Delivered Into Enemy Hands - Human Rights Watch

Arrest and Detention
Shoroeiya and Sharif were both arrested in Peshawar on April 3, 2003. Shoroeiya was living
with his wife, Fawziya, and their 9-month-old daughter, Aisha. Sharif was staying on the
second floor of Shoroeiya’s home. 117 Around noon, the house was suddenly surrounded by
what seemed to both of them like scores of police, some in vans with black windows. 118
Sharif tried to escape by jumping out the window and climbing over a wall next door. In the
process he broke his foot. 119 Shoroeiya was also injured during the arrest, breaking his leg. 120
Shoroeiya was detained for about ten days in a place he referred to as “Khyber.” Sharif said
he was detained for about seven days in a building called the “army stadium” near a fairground.
Both places were in Peshawar, but it is not clear if these were the same locations.
Both men were then moved to a facility in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Sharif and
Shoroeiya said they were in cells next to each other while in Islamabad. 121 Sharif said he
knew he was in Islamabad because he had been living in Pakistan by then for many years
and knew Islamabad well. He was not blindfolded, and on the second day of his arrival he
was brought to a hospital in Islamabad to treat his broken foot. 122
During this period both say they were interrogated by Pakistani and US personnel.
Shoroeiya said there were two teams of Americans, one in Peshawar and one in Islamabad,
all men. Sometimes he was hooded during interrogations, but not always. The Pakistanis
at times beat him during these interrogations, in some cases after the Americans ordered
them to do so. Whenever he was beaten, however, the Americans would leave the room.
Sharif provided additional details of his arrest and detention in Pakistan, including his
reasons for believing his captors and interrogators were Pakistani and American. After the
arrest, he was immediately blindfolded and hooded. The interrogation began on the same
day as the arrest, right after he was taken to the detention facility in Peshawar. He said he
believed it was a Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) facility because during his
117 Human Rights Watch interview with Shoroeiya, March 18, 2012.
118 Human Rights Watch interviews with Sharif, March 14, 2012; and Shoroeiya, March 18, 2012.
119 Human Rights Watch interview with Sharif, March 18, 2012.
120 Human Rights Watch interview with Shoroeiya, Abu Salim Prison, Tripoli, Libya, April 27, 2009.
121 Human Rights Watch interviews with Sharif, March 14, 2012; and Shoroeiya, Abu Salim Prison, Tripoli, April 27, 2009.
122 Human Rights Watch interview with Sharif, March 14, 2012; and telephone interview, May 24, 2012.
DELIVERED INTO ENEMY HANDS 34