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.

Club Gitmo on Strike

The London Guardian reports today on an unusual visitor to the Foreign and Commonwealth office. Lt.Col Yvonne Bradley, an American military lawyer, is going to demand the release of her client Binyam Mohammed, age 31, a British resident who claims he was repeatedly tortured at the behest of US intelligence officials at Guantanamo. Yvonne Bradley, a US military attorney for 20 years, is requesting the disclosure of 42 secret documents that chronicle how he was tortured.

According to Lt.Col Bradley, conditions at Gitmo have deteriorated badly since Barack Obama took office. Fifty of the 260 detainees are on a hunger strike and, witnesses claim, they are being strapped to chairs and force-fed. At least 20 are described as being so unhealthy there are on a critical list.

Bradley claims Mohammed told of witnessing a savage beating of a detainee who refused to be strapped down and having a feeding tube forced into his mouth. Bradley said that the Joint Task Force are not commenting because they do not want the public to know what is going on.

For Britain, the questions concerning its support of American techniques have just begun and they will become a transatlantic issue. This Tuesday High Court judges Lord Justice Thomas and Mr justice Lloyd Jones will decide whether to reopen the case that claims Foreign Secretary David Miliband is suppressing evidence of torture by Americans.

Curiously, in San Francisco, ACLU lawyers are suing a firm that carried out renditions for the CIA. Jeppesen Dataplan, a Boeing subsidiary, helped carry people like Mohammed to nations where they claimed they were tortured. The case had been suppressed by the Bush Administration when it asserted the "state secrets privilege". If the Obama Administration asserts the same, then it could indicate it also wants to suppress the evidence of torture.

While Washington fights about immunity and moving on, the courts are moving to a place where Attorney general Eric Holder and the President won't be able to hide anymore and they may have to take steps to investigate all the allegations of torture at Gitmo, the CIA 'secret sites" and Bagram Air Base.