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.
Loading comments… 
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 malfeasanc
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 establishe
We have a constituti
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 Afghanista
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
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 informatio
http://www
Words are insufficie
Accountabi
This is what is not being discussed?
To allow this tragedy to happen without a formal investigat
**********
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
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.
Personally
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 installati
Why does the U.S. government need to explain why he was detained by Arab nations? (One of them his own country)