Crossposted at NION
Murat Kurnaz has become an unwilling expert on torture. A legal resident of Germany born of Turkish parents, Kurnaz had turned to the faith of his ancestors and in 2001 had the unfortunate timing to be studying Islam in Pakistan and briefly staying in a hostel supposedly frequented by Al Qaeda members. Identified as an Al Qaeda member by "an unidentified officer", he was later told that his name had been sold to the U.S. by Pakistani police for $3000, which translates at the current exchange rate to $177,372.00.
What followed is the subject of a book written by Mr. Kurnaz, "His Fünf Jahre meines Lebens: Ein Bericht aus Guantánamo" (Five Years of My Life: A Report from Guantanamo). The English version is now being tranlated and is scheduled to be released in January. For those who would like a more immediate look at Mr. Kurnaz' ordeal, this article at AlterNet has a few of the gory details. From the article:
"The beatings began as soon as I was turned over to the Americans," Kurnaz said. Once in the Americans' hands, he was transferred to a camp at Kandahar, in Afghanistan, where suspected terrorists were held in tents.
"snip"
In the prison camp in Kandahar, Kurnaz said, he was hoisted on chains and was forced to hang by his hands while he was being interrogated. He was left hanging for "hours and days" after the interrogators left. An American physician in camouflage would come and check his vital signs to determine if he could withstand more enhanced interrogation.
The doctor's house call must have failed Kurnaz's neighbor in the next room. "They were hanging me and pulled me up higher than the other times. I could see the man in the other room. He was hanging, too. Maybe they lifted him higher that time, too, I don't know. I had heard him moaning and breathing; this is the first time I saw him. He was dead. The color of his body was changed and I could see he was dead."
Kurnaz said he was also subjected to waterboarding and electric shock. And that beatings were routine and constant. He theorizes that much of the torture was a result of the failure of the American soldiers and agents to capture any real terrorists in the initial sweeps.
"snip"
Now, we've been told many things concerning these sorts of activities. We've been told that the United States does not engage in torture, we've been told that the aforementioned activities are necessary to get 'vital information' out of 'unlawful enemy combatants'. We've been told that this stuff isn't torture, anyway, because what really amounts to torture (as stated in the official "torture memo") has to be equal to "the pain accompanying serious physical injury such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death."
Every time I read or hear crap like this I have the overwhelming urge to sit down with John McCain and discuss it with him. You know, were any of these activities done to him or other Americans while kept in captivity during the Vietnam war, and whether he honestly believes that this stuff isn't really torture. I'm not being glib here, I would really like to sit down with the man and ask him. His service to our country and all that he suffered is the one thing that I admire and honor about him. I'd like to be able to look him in the eye and see what his views are. I'm also inclined to think that the definition of what constitutes torture would change swiftly if Commander Codpiece and Darth Cheney were subjected to just one round of any of the 'non-tortures' listed above. But at any rate, it looks as though the guy in the next room to Mr. Kurnaz in Kandahar might have been subject to procedures that fit the description of torture, seeing as how he was dead and all.
But what heinous crimes against our great nation had Mr. Kurnaz committed, that he was subjected to such treatment? What did the court find (yes, he was actually lucky enough to have a day in court) had been his crimes? And what remedy did Mr. Kurnaz have at his disposal? Again from the article:
In January 2005, Washington, D.C., federal district Judge Joyce Hens Green ruled on Kurnaz's case, along with the cases of ten other detainees. During his Combat Review Status Hearing in Guantánamo, Kurnaz had appeared before a panel of three military officers. He had no legal representation and was not allowed to see the classified evidence used to declare him a member of Al Qaeda. Before his hearing in Washington, some of the classified evidence used against him was inadvertently declassified and obtained by the Washington Post> It included reports that established that two years earlier, the Command Intelligence Task Force that oversees Guantánamo had concluded there was "no definite link/evidence of detainee having an association with Al Qaeda or making specific threats against the U.S."
Judge Green reviewed the evidence and found nothing that justified holding Murat Kurnaz in prison. Among the hundreds of pages used to declare him a member of Al Qaeda, the smoking gun was a single document with vague allegations made by an unidentified officer. The judge was disturbed by the fact that Kurnaz, like other detainees, was never permitted to see or rebut the allegations that kept him in a cage in Guantánamo.
During the trial it was also revealed that a friend of Kurnaz's who was reported to have carried out a suicide bombing in Turkey--another bit of incriminating evidence--was alive and well in Bremen. And that German intelligence officers traveled to Guantanamo to interview Kurnaz and concluded he had not been involved in any terrorist activity in Germany. They even tried, at one point, to recruit him to return to Bremen and work undercover for them in the mosque he attended before going to Pakistan to study Islam. They later concluded he was so unconnected--and unsophisticated--he would be of no use to them as a snitch.
Yet nothing the judge did would result in his release. Judge Green ruled in his favor, devoting a number of pages in her 75-page opinion (some redacted) to the government's sloppy prosecution and lack of evidence against this man. But the heart of her ruling was that the process was basically illegal. The ruling was stayed, pending a decision at the appellate level. And after the trial, the then-Republican Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, which included a controversial provision by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that denyed all detainees the right to file habeas corpus petitions. The habeas corpus right that Judge Green had provided as an avenue out of Guantánamo was stripped away by Congress.
Kurnaz was released only because Azmy and his colleague in Germany, Bernhard Docke, took his case to the court of public opinion in Germany. Their skillful use of the media persuaded German chancellor Angela Merkel to prevail on George Bush to release Kurnaz. Merkel raised the issue on her first visit to the White House in January 2006.
"snip"
"No one gets out of Guantanamo by any legal process," Azmy said. "Because there is none."
Yes, Mr. Kurnaz is free now, out writing books, and giving interviews. This is all good and well, but what does this have to do with the price of beans in Egypt? Well, nothing actually, but it does have something to do with our very Unitary Executive and his cohorts in crime. You see, when Mr. Kurnaz was snatched up and tortured, the expanded definition of torture (again, see torture memo BUT be forewarned, it's in PDF form) by Jay Bybee and John Yoo and given the seal of approval by Gonzo the great, had not yet been written . The infamous memo was written not only to make the definition of torture much broader, but to provide cover for CIA agents (and others) who participated in these egregious activities. So it would seem clear that those who participated in Kurnaz' torture are not safe from prosecution, and Kurnaz is said to have seen the name tags of at least some of his interrogators.
Mr. Kurnaz testified before a German parliamentary committee in January. His testimony is said to have shocked the committee members. That's as it should be. What I want to know is why he isn't being asked to testify before Congress. He certainly has information that is pertinent to of the investigations going on. There is, of course, the fact that some of his claims are unsubstantiated. Yet the similarities of the stories of those who have been victims of extraordinary rendition and have subsequently been released leave little doubt that at least some of the claims are true.
This sounds like the kind of thing that could, and should, come back to bite George Bush in his cocky, swaggering ass. I mean, he allowed a guy to be released who can give a firsthand account of what has gone on in places like Kandahar and Guantanamo, not to mention all those other CIA hidie-holes where people enter, never to be heard from again. I thought the the rule was "What happens in Guantanamo stays in Guantanamo". Maybe Bush was too busy trying to give Merkel a shoulder rub to fully comprehend the ramifications of letting Kurnaz go free. You'd think he'd be the kind of guy that would more likely disappear into the ozone than be released. Instead, he's a free man, and he's talking. Alot. And what he has to say should translate into punishment for those who allowed such horrors to take place.
Those who participated in this non-torture/torture should be brought up on criminal charges. Those who ordered this non-torture/torture, should be brought up on criminal charges. Those who went to the trouble of finagling and distorting our laws, the Constitution, the Geneva convention, and destroying habeas corpus to allow for this non-torture/torture should be brought up on criminal charges. Those who placed the crown on their heads and proclaimed this sort of thing a fine idea and let's hop to it should be brought up on criminal charges. The fish stinks from the head down, and no amount of prevaricating and stonewalling should be allowed to help these guys get off the hook.
I am left again to wonder just what kind of information concerning the criminal activity of the current administration will be enough to get not only the waning number of Kossacks in disagreement but our Democratic leaders in Congress to consider the "I" word. I've heard ad nauseum the claims that it could harm us in the 2008 election, that censure would be a more palatable option, etc. etc. I was told in a reply to a comment I made the other day that I didn't need to keep "breathlessly recounting" the offenses of the our Unitary Executive and his gang, that it was a "fait accompli", and "this meme of impeachment being some sort of categorical imperative needs to die a cold death, because it is poisoning debate." To that I say BULLSHIT!! I didn't come to the idea of impeachment lightly, and as long as there are people out there who do not understand the incredible damage that has been done to human beings in our name, not to mention our Constitution and habeas corpus and that, risky or not, we must stand on principle on this one before more damage is done and our country is wounded to the point of no return, then I will keep repeating it. I fear the consequences of impeachment should it fail, I know the risk is great. But stories like that of Murat Kurnaz weigh greatly on my conscience, and I can't help but wonder what will happen if we don't at least make the attempt. I am reminded of this variation of following poem attributed to Martin Niemöller, more variations of which can be found at Wikipedia.
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.