Delivered Into Enemy Hands - Human Rights Watch

Shoroeiya and Sharif both alleged this facility was run by
Americans. With one exception, however, they said the
Americans were not wearing official uniforms. 161
Shoroeiya said all of the Americans were dressed in
black with caps on their heads and sometimes, when
they carried out severe physical abuse, they wore masks.
They were able to see some of this, despite the darkness,
because guards and interrogators would come to them
with lights on their foreheads and flashlights in their
hands.
Afghan guards brought them food and maintained the
facility, but mostly the Americans ran it. Shoroeiya said
he knew the guards were Afghan because he spoke Dari
and Pashto, and some of them spoke to him in these
languages when he first arrived and occasionally afterwards.
After some time, however, the guards stopped all
interactions entirely. Shoroeiya said the guards wore
traditional Afghan clothes in the beginning but then later
began also wearing black clothes with military boots and
facemasks similar to the attire of the Americans. Sharif said that when he spoke Pashto or
Dari, the guards never spoke back but would sometimes give indications that they understood
what he was saying. He also said their dress was “mixed,” with some in Afghan
clothes and some all in black with black facemasks. 162
about something called
you are going to stay
here in a very good room
and get your newspaper
daily, you are wrong.’”
When asked how they knew they were in US custody, they each said it was made very clear.
Sharif said that after he arrived at the facility:
161 Sharif said he saw one man several times in both facilities, who he said was American and from the “army.” He wore a
military uniform, spoke English, and usually had an interpreter with him. Sharif described him as tall and thin. He also had a
shaved head and wore a red beret. He believes he was the prison director. He described him as one of the few Americans
there with whom he used to have “actual conversations.” “We had some small talk. We would talk about the differences
between the US and Arab countries,” Sharif said.
162 Bashmilah also said the Afghan guards were always masked and that he heard some of the other prisoners saying they
overheard them speaking to each other in Pashto and Farsi. Bashmilah Declaration, paras. 82-83. Maqtari similarly stated,
“all of the prison staff wore black clothes … the guards were gloved and masked.” See Amnesty International, A Case to
Answer, p. 16.
DELIVERED INTO ENEMY HANDS 46
“I found a woman there
who was screaming and
beat on the table. She
literally told me, ‘Now
you are under the custody
of the United States of
America. In this place
there will be no human
rights. Since September
11, we have forgotten
human rights. If you think