Binyam Mohamed Case --more Revelations

The case of Binyam Mohamed,the Ethiopian citizen held at Guatanamo for four years and released into custody of the British government, continues to provide embarrassing revelations. According to documents presented to Britain's High Court, U.S. government lawyers tried to get the British resident to sign a deal saying he had never been tortured and that he would not speak to the media as a condition for his release. The U.S. lawyers also wanted him to plead guilty so he could secure his freedom even though he was never charged with a crime. Even his U.S. military lawyer had said that the case against him had been dismissed in 2007. The documents also revealed that the U.S. military wanted Mohamed to agree not to sue the United States or any of its allies.

These proposed agreements were contained in the documents brought before the High Court in October, when it ruled that documents relating to Mohamed's case could not be released because it might jeopardize national security agreements between Britain and the United States.

Apparently, Mohamed's lawyer rejected the agreements and he was released last month. The British government also opposed these conditions and helped fight them until they were dropped.

"The facts revealed today reflect the way the U.S. government has consistently tried to cover up the truth of Binyam Mohamed's torture,"said Clive Stafford-Smith, a lawyer for Mohamed and director of the human rights charity Reprieve. "Gradually the truth is leaking out, and the governments on both sides of the Atlantic should pause to consider whether they should continue to fight to keep this torture evidence secret."

To correct yesterday's post, the CIA has over 3,000 memos, not 300 that documented the "enhanced interrogation" of those videotaped. The videotapes were subsequently destroyed.