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Feds Battle to Keep Rendition Case Under Wraps

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 10, 2009 6:06 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Obama administration is fighting to keep details secret in the case of a former Guantanamo detainee who says he was tortured, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A San Francisco court has ruled Binyam Mohamed and four others can sue the company they allege flew them to secret CIA prisons—but the government has asked it to reconsider on the grounds of national security.

Mohamed, a British resident freed without charge after seven years in US custody, says he was tortured in a secret prison in Morocco and at a US base in Afghanistan before being sent to Guantanamo. His lawyers have been threatened with jail on contempt of court charges for writing a letter to President Obama asking him to release the evidence of their client's treatment. A British lawyer testified last month that Hillary Clinton threatened to halt intelligence-sharing with Britain if that country's High Court disclosed details of the case.

Binyam Mohamed says he spent months in a US prison in Afghanistan, where he was shackled in uncomfortable positions for days on end and blasted with constant loud music.
Binyam Mohamed says he spent months in a US prison in Afghanistan, where he was shackled in uncomfortable positions for days on end and blasted with constant loud music.   (AP Photo/Reprieve, files)
Protesters demonstrate for the release of Binyam Mohamed, a former British resident and detainee at Guantanamo Bay, outside the US embassy in central London earlier this year.
Protesters demonstrate for the release of Binyam Mohamed, a former British resident and detainee at Guantanamo Bay, outside the US embassy in central London earlier this year.   (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Binyam Mohamed covers his face as he  leaves RAF Northolt in west London in February after nearly seven years in US custody.
Binyam Mohamed covers his face as he leaves RAF Northolt in west London in February after nearly seven years in US custody.   (AP Photo/ Sang Tan)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
cognitivefilter
Aug 11, 2009 6:29 AM CDT
i don't like this at all!!! government 'transparency' takes another slam...
Shannonals
Aug 11, 2009 3:32 AM CDT
If it's a national security issue, keep it under wraps, the media shouldn't have access to the files so they can broadcast it worldwide
divetrader
Aug 10, 2009 11:36 AM CDT
He should be allowed to sue the CIA and the rendition company for millions.

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