Freed Detainee in U.K. Tells of Abuse by U.S.
'Medieval' Methods Were Used, Statement Says
source
"It is still difficult for me to believe that I was abducted, hauled from one country to the next, and tortured in medieval ways -- all orchestrated by the United States government," Binyam Mohamed said in the statement released by his attorneys at a London news conference.
His arrival at a Royal Air Force base near London on Monday afternoon ended what his attorneys have described as a seven-year odyssey of torture, "rendition" by U.S. authorities to secret prisons in Morocco and Afghanistan, and legal limbo in a system where he was held without charge for much of his detention.
Mohamed issued a statement but declined to make an appearance. He had a few things to say however... below...
Mohamed apologized for not appearing in person at the news conference, saying that for the moment he was "neither physically nor mentally capable of facing the media."
He said he wanted to speak out on behalf of the 241 Muslim prisoners he said were still being held at Guantanamo and the "thousands of other prisoners held by the U.S. elsewhere around the world, with no charges and without access to their families."
"While I want to recover, and put it all as far in my past as I can, I also know I have an obligation to the people who still remain in those torture chambers," he said. "My own despair was greatest when I thought that everyone had abandoned me. I have a duty to make sure that nobody else is forgotten."
He added, "I am not asking for vengeance; only that the truth should be made known, so that nobody in the future should have to endure what I have endured."
The article in this morning’s Washington Post already has a gazillion comments and I’m not about to try to read them all. I got a little shaking my head "stuck" with this one:
My guess is this man’s lying. No one especially someone as unimportant as him would be tortured for years. There's a difference between being detained and tortured.
Really.
By the way...
Of the about 245 prisoners at Guantanamo, 59 have been cleared for release but remain at the prison.
"We do not torture." ~Barack Obama.
We, the people, expect our leaders to honor and uphold our Constitution. We abide by our agreements and treaties. We value these ideals that are spelled out in our founding documents and amendments. We have Rule of Law, not rule of men. We value human life. So help me God.
Each president recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
We do not torture....
or
We do not torture from this point forward?
We do not torture... except for evil people and known or suspected or imagined enemies?
We do not torture .. well, we did, but now we don’t, or we won’t again, but for all the time we did, well.... Never mind...?
This can not stand.
EDIT, to clarify: Im still hopeful and optimistic, and I believe that Obama, and also Holder, are well aware of the nuances and ramifications involved in this whole issue. I’m trying to be patient with them. Certainly the politics of it all are... above my pay grade.
What I get upset about is more... I really don’t think most people , the citizenry, understand how important this is, or why. The WP commenter, the attitude, and underlying belief set, in that comment is just... astonishing in its ignorance. And implications. We would never torture someone as "unimportant" as that? What? And therefore... this guy must be lying?
Perhaps to many Americans, it is so shocking and incredulous, that the only reaction is simple disbelief. "We would never do that."
Well. We think we wouldn’t, we know we shouldn’t but "we" did. They did, and they did it in my name. THAT is what cannot stand, for me.
I confess that I myself didn’t up until it was explained, revealed, illustrated to me, a few times over. Mostly here in dKos. So I carry some guilty sense of obligation... to try "educate" at least my friends. Myself first, of course. My thanks to the many people here who have been so active in that endeavor. KC