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Binyam Mohamed & the Missing Seven Paragraphs

Wednesday, 10th February 2010

So, the government has lost its case and the FCO has now published the famous missing seven paragraphs:

v) It was reported that at some stage during that further interview process by the United States authorities, BM had been intentionally subjected to continuous sleep deprivation. The effects of the sleep deprivation were carefully observed.

vi) It was reported that combined with the sleep deprivation, threats and inducements were made to him. His fears of being removed from United States custody and “disappearing” were played upon.

vii) It was reported that the stress brought about by these deliberate tactics was increased by him being shackled in his interviews

viii) It was clear not only from the reports of the content of the interviews but also from the report that he was being kept under self-harm observation, that the inter views were having a marked effect upon him and causing him significant mental stress and suffering.

ix) We regret to have to conclude that the reports provide to the SyS made clear to anyone reading them that BM was being subjected to the treatment that we have described and the effect upon him of that intentional treatment.

x) The treatment reported, if had been administered on behalf of the United Kingdom, would clearly have been in breach of the undertakings given by the United Kingdom in 1972. Although it is not necessary for us to categorise the treatment reported, it could readily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States authorities]"

All that is pretty clear and, frankly, you can see why the government didn't want this in the public domain.

William Hague's reaction is equally clear and worth noting for the record:

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the alleged treatment was "utterly unacceptable", adding: "These things - if true - are not only morally wrong, but harm our efforts to combat terrorists, play into the hands of their propagandists and weaken rather than strengthen our national security."

The whole shabby affair is disgraceful. Not least because the way in which it has been conducted obscures, rather than illuminates the truth. It was, remember, the Bush administration that dropped charges against Mohamed.

Filed under: Britain (737 more articles) , Guantanamo (8 more articles) , Terrorism (298 more articles) , Torture (57 more articles) , William Hague (166 more articles)

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DavidDP

February 10th, 2010 2:15pm Report this comment

Cue Mel claiming that this disclosure fundementally undermines our battle against Islam and the fact that he wasn't charged is evidence he wasn't tortured enough.

Grassmarket

February 10th, 2010 3:02pm Report this comment

An Ethiopian citizen goes to Pakistan and gets mistreated by the Pakistani police. What has this to do with us?

The Masked Marvel

February 10th, 2010 3:38pm Report this comment

Surely if he wasn't charged it's due to the incompetence of the people running the show, and not because Binyam Mohamed was an innocent lamb. Or are we supposed to forget about that now?

YA

February 10th, 2010 4:54pm Report this comment

- either, "no-one has ever produced a charge against" 3000 people murdered in 9/11, and against other countless victims of terrorism.

There is absolutely no comparison, but just for the thought.

Oh and BTW - no-one ever tried to investigate kidnapping, imprisoning and killing of British citizen in Iraq by Iranian agents. The bodies of two Britons were just thrown away on streets, like dead dogs. That was OK.

But this patented terrorist is a national treasure, great British truth teller, great British martyr, and champion of great British human rights.

MSM have lost last shame, and last reasons to be heard. And Spectator is happily joining a cesspit.

Beefeater

February 10th, 2010 6:40pm Report this comment

"Although it is not necessary for us to categorise the treatment reported, it could readily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States authorities"

It could equally be contended, on the stated facts, that at the very most, the treatment was stressful, carefully administered and consistent with the interrogator/captive relationship which by its nature places the captive in an inferior position.

Just as well it was not necessary to categorise the treatment. We should be embarrassed by this exercise in question begging. The Human Rights community's contentions are identical with their conclusions.

bill

February 10th, 2010 7:11pm Report this comment

Lets see now. This guy is a failed asylum seeker who overstayed and conned our stupid Government into letting him stay in 2000. He then bogs off a few months later to Pakistan to "get off a drug habit" and to see if Taliban Afghanistan is a cool place to live.
Frankly I wish he had stayed in Ethiopia.
Perhaps this will be a lesson to those bleeding hearts in Government that being nice to dodgy people doesn't pay

Noa Zrk

February 10th, 2010 8:27pm Report this comment

"the interviews were having a marked effect upon him and causing him significant mental stress and suffering".

The remarkable thing is, reading this stuff, how unremarkable it is.
People who were in the concentration camps, or prisoners of the Gestapo, would have been nonplussed at the so called 'human rights' violations of this person. Heck!
I had worse treatment, in the form of floggings at grammar school in the 60's, than this slimeball al qaeda'ist suspect.
Why did the British government bring this piece of human waste to disgrace our shores at our expense.
The US' and subsequently yje UK's treatment of this person is in contrast with the complete inhumanity with prisoners from Israel and the West are treated by Islamists. Perhaps Amnesty and the Human Rights Community could foster an appetite to launch their activities in less complaisant territories; Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq Gaza and the West Bank come to mind. But then there's less glory and pay and a lot more danger than in simply servicing a Binman brief at taxpayer expense.