Guantánamo Bay Prisoner Tortured in Morocco and Afghanistan
Update (November 7, 2005)
Military Commission Allegations Based on Tortured Confession
MacArthur Justice Center client Binyam A. Mohammed has been charged by the U.S. military with conspiracy to detonate a radioactive "dirty" bomb and to carry out terrorist attacks on the U.S. He is accused of plotting these attacks with American prisoner José Padilla, whom he claims he has never met. His military charge sheet also describes al Qaeda training in weapons and urban warfare, even though Mohammed does not speak Arabic.
The charges are based on confessions made by Mohammed while allegedly being tortured in prisons in Morocco and Afghanistan. The case will raise important questions as to the validity of confessions made under torture. Mohammed is being represented by center attorney Joseph Margulies and Clive Stafford Smith of London. Mohammed has declined defense from Maj. Yvonne Bradley, a military-appointed defense lawyer because she has a conflict of interest. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 12, 2006, at Guantánamo Bay.
