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London man Binyam Mohamed charged in Guantánamo Bay Military Commission

Will the British government now provide him with the proof he needs to demonstrate that he was tortured and that he is innocent of the charges?

In the rush to charge as many people as possible in Guantánamo Bay prior to President Bush leaving office, the Department of Defense is asking for charges to be filed against British resident and Reprieve client Binyam Mohamed.

The case is now referred to the Commissions’ “Convening Authority”, retired judge Susan Crawford, who is required to make a decision within 30 days on whether the case can go forward against Mr. Mohamed, 29, from London.

The Military Commissions have been condemned by almost every world leader, and described as a “kangaroo court” by Lord Justice Steyn, a retired British law lord. Last year, Col. Morris Davis, the Commissions’ chief military prosecutor, resigned, alleging that he could no longer take part in a process where the defendants were being chosen for political reasons, where torture evidence could still be admitted against the prisoners, and where the outcome was rigged to convict. In February, Col. Davis added that he had been told by William J. Haynes II, the Department of Defense’s chief counsel, that there could be “no acquittals”, because it would be too embarrassing after the men had been held for over six years without trial.

Mr. Mohamed’s case presents particularly extreme issues. He was rendered by the CIA to Morocco where he underwent 18 months of harsh torture, which included a razor blade being periodically taken to his genitals.

Working with the law firm Leigh Day, the UK charity Reprieve has recently sued the British government demanding that the government turn over evidence that could help prove both his innocence and the extent of his torture. The government lawyers responded by stating that “the UK is under no obligation under international law to assist foreign courts and tribunals in assuring that torture evidence is not admitted” and added that “it is HM Government’s position that … evidence held by the UK Government that US and Moroccan authorities engaged in torture or rendition cannot be obtained” by the British lawyers who are trying to provide Mr. Mohamed with a fair trial.

Clive Stafford Smith, Director of Reprieve, said:

“I visited Binyam in Guantánamo just a week ago, and he is in a very bad state. Surely the least the British government can do is insist that no British resident be charged in a kangaroo court based on evidence tortured out of him with a razor blade. If Binyam’s trial by Military Commission proceeds, all it will produce is evidence not of terrorism, but of torture, which will embarrass both the British and the American governments.”