Disappeared in the Name of National Security
From October 2003 until May 2005, I was illegally detained by the U.S. government and held in CIA-run "black sites" with no contact with the outside world. On May 5, 2005, without explanation, my American captors removed me from my cell and cuffed, hooded, and bundled me onto a plane that delivered me to Sana'a, Yemen. I was transferred into the custody of my own government, which held me -- apparently at the behest of the United States -- until March 27, 2006, when I was finally released, never once having faced any terrorism-related charges. Since my release, the U.S. government has never explained why I was detained and has blocked all attempts to find out more about my detention.
What I do know is that the Jordanian government -- after torturing me for several days -- handed me over to a U.S. "rendition team" in Amman, which then abducted me, forced me onto a plane, and flew me to Afghanistan. During this, and several other transfers between CIA prisons, I was subjected to a brutal and deeply humiliating "preparation" ritual. I was stripped naked, dressed in a diaper, shackled, blindfolded and hooded, and then boarded onto a waiting plane. I was forced into painful positions, often reeling from the blows and kicks of the men who had "prepared" me for flight.
During my detention, I agonized constantly about my family back in Yemen, knowing they had no idea where I was. They never once received information about who had taken me, why I was taken, or even whether I was alive. They were never contacted by the U.S. government or the International Committee of the Red Cross. My mother and wife were in such anguish that they had to be hospitalized for illness, stress, and anxiety. My father passed away while I was disappeared and I am still distraught thinking that he died without knowing whether I was dead or alive. I continue to suffer from bouts of illness that medical doctors attribute to the treatment I experienced in the "black sites." My physical symptoms are made worse by the anxiety caused by never knowing where I was held, and not having any form of acknowledgment that I was disappeared and tortured by the U.S. government.
I believe that acknowledgment is the first step toward accounting for a wrongdoing. The American public needs to face what has happened to those of us who were disappeared and mistreated in the name of their national security, demand accountability for those who committed torture and other crimes, and acknowledge the suffering of those who became victims. Today, a group of concerned Americans called on President Obama to take the first steps to do just that, by demanding that he establish an independent commission of inquiry into the treatment of detainees in the "War on Terror."
President Obama himself recently said that "democracy requires accountability and accountability requires transparency." If he establishes this commission, it would break the silence about what has happened and signal a real commitment not only to changing the practices of the past but also to ensuring that they do not happen again. Both the American public and the victims of these past policies need to understand what the CIA did in the name of U.S. national security. We need to find out where we were all held and who is still missing. And we need justice for the crimes that were committed in violation of our most basic human rights -- rights the United States has always claimed to uphold and defend. President Obama's recent order to the CIA to shut down its secret prisons was a significant step in the right direction, but it did not resolve the unfinished business of establishing accountability and restoring transparency.
The American public deserves to know what was done to people like me -- and I deserve to know why I lost nineteen months of my life -- all in the name of protecting their security. It gives me faith to see that Americans are standing up for my rights and calling for the truth to be exposed. It is my hope that the President will not only establish this commission, but that he will also direct the relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute those who broke American laws in ordering the torture and disappearance of people like me. Truth and justice are not in opposition; both are necessary, and both are the right of all Americans and the victims harmed in their name.
Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, a citizen of Yemen, is a client of the International Human Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law, which represents him in his quest for truth and justice.
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What many here do not "get" is not whether or not this man or others of the “Gitmo”, or “rendition” detainees were guilty or innocent. That is not the point.
I am sure that some of the "Gulag" prisoners in the ex Soviet Union had broken some law or other. I am sure that some in Castro's Cuban prisons are guilty of some crime or malfeasance. As a matter of fact you could probably find some law breakers among those massacred by the Nazi holocaust. So it is that we are NOT discussing the guilt or innocence of those put through these processes.
What is being discussed here IS our Nation’s character and identity. Are we truly a nation of laws? Are we respectful of human rights? Do we really believe in due process? Do we expect our citizens to be treated with fairness and judged according to established international treaties and laws? Do we believe in torture? Are we prepared to have our own citizens detained for years without trial and then released after being tortured, without as much as an “Oops, sorry about that”?
We have a constitution that protects our citizens, and we have traditions that serve as a worldwide benchmarks for the treatment of people before the law. Those ready to condemn the victims of the Bush/Cheney debacle would have cheered Hitler, Stalin and any two bit dictator who offered them “security” in exchange for freedom. Who are you and what do you stand for?
I want to help Mohamed Bashmilah, but I don’t know how until I know what really happened.
Please clarify: 1) "American captors" and how the U.S. government illegally detained Mohamed since he said his is a Yemen citizen who was in Jordan, removed from his cell where? in Jordan? flown to Afghanistan? other places, and/or delivered to Yemen into the custody of hid own government, which held him; 2) Why he is a client of a NYU School of Law group; 3) Who is paying his legal fees; and if he is a member of this group - http://rel
Pending answers to those questions it sounds to me as if he: 1) Left Yemen and his family for some time, some reason(s) in Jordan of his own free will; 2) Was held originally by Jordan for some reason(s), taken on a free tour, returned to his homeland, then held by Yemen until his release to his family; and 3) Ought to be directing his words to Jordan and Yemen, and not to anyone else or as a client of a NY Law group.
Thus I must ask what exactly does he want any American including me to do for him, and is he deserving of help from any American(s)?
The details you are curious about are interesting, but the absence of such details should not stand in the way of action by citizens to pressure the Obama administration to let Bashmilah's case proceed in court. The main push should be for truth and accountability, which can be obtained only if the court is allowed to do its job rather than be stifled by the untenable imposition of the "state secret" doctrine (when the facts of this case are no longer secret). This effort should be undertaken by civic-minded citizens for the sake of our nation's health, let alone the cause of justice. It has nothing to do with believing or not believing this man's claims.
In any case, if you are truly curious about the details of this case, a simple google search will instantly bring you a wealth of information. I am glad Mr. Bashmilah spared us these details, since they are easily available on the net. By far, the fullest source is the following 68-page report:
http://www
Most of us are not our last administration. Please accept our apologies for anything that was done to you in our name. We are not those people.
Is there any way to apologize to this *innocent* human person for the way he was treated?
Words are insufficient, but to all who suffer/ed needlessly at the hands of our government, there are MILLIONS of us who are appalled and are truly sorry.
Accountability is the only way to bring justice.
Again,,, JORDAN arrested and tortured him , handed him over to the US with some type of charge that the US took as legit... Why is this not being discussed?
Again ... Jordan arrested Mr. Bashmilah, tortured him (how easy the word!), handed him over to the CIA with torture-extracted confessions that the CIA took as "legit." The CIA then "prepared" him, kidnapped him, disappeared him, incarcerated him under inhumane conditions, and then released him without charge. Now, Mr. Bashmilah believes that he is entitled to have an acknowledgement of the truth of what happened to him, what was done to him by all parties. The government of Barack ("Change, Hope") Obama wants to deprive him of his day in court and to deprive us of learning the truth about extraordinary rendition, torture, secret prisons, and the travesty that the previous adinistration of George ("I don't do nuance") Bush made of our constitution, using "state secrets" as its argument.
This is what is not being discussed?
Sorry. I did not vote for Bush.Still
I think all Americans MUST walk with their heads hanging down in shame as of to-day. All those who agree say, ya, www.daniel
More accurately, all Americans should proudly proclaim their love for their beautiful country, their system of government, and their constitution. To do so, they need to hold their elected officials accountable. A constitutional tradition is a terrible thing to let a president trample over.
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To allow this tragedy to happen without a formal investigation and legal action against the perpetrators would be to give tacit approval to the willful destruction of the constitution and all that it stands for....
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Mr. Bashmila - my deepest apologies for your suffering at the hands of our criminal government. I hope the whole gang is sentenced to life in prison for their crimes against you and many others.
As an American, I apoligize to you and your family.
Yes; I do as well. The thugs in the US Govt. bureaucracy that perpetrate these outrages, whether they are high officials or street level goons, deserve to forfeit their citizenship and be exiled to North Korea.
To the commenters below who doubt this man's story. It doesn't matter if you believe him and his particular story. What matters is that we indeed have allowed our leaders to break the law and to illegally kidnap and torture people, period. What matters is that many of those who were illegally kidnapped and tortured have indeed also been proven innocent. What matters is that we all share this blood on our hands.
Obama cannot move fast enough to stop these hideous practices, bring the truth to light, and vigorously prosecute those who ordered these things.
I voted for Obama because I hoped he would fulfill his promises that we would once again become a nation true to our most basic principles. If he continues G. W. Bush's illegal actions, if he allows the Bush Administrations' crimes to go unpunished, we, the People, need to take him up on his call for us to hold his feet to the fire.
I don't think this statement is true. What people, ruled illegal by whom?, found innocent by what court?
We don't want it done to our citizens, it is not right to do it to others. Do unto others, no more, no less, than what you would accept for you and yours.
did he glean any clues from the kinds of questions he was asked? He talks about being tortured, what were they asking him about? He talks like he has no clue why .. they questions he was asked about might remind him..
Its probable that he knew someone and his name was mentioned as an associate at one time. Or, they had they wrong person. But if he is being tortured as claimed surely they were asking him questions.
Are you interrogating Mr. Bashmilah about his interrogations? I think he's had enough questioning by curious, clueless jailors. What does it matter what the CIA were questioning him about? What matters is that after questioning him, they released him without charge, that they had no right to kidnap him, disappear him, and incarcerate him, and most importantly, that we, Americans, need to know what happened. Our government needs to answer to the claims against them in court rather than use its power to silence this man and throw him out of court.
I'm really surprised there aren't more comments on this great account of the horror of this kind of "black ops" incarceration.
Personally, I'm ashamed. I'm sorry. I did what I could do by helping to get Obama elected. I hope he does the right thing and shuts down this type of psychotic military/industrial system.
Visiting commentaries are easily overlooked. I didn't see it myself until I received a HP email highlighting it.
America voted for another bought-and-sold globalist.
Give me one good reason why the Patriot Act isn't written out of law right this very second.
Give me one good reason why a swipe of the pen doesn't shut down the 700plus military installations around the world and pull all the troops home.
According to the ACLU Mohamed Farag Bashmilah was taken into custody by the Jordanian General Intelligence Department and tortured and interrogated for days. He was flown secretly to Yemen in May 2005 where he was imprisoned once again.
Why does the U.S. government need to explain why he was detained by Arab nations? (One of them his own country)
Where is there discussion in this thread suggesting the US Government needs to explain the actions of Arab nations? This discussion is about what the US Government did - in our name.
You missed the point entirely. According to the poster, the ACLU maintains that the US had nothing to do with this prisoner's captivity or imprisonment.
I agree totally
This is a misreading of the ACLU account of Mr. Bashmilah's ordeal. According to the ACLU account, Mr. Bashmilah was taken into custody by the Jordanian General Intelligence Department, interrogated, and tortured for a few days. He was then handed over to a CIA rendition team, which flew him to a "Black Site," where he was disappeared, incarcerated under inhumane conditions, and further interrogated. He was subsequently flown to yet another "Black Site" where his ordeal continued. Finally, he was released without charge and flown to his country, where he was kept in custody for a while before being let go.
Mr. Bashmilah has not claimed that the U.S. government needed to explain why he was detained by Arab nations. He merely claimed that he was entitled to have each party, including the U.S. government, acknowledge and be held accountable for its part in this tragedy. The Bush-Cheney "war on terror" policies are the main force that drove the events of Mr. Bashmilah's tragedy, form his initial arrest in Jordan up to and including the derailment of his case in U.S. courts under Obama's Department of Justice.
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