JURIST - Paper Chase: Guantanamo detainee lawsuit claims torture prior to authorization of techniques

[JURIST] The lawyer for Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Rafiq Alhami [NYT profile] filed suit [complaint, PDF] Thursday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey [official website] alleging that Alhami was tortured before the Bush administration approved of the techniques. The suit claims [Star-Ledger report] that Alhami was kicked, punched, stripped naked, and threatened with dogs beginning in 2001 and continuing after his transfer to Guantanamo Bay in 2003. Last week, the Senated Armed Services Committee declassified a report [JURIST report] that indicated the enhanced interrogation techniques were not authorized until 2002. Alhami is being represented in the suit by Joshua and Mark Denbeaux [profiles], who have been involved in detainee rights for several years as members of the Guantanamo Bay Teach-In [advocacy website] at Seton Hall University School of Law.

Alhami's complaint is the latest in a number of allegations of torture performed at Guantanamo Bay. Earlier this month, Mohammed El Gharani alleged in a phone interview [JURIST report] with Al-Jazeera that he had been beaten to the point of having his teeth broken. Prior to El Gharani's claim, the Red Cross released a report [JURIST report] that stated doctors at Guantanamo Bay had violated codes of medical ethics by assisting in ill-treatment of detainees at the prison facility.

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