
a connection between Afghanistan and Romania, matching Abu Faraj’s rendition between the
two countries.
Prior to its landing in Jordan and onward flight to Romania, N308AB had flown to Tunisia.
Given that we know that another CIA detainee, Abu Munthir al-Magrebi, entered the programme
at the same time as, or after Abu Faraj,398 it is likely that he was picked up in Tunisia and rendered
from there to the CIA prison in Romania.
Eurocontrol data shows that N450DR was operated by Colt International, whereas N308AB
was operated by Prime Jet. Trip planning services were provided by Universal Weather and
Aviation (in the case of N450DR) and Baseops International (for N308AB). Billing documents for
this circuit include an invoice from Richmor Aviation to SportsFlight Air for $204,612.92,399 relating to the aircraft N450DR, and a ‘subcontract task order modification’ for the same aircraft
between SportsFlight Air and Computer Sciences Corporation.400
Flight data extract For N450dr
date
From
to
dePart arrive SourceS
23 May 05
Manassas, DC
Bangor, ME
22:49
00:29
FAA
24 May 05
Bangor, ME
Reykjavik, Iceland
01:21
06:14
FAA; ISAVIA
24 May 05
Reykjavik, Iceland
Sofia, Bulgaria
07:07
11:56
EC; FAA; ISAVIA
25 May 05
Sofia, Bulgaria
Kabul, Afghanistan
06:00
10:47
EC
Flight, Afghanistan to Jordan
Amman, Jordan
Paphos, Cyprus
18:15
19:15
EC
27 May 05
Paphos, Cyprus
Luton, UK
10:34
14:48
EC; FAA
27 May 05
Luton, UK
Reykjavik, Iceland
17:36
19:59
EC; FAA; ISAVIA
27 May 05
Reykjavik, Iceland
Bangor, ME
21:49
01:07
FAA; ISAVIA
28 May 05
Bangor, ME
Manassas, DC
01:34
03:04
FAA
APPENDIX 2
26 May 05
361
Flight data extract For N308aB
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
24 May 05
Teterboro, NJ
Harrisburg, PA
08:59
09:33
FAA
24 May 05
Harrisburg, PA
Santa Maria, Azores
12:15
17:14
EC; FAA
25 May 05
Santa Maria, Azores
Tunis, Tunisia
14:49
18:52
EC
26 May 05
Tunis, Tunisia
Amman, Jordan
13:36
16:46
EC
Flight, Jordan to Romania
26 May 05
Bucharest, Romania
Berlin, Germany
22:08
23:48
EC
27 May 05
Berlin, Germany
Bangor, ME
16:17
23:28
EC; FAA
28 May 05
Bangor, ME
Martinsburg, WV
00:14
01:40
FAA
28 May 05
Martinsburg, WV
Van Nuys, CA
04:32
09:30
FAA
CIRCUIT 58: 1-8 OCTOBER 2005 (N308AB / N787WH)
RENDITION: KHALED SHEIKH MOHAMMED (#45), ROMANIA TO LITHUANIA
ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), ROMANIA TO LITHUANIA
In October 2005 the CIA rendered at least two men from its site in Romania to continued secret
detention in Lithuania. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who was detained in Romania at the time,401
was rendered to DETENTION SITE VIOLET on x October 2005.402 CIA cables from Lithuania
document his detention at this new site.403 Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was also detained in Romania
up until October 2005,404 and was then moved to Lithuania.405
Flight data shows that two rendition aircraft – N308AB and N787WH – met on the ground
in Tirana, Albania, between 22:38 and 23:35 on 5 October 2005. The first of these had just come
from Bucharest, while the second flew onward to Vilnius, thus connecting the black site locations
in Romania and Lithuania.
Eurocontrol data shows that the first aircraft, N308AB, was operated by Prime Jet. One email
set out the itinerary for the aircraft, specifying the flight from Romania to Albania, where it was
to ‘drop all PAX’.406 A ‘preliminary requirements’ document stated that two passengers were to
be picked up in Romania, and also confirmed that all passengers were to be dropped in Albania.
Customs help was to be denied.407
Eurocontrol data also shows that the second aircraft, N787WH, was operated by Victory
Aviation, with Baseops International filing the flight plans, including false plans to disguise the
landing in Lithuania.408 The true flight, from Albania to Lithuania on 6 October 2005, is confirmed
by the Lithuanian Parliament investigation, which noted that it was ‘unscheduled’, and that
362
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
customs officials ‘were prevented from inspecting the aircraft.’ According to one customs officer,
‘civil aviation officers prevented the SBGS [State Border Guard Service] officer from approaching
the aircraft…. A car drove away from the aircraft and left the territory of the airport border control
point. Upon contacting the civil aviation officers, it was explained that the heads of the SBGS
had been informed of the landing… The letter from the SSD [State Security Department] marked
as ‘CLASSIFIED’… was received by the SBGS on 7 October 2005, i.e., post factum.’409 Data from
the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration,410 and airport documents from Vilnius,411 also confirm
the landing.
Billing documents for this circuit also include invoices from SportsFlight Air to Computer
Sciences Corporation,412 and ‘subcontract task order modifications’ between SportsFlight Air
and Computer Sciences Corporation.413
Flight data extract For N308aB
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
1 Oct 05
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Teterboro, NJ
07:58
10:29
FAA
4 Oct 05
Teterboro, NJ
Bratislava, Slovakia
13:31
22:58
CSC; EC; FAA
5 Oct 05
Bratislava, Slovakia
Bucharest, Romania
19:06
5 Oct 05
Bucharest, Romania
Tirana, Albania
21:21
22:38
CSC; EC 415
6 Oct 05
Tirana, Albania
Shannon, Ireland
01:08
04:22
EC
7 Oct 05
Luton, UK
Montreal, Canada
06:50
13:17
EC; FAA
7 Oct 05
Montreal, Canada
Cheektowaga, NY
15:55
16:45
FAA
7 Oct 05
Cheektowaga, NY
Aspen, CO
17:36
20:53
FAA
7 Oct 05
Aspen, CO
Newton, KS
22:02
23:14
FAA
8 Oct 05
Newton, KS
Teterboro, NJ
00:03
02:26
FAA
EC414
Flight data extract For N787Wh
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
3 Oct 05
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Seattle, WA
13:11
19:03
FAA
4 Oct 05
Seattle, WA
Reykjavik, Iceland
16:08
23:36
FAA; IMWG; ISAVIA416
5 Oct 05
Reykjavik, Iceland
Tirana, Albania
00:45
05:52
EC; FAA; ISAVIA
5 Oct 05
Tirana, Albania
Vilnius, Lithuania
23:35
01:54
ATC; CAA-LT; CNSD;
EC417
6 Oct 05
Vilnius, Lithuania
Oslo, Norway
02:56
04:33
CAA-LT; CAA-NO;
CNSD; EC
7 Oct 05
Oslo, Norway
Reykjavik, Iceland
05:01
07:39
CAA-NO; EC; ISAVIA
7 Oct 05
Reykjavik, Iceland
Wilmington, DE
09:04
7 Oct 05
Wilmington, DE
Fort Lauderdale, FL
16:30
IMWG; ISAVIA418
18:59
FAA
363
APPENDIX 2
date
CIRCUIT 59: 4-7 NOVEMBER 2005 (N1HC / N248AB)
RENDITION: THREE DETAINEES, ROMANIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA JORDAN)
IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), JORDAN TO AFGHANISTAN
In October 2005, the CIA discovered that the Washington Post had information about the torture
programme, and about the existence of secret prisons in Poland and Romania in particular. In
response, it began preparing options for the transfer of prisoners, pending publication of the
story.419 After the story was published, on 2 November 2005,420 Romania demanded the closure
of DETENTION SITE BLACK within xx hours. The CIA transferred the three remaining CIA detainees out of the facility shortly after.421 The stopover in Jordan may also have picked up Ibn Sheikh
al-Libi, given that it is reported he was held there in 2004 and 2005,422 yet ended up in Afghanistan.
Flight data shows that two rendition aircraft – N1HC and N248AB – met on the ground in
Amman, Jordan, between 00:21 and 00:55 on 6 November 2005. The first of these had just come
from Bucharest, while the second flew onward to Afghanistan, thus connecting the black site
locations just as the Romanian site was being closed. Eurocontrol data shows that N1HC was
operated by United States Aviation, while N248AB was operated by Prime Jet.
Flight data extract For N1hc
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
5 Nov 05
Harrisburg, PA
Porto, Portugal
10:30
16:58
EC; FAA
5 Nov 05
Porto, Portugal
Bucharest, Romania
17:59
5 Nov 05
Bucharest, Romania
Amman, Jordan
22:05
00:21
EC
6 Nov 05
Amman, Jordan
Reykjavik, Iceland
01:20
08:25
EC; IMWG424
6 Nov 05
Reykjavik, Iceland
Tulsa, OK
09:37
16:37
FAA
EC423
Flight data extract For N248aB
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
4 Nov 05
Chicago, IL
Leesburg, VA
20:34
21:48
FAA
5 Nov 05
Leesburg, VA
Luqa, Malta
02:31
11:13
EC; FAA
5 Nov 05
Luqa, Malta
Amman, Jordan
21:10
23:49
EC
6 Nov 05
Amman, Jordan
Kabul, Afghanistan
00:55
05:12
EC
6 Nov 05
Kabul, Afghanistan
Athens, Greece
06:00
11:32
EC
7 Nov 05
Athens, Greece
Bergen, Norway
07:53
11:48
EC
7 Nov 05
Bergen, Norway
Teterboro, NJ
12:52
22:15
EC; FAA
7 Nov 05
Teterboro, NJ
Belmar, NJ
23:22
23:39
FAA
364
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 60: 23-28 MARCH 2006 (N733MA / N740EH)
RENDITION: KHALED SHEIKH MOHAMMED (#45), LITHUANIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA EGYPT)
ABU ZUBAYDAH (#1), LITHUANIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA EGYPT)
ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI (#26), LITHUANIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA EGYPT)
MUSTAFA AL-HAWSAWI (#46), LITHUANIA TO AFGHANISTAN (VIA EGYPT)
The Committee Study has noted that Khaled Sheikh Mohammed was transferred to DETENTION
SITE VIOLET on x October 2005, and then to DETENTION SITE BROWN on xx March 2006.425
Furthermore, this transfer came as ‘medical issues resulted in the closing of DETENTION SITE
VIOLET… in March 2006,’ at which point ‘the CIA then transferred its remaining detainees to
DETENTION SITE BROWN.’426 In addition to Mohammed, CIA cables document the presence of
three prisoners at the site, all of whom are likely to have been moved out in March 2006: Abu
Zubaydah, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.427
We have been able to identify just one rendition circuit connecting Lithuania with other black
sites in March 2006. Flight data shows that two rendition aircraft – N733MA and N740EH – met
on the ground in Cairo, Egypt, between 02:19 and 02:45 on 26 March 2006. The first of these
had just come from Palanga, Lithuania, while the second flew onward to Kabul, thus connecting
the black site locations in Lithuania and Afghanistan.
Eurocontrol data shows that both aircraft, N733MA and N740EH, were operated by Miami
Air International, which also filed flight plans for the circuit.428 False flight plans were filed both
into and out of Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Parliament investigation listed the route as PortoPalanga-Porto. No customs inspections were carried out on the aircraft, pursuant to a request
from the Lithuanian intelligence service.429
Billing documents for this circuit include an invoice from SportsFlight Air to Computer Sciences
Corporation, incorporating (and thus clearly connecting) both aircraft,430 and a flight schedule
which replaced sensitive locations with generic airport codes (‘WWW’, ‘XXX’, and so forth).431
Flight data extract For N733ma
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
23 Mar 06
KPHL
Porto, Portugal
15:56
22:20
EC
25 Mar 06
Porto, Portugal
Palanga, Lithuania
17:28
20:38
CNSD; EC; FOI
(Finland)432
25 Mar 06
Palanga, Lithuania
Cairo, Egypt
22:13
02:19
ATC; CNSD; EC433
26 Mar 06
Cairo, Egypt
Heraklion, Greece
03:45
04:59
EC
27 Mar 06
Heraklion, Greece
Reykjavik, Iceland
10:13
16:11
EC
APPENDIX 2
date
365
Flight data extract For N740eh
date
23 Mar 06
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
Wilmington, DE
Marrakesh, Morocco
16:09
22:43
EC
Flight, Morocco to Egypt
26 Mar 06
Cairo, Egypt
Kabul, Afghanistan
02:45
08:32
EC
26 Mar 06
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
13:30
19:14
EC
26 Mar 06
Amman, Jordan
Heraklion, Greece
20:59
23:07
EC
28 Mar 06
Heraklion, Greece
Reykjavik, Iceland
07:08
13:03
EC
CIRCUIT 61: 12-15 APRIL 2006 (N1HC)
RENDITION: IBN SHEIKH AL-LIBI (#42), AFGHANISTAN TO LIBYA
Ibn Sheikh al-Libi was rendered into CIA custody on x February 2003,434 and we have identified
the rendition circuit for this operation, on 9 February (Circuit 17). He was held for 1160-1169
days,435 and our calculations show that he was transferred out of CIA custody between 14-23
April 2006. At this point, Ibn Sheikh would have been held in Afghanistan, given that black sites
in other countries had closed by then. He was rendered to Libya, where he was held until his
death in custody in 2009.436
N1HC flew between Afghanistan and Libya on 14 April 2006, matching Ibn Sheikh’s transfer
between the two countries. Eurocontrol data shows that the aircraft was operated by United
States Aviation.
Flight data extract For N1hc
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
12 Apr 06
Wilmington, DE
Abu Dhabi, UAE
19:15
08:19
EC; FAA
Flight, Abu Dhabi to Afghanistan
14 Apr 06
Kabul, Afghanistan
Tripoli, Libya
16:34
23:11
EC
15 Apr 06
Tripoli, Libya
Teterboro, NJ
00:52
12:20
EC; FAA
366
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
CIRCUIT 62: 25 JULY – 2 AUGUST 2006 (N17ND)
RENDITION: MARWAN AL-JABOUR (#108), AFGHANISTAN TO JORDAN
ABD AL-BARI AL-FILISTINI (#106), AFGHANISTAN TO JORDAN
ABU ‘ABDALLAH (#103), AFGHANISTAN TO SAUDI ARABIA
Marwan al-Jabour was transferred into CIA custody on 16 June 2004,437 and held for 770-779
days.438 He has testified that he was rendered to the CIA alongside three other prisoners, one
of whom was Palestinian. Our investigation has established that this is likely to have been Abd
al-Bari al-Filstini, who was also held for 770-779 days.439 Our calculations show that both men
left CIA custody between 26 July – 4 August 2006. Al-Jabour has said that he was eventually
rendered to Jordan, and was transferred alongside another prisoner, who again is likely to have
been al-Filistini.
The transfer team picked him up the next evening. They put cotton over his eyes,
cotton in his ears, and rubber over that. They put a band around his head, a mask
over his face, and head phones over his ears. His hands were cuffed in front and his
legs were shackled. A belt was put around his legs, about the knees, and his
handcuffs were attached to it… They brought Jabour outside to a car, and laid him
down in it. Jabour is fairly certain that another prisoner was next to him. The car
drove for about an hour… Suddenly they removed all of his wrappings and took off
all his clothes. When his eyes opened, he saw a man pointing a video camera at
him. Then the transfer team put a diaper on him, and put the same outfit back on,
except this time they used plastic handcuffs. He could only feel the airplane; he
could not see it, but it seemed to him to be a small civilian jet. The seats faced
forward, as in a normal passenger aircraft. In the plane, during the flight, a doctor
took his blood pressure. The flight lasted about three-and-a-half to hour hours.440
Marwan al-Jabour
Abu ‘Abdallah was rendered from Iraq to CIA detention in Afghanistan on 12 March 2004 (Circuit
40), and held initially in the Dark Prison.441 He was held in CIA custody for 870-879 days,442 and
our calculations show that he was transferred out between 30 July – 8 August 2006.
N17ND flew between Afghanistan, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, between 29 July – 1 August
2006, and is likely to have rendered al-Jabour and al-Filistini to Jordan, and Abu ‘Abdallah to
flight plans for this circuit, while billing documents include an invoice from Integrity Jet Charter
to SportsFlight,443 as well as receipts from SportsFlight as they paid the balance.444
367
APPENDIX 2
Saudi Arabia (given that he is a Saudi national). Eurocontrol data shows that Baseops filed the
Flight data extract For N17Nd
date
From
to
dePart
arrive
SourceS
25 Jul 06
Muskegon, MI
Baltimore, MD
18:29
19:47
CSC; FAA
25 Jul 06
Baltimore, MD
Shannon, Ireland
21:54
03:51
CSC; EC; FAA
26 Jul 06
Shannon, Ireland
Dubai, UAE
04:40
13:07
CSC; EC; FAA
26-29 Jul 06
Dubai, UAE
Kabul, Afghanistan
CSC
26-29 Jul 06
Kabul, Afghanistan
Cairo, Egypt
CSC
29 Jul 06
Cairo, Egypt
Kabul, Afghanistan
29 Jul - 1 Aug 06
Kabul, Afghanistan
Dubai, UAE
CSC
29 Jul - 1 Aug 06
Dubai, UAE
Kabul, Afghanistan
CSC
29 Jul - 1 Aug 06
Kabul, Afghanistan
Amman, Jordan
CSC
29 Jul - 1 Aug 06
Amman, Jordan
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
CSC
29 Jul - 1 Aug 06
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Dubai, UAE
CSC
1 Aug 06
Dubai, UAE
Shannon, Ireland
05:00
13:50
CSC; EC; FAA
1 Aug 06
Shannon, Ireland
Atlanta, GA
14:25
22:41
FAA
2 Aug 06
Atlanta, GA
Muskegon, MI
00:19
01:38
FAA
368
03:45
10:56
CSC; EC
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
Endnotes
15.
16.
17.
18.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
12.
13.
14.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
369
APPENDIX 2
11.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation is a
specialised agency of the United Nations, and
produces a list of ‘location indicators’ – four letter
codes for each airport in the world – on a
quarterly basis. Most flight data collated by us
uses these indicators.
Masood Anwar, Mystery Man Handed Over to US
Troops in Karachi, The News International, 26
October 2001. See, also: Dana Priest, Jet is an
Open Secret in Terror War, The Washington Post,
27 December 2004.
Swedish Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman,
Review of the Enforcement by the Security Police
of a Government Decision to Expel Two Egyptian
Citizens, 22 March 2005, p. 8.
Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
18 December 2001.
Luftfartsverket, Invoice to Jeppesen Dataplan,
No. 19122416, 2 January 2002.
Swedish Civil Aviation Administration, Invoice to
Jeppesen Dataplan, No. 19122416, 2 January
2002.
Jane Perlez, Raymond Bonner and Salman
Massood, An Ex-Detainee of the US Describes a
6-Year Ordeal, The New York Times, 5 January
2009; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni, 26 August 2005,
p. 2.
Madni v. Commissioner of the British Indian
Ocean Territory, Witness Statement of Claimant,
1 July 2009, para 10-12; DoD (CSRT), Detainee
Statement: Muhammad Saad Iqbal, 9 November
2004, p. 12.
Rajiv Chandraesekaran and Peter Finn, US
Behind Secret Transfer of Terror Suspects, The
Washington Post, 11 March 2002.
Madni v. Commissioner of the British Indian
Ocean Territory, Witness Statement of Claimant,
1 July 2009, para 1.
Ibid., para 4-5; Reprieve, Ghost Detention on
Diego Garcia, May 2009, p. 10.
Reprieve, Ghost Detention on Diego Garcia, May
2009, p. 10.
David Miliband, Letter to Reprieve: Diego Garcia
Flights, 21 February 2008.
Madni v. Commissioner of the British Indian
Ocean Territory, Witness Statement of Claimant,
1 July 2009, para 1-3.
Ibid., para 8.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abdu
Ali Sharqawi, 7 July 2008, p. 4.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 386.
Human Rights Watch, We’ll Make You See Death,
9 April 2008; Human Rights Watch, Double
Jeopardy: CIA Renditions to Jordan, April 2008,
pp. 23-25.
Madni v. Commissioner of the British Indian
Ocean Territory, Witness Statement of Claimant,
1 July 2009, para 10-12; DoD (CSRT), Detainee
Statement: Muhammad Saad Iqbal, 9 November
2004, p. 12.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni, 26 August 2005, p.
2.
Madni v. Commissioner of the British Indian
Ocean Territory, Witness Statement of Claimant,
1 July 2009, para 11-12.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Mamdouh Habib, 6 August 2004, p. 2.
Madni v. Commissioner of the British Indian
Ocean Territory, Witness Statement of Claimant,
1 July 2009, para 11.
Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
10:48; left 11:33).
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 5.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Omar
Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, 21 April 2008, p. 4.
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 6.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
DoD (CSRT), Detainee Statement: Soufian Abar
Huwari, 22 September 2004, p. 6.
FirstFlight Management, Invoice to AirMarketing,
RB02-017, 7 May 2002.
AirMarketing Services, Invoice to SportsFlight
Air, No. 22222, 7 May 2002.
Capital Aviation, Invoice to DynCorp Systems
and Solutions, SE043002-001-F, 9 May 2002.
Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
08:53).
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Abou Elkassim Britel, 2 November
2007, para 4-9.
Ibid., para 11-12.
Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
24 May 2002.
DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Mohamedou Ould Salahi, 3 March 2008, p. 4.
38. Mohammedou Ould Slahi, Guantánamo Diary:
Manuscript, 28 September 2005, pp. 1-5.
39. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 235.
40. Reprieve, Memo: FBI Involvement in the Abuse of
Binyam Mohammed (al Habashi), 24 August
2005, p. 4.
41. Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden, Details Emerge on
a Brazen Escape in Afghanistan, The New York
Times, 4 December 2005.
42. Faruq is #14 on the Committee Study’s list of
detainees, and therefore entered CIA custody on
the same day as, or after, Hassan bin Attash
(#10), and on the same day as, or before, Abd
al-Salam al-Hilah (#15). Bin Attash entered CIA
custody no earlier than 14 September, and
al-Hilah entered CIA custody on 29 September
2002. See individual prisoner profiles for full
details.
43. David Miliband, Letter to Reprieve: Diego Garcia
Flights, 21 February 2008.
44. The other identified landings in Diego Garcia by
rendition aircraft were transferring detainees
from Southeast Asia to North Africa (Circuit 3 and
Circuit 40). Given the geographical location of the
island, this is a logical stopover for renditions
from Southeast Asia to North Africa (whereas a
journey between Pakistan, Afghanistan or the
Middle East and North Africa makes little sense).
45. David Miliband, Letter to Reprieve: Diego Garcia
Flights, 21 February 2008.
46. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Hassan
Ali Bin Attash, 25 June 2008, p. 4; SSCI, Committee
Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted), p. 75.
47. David H. Remes, Declaration: Hassan bin Attash,
18 October 2011, para 6-10; DoD (JTF-GTMO),
Detainee Assessment: Hassan Ali Bin Attash, 25
June 2008, p. 4.
48. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 11.
49. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 75-76.
50. Mark Mazzetti, 9/11 Suspect Was Detained and
Taped in Morocco, The New York Times, 17
August 2010.
51. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Abd
al-Heela, 24 September 2008, pp. 4-5; DoD
(ARB), Unclassified Summary, Round 1: Abdul
al-Salam al-Hilal, 24 August 2005, p. 3.
52. Amnesty International, Who Are the Guantánamo
Detainees? Case Sheet 15: Abdulsalam al-Hela,
11 January 2005, pp. 1-2.
370
53. Ibid., p.2.
54. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
55. Faruq is #14 in the Committee Study’s list of
detainees , and therefore entered CIA custody on
the same day as, or before, al-Hilah (#15). SSCI,
Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
56. United Nations, Joint Study on Global Practices in
Relation to Secret Detention in the Context of
Countering Terrorism, 19 February 2010, p. 67.
57. Glenn Carle, The Interrogator: An Education, New
York: Nation Books, 2011; Scott Horton,
Unredacting ‘The Interrogator’, Harper’s
Magazine, 5 July 2011.
58. UWA, Invoice to Airborne, No. 899520, 23
October 2002.
59. AirMarketing Services, Invoice to SportsFlight
Air, No. 22588, 10 November 2002.
60. Capital Aviation, Invoice to DynCorp Systems and
Solutions, SE100602-001, 9 October 2002.
61. Flight tracked through Danish and Icelandic
airspace.
62. Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of
Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar,
Report of the Events Relating to Maher Arar,
September 2006, pp. 54-57.
63. Ibid., p. 54.
64. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 66-67.
65. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 29768, 11-18 November
2002.
66. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
67. DoJ (OPR), Investigation into the Office of Legal
Counsel’s Memoranda Concerning Issues
Relating to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Use
of ‘Enhanced Interrogation Techniques’ on
Suspected Terrorists, 29 July 2009, p. 85.
68. CIA, ALEC, Application of Enhanced Measures to
‘Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, cable, circa 11
November 2002.
69. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
41355, 15 November 2002.
70. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
71. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
10:36; left 11:12).
72. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67. See also DoJ (OPR),
Investigation into the Office of Legal Counsel’s
Memoranda Concerning Issues Relating to the
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
87.
88.
89. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 10406, 8-10
February 2003; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE,
cable 10415, 8-10 February 2003.
90. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141.
91. Ibid.
92. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
93. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
7-8 February 2003.
94. Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Overflight
and Landing Records for N379P and N313P, 20022003, 16 September 2009; Straż Graniczna,
Landing Records for N379P, N313P and N63MU,
2002-2003, 23 July 2010; Szymany Airport,
Landing Book, February 2003.
95. Flight landed with 7 passengers, left with 4. False
flight plans filed, Rabat-Warsaw-Larnaca and
Rabat-Prague.
96. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
16:58).
97. Milan Tribunal, Judge Section for Preliminary
Investigations, Warrant for Arrest, 22 June 2005,
pp. 187-188; John Hooper, Italian Court Finds CIA
Agents Guilty of Kidnapping Terrorism Suspect,
The Guardian, 4 November 2009.
98. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
42850, 19 February 2003.
99. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 81, 83.
100. Ibid., p. 84.
101. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 10711, 7-9
March 2003.
102. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
pp. 34-35.
103. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P: 7
March 2003.
104. Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Overflight
and Landing Records for N379P and N313P, 20022003, 16 September 2009; Straż Graniczna,
Landing Records for N379P, N313P and N63MU,
2002-2003, 23 July 2010; Szymany Airport,
Landing Book, March 2003.
105. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
11:20; left 11:59).
106. Flight landed with 2 passengers, left with 0. False
flight plans filed, Kabul-Warsaw-Prague and
Kabul-Budapest-Glasgow.
107. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
21:46).
108. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 36.
371
APPENDIX 2
86.
Central Intelligence Agency’s Use of ‘Enhanced
Interrogation Techniques’ on Suspected
Terrorists, 29 July 2009, p. 85.
CIA (OIG), Special Review: Counterterrorism
Detention and Interrogation Activities
(September 2001 - October 2003), 2003-7123-IG,
7 May 2004 (redacted), p. 36.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67.
UWA, AFTN/SITA Text for N63MU: 4-6 December
2002.
Straż Graniczna, Landing Records for N379P,
N313P and N63MU, 2002-2003, 23 July 2010.
Tom Hundley, Remote Polish Airstrip Holds Clues
to Secret CIA Flights, Chicago Tribune, 6
February 2007.
Szymany Airport, Landing Book, December 2002.
UWA, Invoices to Airborne, Various Dates;
AirMarketing, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, No.
22731, 10 December 2002; AirMarketing, Invoice
to SportsFlight Air, No. 23109, 16 January 2003;
Capital Aviation, Invoice to DynCorp Systems and
Solutions, LT050602-1203, 7 January 2003.
Capital Aviation, Payment Receipt to SportsFlight
Air, Trip 24, 24 January 2003.
Landed 8 passengers, left 0. False flight plans
filed, Dubai-Vienna-Luton.
Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Bisher al-Rawi, 10 December 2007,
para 36-41.
Glenn Carle, The Interrogator: An Education, New
York: Nation Books, 2011; Scott Horton,
Unredacting ‘The Interrogator’, Harper’s
Magazine, 5 July 2011. See, also the profile for
Circuit 11.
Wazir is #38 on the Committee Study’s list of
detainees, and we have established that Jamil
el-Banna (#36) entered CIA custody on 9
December 2002. The Committee Study makes it
clear that Wazir entered CIA custody in 2002.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
Glenn Carle, The Interrogator: An Education, New
York: Nation Books, 2011; Scott Horton,
Unredacting ‘The Interrogator’, Harper’s
Magazine, 5 July 2011.
Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P: 8
December 2002.
Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
11:47, left 12:27).
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 75.
109. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 35558, 16-31 March
2003.
110. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 10990,
24-26 March 2003.
111. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
25 March 2003.
112. Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Overflight
and Landing Records for N379P and N313P, 20022003, 16 September 2009; Szymany Airport,
Landing Book, March 2003.
113. Straż Graniczna, Landing Records for N379P,
N313P and N63MU, 2002-2003, 23 July 2010.
114. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
25 March 2003.
115. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
08:04; left 08:28).
116. False flight plans filed, Kabul-Warsaw-Glasgow
and Warsaw-Prague.
117. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 73.
118. Ibid., para 75-76.
119. See, for example, UWA, AFTN/SITA Text for
N63MU: 28 March 2003.
120. UWA, Invoice to Airborne, No. 943167, 9 April
2003.
121. AirMarketing, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, No.
23247, 31 March 2003.
122. Capital Aviation, Invoice to DynCorp Systems and
Solutions, SE032503-001, 9 April 2003.
123. Airborne, Aircraft Flight Log, N63MU, 25-29
March 2003.
124. False flight plan filed, Washington-Porto-Cairo.
125. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
126. Ibid.
127. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
128. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38576, 19-20 May 2003.
129. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 298; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Ammar al-Baluchi, 8 December
2006, p. 4.
130. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 38325, 16 May 2003.
131. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 32.
132. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 12371, 21
July 2003, 21:21; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE,
cable 12385, 22 July 2003, 20:45; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 12389, 23 July
2003, 20:40.
372
133. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 32.
134. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 67, 72.
135. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 10406, 8-10
February 2003; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE,
cable 10415, 8-10 February 2003.
136. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 139.
137. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P: 5
June 2003.
138. Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Overflight
and Landing Records for N379P and N313P, 20022003, 16 September 2009; Straż Graniczna,
Landing Records for N379P, N313P and N63MU,
2002-2003, 23 July 2010; Szymany Airport,
Landing Book, June 2003.
139. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
09:11; left 09:51).
140. False flight plans filed, Kabul-Warsaw-Rabat.
141. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 309; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Mohamed Farik Bin Amin, 23
September 2008, p. 4.
142. CIA, Thailand, cable 84854, 8 June – 11 August
2003; CIA, Thailand, cable 84876, 8 June – 11
August 2003.
143. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 40568, 18-25 June
2003.
144. AirMarketing, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, No.
23438, 24 June 2003.
145. Airborne, Aircraft Flight Log, N614RD, 17-21 June
2003.
146. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
16:14).
147. Dana Priest, Memo Lets CIA Take Detainees out
of Iraq: Practice Is Called Serious Breach of
Geneva Conventions, The Washington Post, 24
October 2004.
148. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
149. Edward Pound, Iraq’s Invisible Man: A ‘Ghost’
Inmate’s Strange Life Behind Bars, Nation and
World, 28 June 2004.
150. Saifullah Paracha, Statement to Combatant Status
Review Tribunal, 8 December 2004, pp. 1-2.
151. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment:
Saifullah Paracha, 1 December 2008, p. 3. This
document refers to the CIA as ‘an other
government agency (OGA), and gives a capture
date of 8 July 2003.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
168. Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Overflight
and Landing Records for N379P and N313P, 20022003, 16 September 2009; Straż Graniczna,
Landing Records for N379P, N313P and N63MU,
2002-2003, 23 July 2010; Szymany Airport,
Landing Book, July 2003.
169. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
07:23; left 08:00).
170. False flight plans filed, Kabul-Warsaw-Kabul.
171. CIA, Thailand, cable 87426, 11 August 2003,
12:23; SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 310; DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee
Assessment: Riduan Isomuddin, 30 October
2008, p. 4.
172. CIA, Thailand, cable 87414, 11 August 2003; CIA,
Thailand, cable 87551, 15 August 2003, 07:31;
CIA, Thailand, cable 87552, 15 August 2003,
07:38; CIA, Thailand, cable 87617, date redacted.
173. ICRC, Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High
Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody, February 2007,
p. 14.
174. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1241, 15 August 2003,
19:12; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1242, 15 August
2003, 19:14; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1243, 15
August 2003, 20:49.
175. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
46454, 21 August 2003.
176. Amnesty International, Who Are the Guantánamo
Detainees? Case Sheet 25: Sanad Ali Yislam
al-Kazimi, 1 May 2008.
177. Ibid.
178. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Sanad
Yislam al-Kazimi, 8 July 2008, p. 4.
179. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
180. Amnesty International, Secret Detention in CIA
‘Black Sites’, 8 November 2005, p. 7. This report
refers to Qaru as Salah Nasser Salim ‘Ali.
181. Ibid., p. 9.
182. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
183. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 47-83.
184. Amnesty International, Secret Detention in CIA
‘Black Sites’, 8 November 2005, p. 17.
185. See the profiles for these three men.
186. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
373
APPENDIX 2
152. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 357. See, also, CIA, Thailand, cable
86058, 5 July – 11 August 2003.
153. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
09:30; left 10:20) and Danish airspace (entered
10:31).
154. Asadallah was taken into custody on the night of
Eid-ul-Adha, which in 2003 fell on 12 February.
Shahzada Zulfiqar, Silence of the Mullahs,
Newsline, March 2003.
155. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34098, 23-26 February
2003.
156. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
157. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 30. See, also: David
Wroe, Jihadist Believes Bin Laden Inspired Arab
Spring Confidence, Sunday Morning Herald, 10
September 2011.
158. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
07:06; left 07:46).
159. Amnesty International, Israel Must Hospitalize or
Release Palestinian Hunger Striker on Verge of
Death, 6 September 2012.
160. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, pp. 34-35. See, also:
Amnesty International, Annual Report 2009, 28
May 2009, p. 192.
161. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
162. United Nations, Joint Study on Global Practices in
Relation to Secret Detention in the Context of
Countering Terrorism, 19 February 2010, p. 72.
See, also, the profile for Circuit 32.
163. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLUE, cable 1015, 1
August 2003, 20:57; CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLUE, cable 1017, 3 August 2003, 08:12.
164. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 243-244.
165. CIA, ALEC, Questioning Ammar al-Baluchi and
Mustafa al-Hawsawi on Heathrow Plot
Operatives, cable, 16 July 2003, 18:21 (redacted);
CIA, Afghanistan, CT: Comments by Senior
al-Qa’ida Operative Ammar al-Baluchi on
al-Qa’ida Member Jaffar al-Tayyar, cable 42247,
21 July 2003, 03:57 (redacted).
166. Ammar al-Baluchi, Testimony: Black Site
Locations, CR-157-AAA, undated.
167. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
29-30 July 2003.
187. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
12:17; left 13:01).
188. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 74.
189. Ibid., p. 97.
190. Ibid., p. 140.
191. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, CIA Flight
Carried Secret from Gitmo, Associated Press, 7
August 2010.
192. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N313P:
22 September 2003.
193. Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Overflight
and Landing Records for N379P and N313P, 20022003, 16 September 2009; Straż Graniczna,
Landing Records for N379P, N313P and N63MU,
2002-2003, 23 July 2010; Szymany Airport,
Landing Book, September 2003.
194. Flight tracked through Polish airspace (entered
08:02; left 08:25).
195. False flight plan filed, Kabul-Warsaw.
196. False flight plan filed, Szymany-Constanta.
197. Flight tracked through Portuguese airspace
(entered 21:35; left 00:26).
198. United Nations, Joint Study on Global Practices in
Relation to Secret Detention in the Context of
Countering Terrorism, 19 February 2010, p. 72.
199. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 10172, 16
October 2003, 08:21.
200. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 10172, 16
October 2003, 08:21.
201. Al-Jaza’iri provided this account to Marwan
al-Jabour in 2006, while both were detained at
DETENTION SITE ORANGE. Human Rights
Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years in Secret CIA
Detention, February 2007, pp. 22-23.
202. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 7-34.
203. Ibid., para 35-41, 47-49.
204. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20.
205. Binyam Mohamed et al v. Jeppesen Dataplan,
Declaration of Mohamed Farag Ahmad
Bashmilah, 5 December 2007, para 38-39.
206. Edward Pound, Iraq’s Invisible Man: A ‘Ghost’
Inmate’s Strange Life Behind Bars, Nation and
World, 28 June 2004.
207. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
208. Nick Childs, US Captures ‘Top Iraqi Militant’, BBC
News, 14 October 2003.
374
209. Hawleri is #88 on the Committee Study’s list of
detainees, and Mohammed Bashmilah (#89)
entered CIA custody on 26 October 2003.
210. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
211. Mahmoud Yasin Kurdi, Leader Explains Declining
Power of Islamic Parties in Kurdistan, Rudaw, 27
May 2014.
212. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N379P:
25 October 2003.
213. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
00:38).
214. False flight plan filed, Prague-Constanta.
215. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 9.
Although the location of this site is redacted in
the report, the description correlates closely with
other accounts of the Dark Prison, including:
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 49; Amnesty International, A Case
to Answer: From Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA
Custody; the Case of Khaled al-Maqtari, March
2008, p. 23.
216. See, for example: CIA, Afghanistan, cable 34757,
10 March 2003, 17:42.
217. CIA (OIG), Disposition Memorandum: Alleged
Use of Unauthorized Interrogation Techniques,
2004-7604-IG, 6 December 2006 (redacted), p. 9.
218. According to others held at the Dark Prison, who
in turn spoke to Khaled al-Maqtari. Amnesty
International, A Case to Answer: From Abu
Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of Khaled
al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 20. See, also: Amnesty
International, Off the Record: US Responsibility
for Enforced Disappearances in the ‘War on
Terror’, 30 June 2007, pp. 7-8.
219. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 141.
220. Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
221. Entered Polish airspace 10:58; left 11:41.
222. Entered Polish airspace 15:17; left 16:04.
223. Entered Polish airspace 05:27; left 05:50.
224. Entered Portuguese airspace 00:57; left 03:39.
225. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 139-140.
226. CIA, Guantánamo, cable 1091, 3 November 2003,
18:35.
227. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1528, 15-31 December
2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1871, 24 January
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
228.
229.
230.
231.
232.
233.
234.
235.
236.
237.
238.
239.
240.
241.
242.
243.
245.
246.
247.
Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012, pp. 68-70.
248. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
249. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 69-70.
250. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
251. Open Society Justice Initiative, Globalizing
Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary
Rendition, 5 February 2013, p. 36.
252. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 128.
253. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1658, 24-31 January
2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 54301, 27 January
2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 54305, 28 January
2004.
254. Khaled el-Masri v. George Tenet et al., Declaration
of Khaled el-Masri, 6 April 2006, para 25-35.
255. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 130; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1642,
21-31 January 2004.
256. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 132.
257. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N313P:
25 January 2004.
258. Guardia Civil, Inquiry Documents: N313P, January
2004.
259. False flight plan filed, Kabul-Timisoara.
260. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, pp. 12-13.
261. Jeppesen Dataplan, AFTN/SITA Text for N8068V:
22 January 2004.
262. Flight tracked through German airspace.
263. Flight tracked through German airspace.
264. Ibrahim is #99 on the Committee Study’s list of
detainees, and therefore entered CIA custody on
the same day as, or after, Hassan Ghul (#98). Ghul
entered CIA custody on 24 January 2004. SSCI,
Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
265. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1298, 27-31
January 2004; CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 1303, 27-31 January 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1311, 27-31
January 2004.
266. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
375
APPENDIX 2
244.
– 9 March 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2022, 15
March – 22 April 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
2024, 15 March – 22 April 2004.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 111.
Air Routing, Invoices to Richmor Aviation, various
dates.
Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
49024, 22 December 2003.
Eurocontrol, Invoice to Richmor Aviation,
EV/07403/31/0312/01, 19 January 2004; NATS,
Invoice to Richmor Aviation, D90091679, 10
January 2004.
Entered Danish airspace 17:31.
Bin Attash (#10) had previously spent 2-3 days in
CIA custody, in mid-September 2002. See his
profile for full details.
Given that he felt an earthquake during his
detention in the country. US Geological Survey
data documents two earthquakes in Djibouti at this
time. US Geological Survey, Earthquake Catalog:
Djibouti, 1-10 January 2004.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected). The appendix also makes clear that
al-Asad was the first prisoner to enter CIA custody
in 2004.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1591, 8-10 January 2004.
Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 25.
David H. Remes, Declaration: Hassan bin Attash, 18
October 2011, para 11; Human Rights Watch,
Double Jeopardy: CIA Renditions to Jordan, April
2008, p. 27.
Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of
Mohammed Abdullah Saleh al-Asad, 15 January
2011, para 32-40.
Mohammed al-Asad v. Djibouti, Declaration of Sam
Raphael, 27 June 2016, para 27-35.
Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 25.
Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
16:15).
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 238.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1630, 19-31 January 2004.
Reprieve, Memo: FBI Involvement in the Abuse of
Binyam Mohammed (al Habashi), 24 August 2005,
pp. 16-17.
Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy Hands:
US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to
(redacted and corrected).
267. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
50622, 30 January 2004.
268. CIA memo, Schedule for the Rendition of
Abdullah al-Sadiq, 6 March 2004.
269. Leigh Day, Letter of Claim: Mr Abdel Hakim
Belhadj and Ms Fatima Bouchar, 7 November
2011, p. 5.
270. Leigh Day, Belhaj Lawyers Announce Fresh Legal
Action in Rendition Case, 9 April 2012; Jamie
Doward and Ian Cobain, Remote Indian Ocean
Island Holds Key to Understanding UK Role in
Rendition, The Observer, 12 July 2014.
271. For example, see: FCO, Freedom of Information
Response, 0630-13, 25 October 2013; FCO,
Freedom of Information Response, 0720-18, 27
September 2018.
272. See, for example: House of Commons Chamber,
UK Involvement in Rendition, Hansard, vol. 612,
col. 437-444, 29 June 2016.
273. FCO, Alleged CIA Rendition Flights Through
Diego Garcia, 12 February 2015, para 8.
274. Guardia Civil, Inquiry Documents: N313P, March
2004.
275. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 22.
276. CIA memo, Schedule for the Rendition of
Abdullah al-Sadiq, 6 March 2004.
277. DoD (JTF-GTMO), Detainee Assessment: Hassan
Guleed, 19 September 2008; SSCI, Committee
Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted), p. 339.
278. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 339.
279. Ibid., pp. 141-143.
280. Flight tracked through Portuguese airspace
(entered 00:27, left 02:18).
281. See Chapter 2 for our findings relating to this
date.
282. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 140-141.
283. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, CIA Flight
Carried Secret from Gitmo, Associated Press, 7
August 2010.
284. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air: Trip
52158, 14 April 2004.
285. Flight tracked through Portuguese airspace
(entered 12:04; left 13:42).
286. Parallel flight plan filed, Bucharest-Casablanca.
287. See Chapter 2 for our findings relating to this
date.
288. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 140-141.
376
289. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, CIA Flight
Carried Secret from Gitmo, Associated Press, 7
August 2010.
290. SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS050602-0412, 27 April
2004.
291. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy Hands:
US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to
Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012, pp. 78-80.
292. CIA memo, Mustafa Salim Ali Moderi Tarabulsi, aka
Shaykh Musa, 15 April 2004.
293. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy Hands:
US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to
Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012, pp. 80-81.
294. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
52743, 11 May 2004.
295. Guardia Civil, Inquiry Documents: N85VM, May
2004.
296. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
297. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 129.
298. Khaled el-Masri v. George Tenet et al., Declaration
of Khaled el-Masri, 6 April 2006, para 66-71.
299. SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS050602-0525, 2 June
2004.
300. Air Routing, Invoices to Richmor Aviation, various
dates.
301. Flight tracked through Danish airspace.
302. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
303. Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
304. Ibid.
305. UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special
Rapporteur, Martin Scheinin: Mission to Tunisia, A/
HRC/16/51/Add.2, 28 December 2010, p. 16.
306. SportsFlight, Billing Records: April-November
2004.
307. Richmor Aviation, Receipts for N982RK: 9-11 June
2004.
308. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1528, 15-31 December
2003; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 1871, 24 January
– 9 March 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 2022, 15
March – 22 April 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable
2024, 15 March – 22 April 2004.
309. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
310. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 111.
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
330.
331.
332.
333.
334.
335.
336.
337.
338.
339.
340.
341.
342.
343.
344.
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
p. 75.
Air Culinaire, Invoice to International Group, No.
78669, 20 August 2004; UWA, Invoice to
International Group, Trip 104081447, 26 August
2004; International Group, Invoice to SportsFlight
Air, No. 50, 26 August 2004; SFA, Invoice to CSC,
LTS050602-08203, 27 August 2004; SFA and
CSC, Subcontract Task Order Modification,
Subcontract S1007312, Task Order 4, 31 August
2004.
International Group, Aircraft Flight Log, N63MU,
22 August 2004.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
Craig S. Smith and Souad Mekhennet, Algerian
Tells of Dark Term in US Hands, The New York
Times, 7 July 2006.
Baseops, Invoice to Prime Jet, Trip 29567, 27
September 2004; Prime Jet, Invoice to
AirMarketing, 27 September 2004; AirMarketing,
Invoice to SportsFlight Air, No. 24611, 14
September 2004; SFA, Invoice to CSC,
LTS050602-08238, 23 September 2004; SFA and
CSC, Subcontract Task Order Modification,
Subcontract S1007312, Task Order 5, 30
September 2004.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 141-142.
Adam Goldman, Secret Jails: Terror Suspect’s
Odyssey Through CIA’s ‘Black Sites’, Associated
Press, 2010.
CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1759, 2
October 2004, 13:19.
Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
55333, 6 October 2004.
SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
10, 15 October 2004.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
SFA, Invoice to CSC, LT050602-10172, 26
October 2004.
SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
11, 28 October 2004.
Amnesty International, Off the Record: US
377
APPENDIX 2
311. For the first, see the profile for Circuit 34.
312. Air Routing, Invoices to Richmor Aviation, various
dates.
313. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
53390, 21 June 2004.
314. Eurocontrol, Invoice to Richmor Aviation,
HE/07403/31/0406/01, 19 July 2004.
315. Guardia Civil, Inquiry Documents: N85VM, June
2004.
316. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 136.
317. See, for example: CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK,
cable 1512, 2-8 August 2004; CIA, DETENTION
SITE BLACK, cable 1519, 2-8 August 2004; CIA,
DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 1521, 2-8 August
2004.
318. For an earlier match of flight data to Gul’s transfer
into Romania, see Thomas Hammarberg,
Advancing Accountability in Respect of the CIA
Black Site in Romania, memo, Council of Europe,
CommDH(2012)38, 30 March 2012, p. 15.
319. SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order 1,
27 August 2004.
320. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015, para
118-120. See, also: Human Rights Watch, Delivered
into Enemy Hands: US-led abuse and rendition of
opponents to Gaddifi’s Libya, September 2012, pp.
34-38.
321. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 36862, 18 April 2003,
13:52.
322. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
323. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015, para
152; Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents
to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012, p. 56.
324. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy Hands:
US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to
Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012, pp. 61-62.
325. The Committee Study’s list of detainees makes
clear that al-Maghrebi entered CIA custody in
2003, and after Ali Saeed Awadh, who we have
established entered on 17 December 2003.
326. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
327. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy Hands:
US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to
Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012, p. 66.
328. Ibid., p. 68.
329. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
345.
346.
347.
348.
349.
350.
351.
352.
353.
354.
355.
356.
357.
358.
359.
360.
361.
362.
363.
364.
365.
366.
Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in
the ‘War on Terror’, 30 June 2007, p. 14.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 138.
Ibid., pp. 138, 348.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3191, 18-20 September
2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3192, 18-20
September 2004; CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3194,
18-20 September 2004.
SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 139.
CIA, Afghanistan, cable 3802, 16-18 December
2004.
Air Routing, Invoices to Richmor Aviation, various
dates.
Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
56519, 21 December 2004.
SportsFlight, Billing Records: May-December
2004, undated.
SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
15, 22 December 2004.
Flight tracked through German airspace.
Flight tracked through German, Danish and
Norwegian airspace (entered Danish airspace at
12:43).
Flight tracked through Danish airspace.
SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 142.
Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 28.
Classic Limited Air, Aircraft Flight Log, N724CL,
14-18 February 2005. See, also: ECtHR,
Judgment: Abu Zubaydah v. Lithuania, 31 May
2018, para 141-143.
CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009.
CAA, Landing Records for N8213G, N961BW,
N724CL and N787WH, 2003-2005, 20 June 2011;
Vilnius Airport, Ground Handling Form, 17
February 2005.
Classic Limited Air, Private Carriage Agreement:
N724CL, 9 February 2005.
Classic Limited Air, Invoice to CSC, 24 February
2005.
SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
21, 17 February 2005.
Classic Limited Air, Aircraft Flight Log, N724CL,
378
14-18 February 2005.
367. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 142.
368. Ibid., p. 99.
369. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 2166, 7
March 2005, 06:47.
370. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3223, date
redacted.
371. Baseops, AFTN/SITA Text for N787WH: 18
February 2005.
372. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, p. 4.
373. CAA, Landing Records for N8213G, N961BW,
N724CL and N787WH, 2003-2005, 20 June 2011.
374. Palanga Airport, Invoice to Victory Air Transport,
22 February 2005.
375. Ibid.
376. SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
21, 17 February 2005.
377. Flight plan to Munich, not flown due to snow.
Planes International, Yearly Review: 2005 at
Salzburg Airport, undated.
378. False flight plan filed, Rabat-Constanta.
379. False flight plan filed, Bucharest-Gothenburg. No
customs inspection.
380. Flight tracked through Danish airspace.
381. Flight tracked through Danish airspace.
382. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
pp. 34-38.
383. Salim v. Mitchell, Complaint, 13 October 2015,
para 118-120. See, also: Human Rights Watch,
Delivered into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and
Rendition of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya,
September 2012, p. 38.
384. CIA, Afghanistan, cable 36862, 18 April 2003,
13:52.
385. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
386. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
p. 58.
387. Ibid., pp. 84-85.
388. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, p. 13.
389. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
N724CL and N787WH, 2003-2005, 20 June 2011.
411. Vilnius Airport, Invoice to Victory Air Transport, 6
October 2005; Vilnius Airport, Ground Handling
Form, 6 October 2005.
412. SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS050602-10046, 12
October 2005; SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS05060210038, 12 October 2005.
413. SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1008117, Task Order
54, 25 October 2005; SFA and CSC, Subcontract
Task Order Modification, Subcontract S1008117,
Task Order 53, 25 October 2005.
414. False flight plan filed, Bratislava-Constanta.
415. Flight data inconsistent. Unclear if aircraft
stopped in Shannon or Luton.
416. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
21:21).
417. False flight plan filed, Tirana-Tallinn.
418. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (left
09:54).
419. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 151-152.
420. Dana Priest, CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret
Prisons, The Washington Post, 2 November
2005.
421. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 153.
422. Human Rights Watch, Double Jeopardy: CIA
Renditions to Jordan, April 2008, p. 28.
423. False flight plan filed, Porto-Constanta.
424. Flight tracked through Danish airspace (entered
05:58).
425. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 96.
426. Ibid., p. 154.
427. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 2166, 7
March 2005, 06:47; CIA, DETENTION SITE
VIOLET, cable 3910, 24 January 2006, 18:52; CIA,
DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3223, date
redacted.
428. Miami Air International, AFTN/SITA Text for
N733MA: 25 March 2006.
429. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, pp. 4-5.
430. SFA, Invoice to CSC, LTS050602-0666, 30 March
2006.
431. SFA and Miami Air International, Flight Schedule,
Contract M1195.06.02, 27 March 2006.
432. False flight plan filed, Porto-Helsinki. No customs
inspection.
433. False flight plan filed, Palanga-Porto.
434. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
379
APPENDIX 2
(redacted and corrected).
390. Ibid.
391. Human Rights Watch, Delivered into Enemy
Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of
Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya, September 2012,
p. 89.
392. Jet Alliance, Invoice to Air Marketing, No. 6841, 9
June 2005.
393. SportsFlight, Billing Records: April-June 2005,
undated.
394. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), pp. 146-147.
395. Email from CIA Director Porter, dated 24 May
2005, instructing officers to ‘proceed as planned’
with Abu Faraj’s rendition into CIA custody. SSCI,
Committee Study, 9 December 2014 (redacted),
p. 146.
396. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 147.
397. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 2336, 28
May 2005, 20:03.
398. Al-Magrebi is #115 on the Committee Study’s list
of detainees, and Abu Faraj al-Libi is #114. SSCI,
Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA Detainees
From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015 (redacted and
corrected).
399. Richmor Aviation, Invoice to SportsFlight Air, Trip
59286, 7 June 2005.
400. SFA and CSC, Subcontract Task Order
Modification, Subcontract S1007312, Task Order
37, 30 June 2005.
401. See, for example: CIA, DETENTION SITE
BLACK, cable 1281, 13 June 2004, 08:01.
402. SSCI, Committee Study, 9 December 2014
(redacted), p. 96.
403. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 31147, 17
December 2005, 19:19
404. CIA, DETENTION SITE BLACK, cable 3051, 30
September 2005, 12:35.
405. CIA, DETENTION SITE VIOLET, cable 3910, 24
January 2006, 18:52.
406. Email from (redacted) to (redacted), subject:
N308AB Itinerary, 29 September 2005, 10:34PM.
407. CSC, Preliminary Requirements: 4-5 October
2005, 28 September 2005.
408. Baseops, AFTN/SITA Text for N787WH: 5-6
October 2005.
409. CNSD, Findings of the Investigation Concerning
the Alleged Transportation and Confinement of
Persons Detained by the Central Intelligence
Agency, 22 December 2009, p. 5. See, also,
SBGS, Incident Report, 6 October 2005.
410. CAA, Landing Records for N8213G, N961BW,
(redacted), p. 141.
435. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
436. Human Rights Watch, Libya/US: Investigate
Death of Former CIA Prisoner, 11 May 2009.
437. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, p. 13.
438. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
439. Ibid.
440. Human Rights Watch, Ghost Prisoner: Two Years
in Secret CIA Detention, February 2007, pp.
24-25.
441. Amnesty International, A Case to Answer: From
Abu Ghraib to Secret CIA Custody; the Case of
Khaled al-Maqtari, March 2008, p. 22.
442. SSCI, Committee Study Appendix 2: CIA
Detainees From 2002-2008, 6 February 2015
(redacted and corrected).
443. Integrity Jet Charter, Invoice to SportsFlight, No.
200025, 20 July 2006.
444. SFA, Payment Receipt to Integrity Jet Charter, 11
September 2006.
380
CIA TORTURE UNREDACTED
APPENDIX 2
CIA Torture Unredacted
Sam Raphael
Crofton Black
Ruth Blakeley
Published July 2019
ISBN 978-1-5272-4390-3
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AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE
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