A prisoner at Guantanamo Bay who was waterboarded 83 times by the CIA at a series of notorious ‘black sites’ around the world suffered a setback on Friday in his legal claim against British officials for alleged complicity in his torture.
Zayn Al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, a Saudi-born Palestinian and suspected senior Al Qaeda lieutenant, was shuttled secretly between six countries where he was subjected to “extreme mistreatment and torture” after he was shot and detained in Pakistan in 2002, according to court papers.
His lawyers say he was one of the first people to suffer the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, that he was denied food and medical treatment and kept inside a box designed like a coffin before being sent back to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.
The Guantanamo inmate – better known as Abu Zubaydah – claims British intelligence agents passed questions to their counterparts to try to find out about terrorist plots being planned despite knowing that he was being tortured.
His lawyers are suing the UK Government for false imprisonment, negligence and misfeasance in public office in the British courts but a judge ruled on Friday that the case should be determined under the laws of the six countries where he was detained.
Abu Zubaydah had no links to the UK and there was no evidence that he had ever visited the country, said Mr Justice Lane.
“The applicable law for the purposes of the claimant’s claim is the law of the Six Countries,” he said.
The case will still be held at London's High Court at a future date.
Abu Zubaydah was the first person to be detained in a US ‘black site’ – a secret detention facility operating outside US territory and its legal system in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the invasion of Afghanistan, according to a US Senate intelligence committee report.
He was taken to Thailand following his capture before being moved to Poland and then to Guanantamo Bay in 2003. He was moved the following year because of CIA concerns that the US Supreme Court would allow detainees to challenge their detentions.
He was flown to Morocco, Lithuania and Afghanistan before he was returned to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, where he remains, according to UK court papers. He claims to have been mistreated in the six countries where he was held.
He was the first high-profile Al Qaeda suspect to be captured after the September 11 attacks and his ordeal in captivity became the blueprint for brutal US treatment, according to the US Senate intelligence report. During the waterboarding, Abu Zubaydah became "completely unresponsive, with bubbles rising through his open, full mouth", it said.
President George W. Bush claimed in 2006 that information provided by Abu Zubaydah under the CIA’s programme of “enhanced interrogation” led to the capture of Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, a Yemeni accused of being a key facilitator of the September 11 attacks.
The former president further claimed that the pair provided information that helped in the capture of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
But other claims that Abu Zubaydah made while in custody have been found to be false.
British police started an investigation in 2019 into the alleged complicity of security and intelligence officials from MI5 and MI6.
The UK’s all-party parliamentary intelligence and security committee concluded in 2018 after a four-year inquiry that MI6 knew about his extreme mistreatment and possible torture.
The committee said that a senior MI6 officer had stated that “98% of US special forces” would have been broken by the same mistreatment.
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
The%20Sandman
%3Cp%3ECreators%3A%20Neil%20Gaiman%2C%20David%20Goyer%2C%20Allan%20Heinberg%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Tom%20Sturridge%2C%20Boyd%20Holbrook%2C%20Jenna%20Coleman%20and%20Gwendoline%20Christie%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
