11 Years and Counting: Profiles of Men Detained at Guantánamo

“In light of the abusive circumstances of the detention . . . and serious questions about the accuracy of their
identifications of Uthman, the Court finds these statements to be unreliable and will not consider them
in evaluating whether the detention of Uthman is lawful,” Kennedy wrote. Further, under the subheading
“Torture,” Judge Kennedy said the Court could not rely on their statements “because there is unrebutted
evidence in the record that, at the time of the interrogations at which they made the statements, [Sharqawi]
recently had been tortured.”
Joanne Mariner, the director of the counterterrorism program at Human Rights Watch, investigated
Sharqawi’s treatment while in Jordanian custody.
“I agree with the judge,” she said. “There is no doubt he was very seriously tortured in Jordanian custody
which is why he was sent there. He was just sent there because at that time, the CIA was still outsourcing
the most brutal methods of torture. This was before the CIA had set up its own prison system and was still
working out authorization for the use of abusive techniques,” Mariner said.
In his habeas case, the Court found that Sharqawi had been tortured. Chief Judge Royce Lamberth found:
“At the outset, the Court finds that respondents-who neither admit nor deny petitioner’s allegations
regarding his custody in Jordan and Kabul-effectively admit those allegations. Accordingly,
the Court accepts petitioner’s allegations as true. In Jordan, petitioner experienced patent
coercion during interrogations-including intimidation, regular beatings, and threats of electrocution
and violence. In Kabul, he was forced to endure complete darkness and continuous loud
music. The Court thus finds that petitioner was subject to physical and psychological coercion
in Jordan and Kabul” Sharqawi abdu ali Al Hajj, Civil Action No 09-745 (RCL), June 8, 2011.
As John Chandler also observed, “After years of torture, an FBI clean team came in to start interrogations
anew in the hope of obtaining information that was admissible and not the product of torture. The Courts,
however, have held that torture after Karachi excludes all his interrogations. Nearly 10 years later, Sharqawi
sits in Guantánamo. His health is ruined by his treatment by or on behalf of our country. He can eat little
but yogurt. He weighs perhaps 120 pounds. The United States of America has lost its way.”