JURIST - Paper Chase: Germany probing claims that ex-Gitmo detainee was abused in Afghanistan

[JURIST] A lawyer for former Guantanamo Bay detainee Murat Kurnaz [AI case sheet; chronology, PDF], a Turkish citizen who is also a legal resident of Germany, said Tuesday that Germany is investigating allegations of abuse by German soldiers. Kurnaz, who spent almost five years at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] before being returned to Germany [JURIST report] in August, has alleged that German soldiers slammed his head into the ground and pulled him by the hair in front of US soldiers in Afghanistan. Kurnaz has also claimed [JURIST report] that he had been subjected to torture, physical abuse and sexual humiliation by US interrogators while at Guantanamo. Kurnaz's lawyer said investigations into the alleged German abuse are being conducted by state prosecutors in the city of Potsdam and by the German Defense Ministry [official website, English version]. Kurnaz has also agreed to cooperate with a parliamentary inquiry that is investigating the possible cooperation between German officials and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website].

If the allegations by Kurnaz are proven to be true, Germany may face further embarrassment after accusations that the government was involved in US rendition flights [JURIST news archive] through Europe. Khaled el-Masri [JURIST news archive], a German citizen born in Kuwait, has already testified [JURIST report] about his alleged rendition to Afghanistan by US intelligence agents. Reuters has more.

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