This is a diary that may shock and even sicken you. It is the story of Benyam Mohammed, a British citizen who ended up in Guantanamo. Where he remains to this day, even though the British government requested his release at one point.
He has never been tried, let alone convicted. He may soon receive a military tribunal trial.
This is his story of a trip through some kind of hell, with diary entries read by his brother. It's not easy reading, especially when it's your brother:
Tomorrow, on Benyam's 30th birthday, there will be a "Free Benyam" rally opposite Downing St. Two days later, Obama will be meeting top British government officials. My hope is that this diary will make an impression on Obama's handlers, his confidants. Read more of Benyam's story over the jump...
From the Guardian:
Benyam Mohammed travelled from London to Afghanistan in July 2001, but after September 11 he fled to Pakistan. He was arrested at Karachi airport on April 10 2002, and describes being flown by a US government plane to a prison in Morocco. These are extracts from his diary.
They cut off my clothes with some kind of doctor's scalpel. I was naked. I tried to put on a brave face. But maybe I was going to be raped. Maybe they'd electrocute me. Maybe castrate me.
They took the scalpel to my right chest. It was only a small cut. Maybe an inch. At first I just screamed ... I was just shocked, I wasn't expecting ... Then they cut my left chest. This time I didn't want to scream because I knew it was coming.
One of them took my penis in his hand and began to make cuts. He did it once, and they stood still for maybe a minute, watching my reaction. I was in agony. They must have done this 20 to 30 times, in maybe two hours. There was blood all over. "I told you I was going to teach you who's the man," one eventually said.
Benyan endured this treatment about once a month for eighteen months in Morocco.
I suffered the razor treatment about once a month for the remaining time I was in Morocco, even after I'd agreed to confess to whatever they wanted to hear. It became like a routine. They'd come in, tie me up, spend maybe an hour doing it. They never spoke to me. Then they'd tip some kind of liquid on me - the burning was like grasping a hot coal. The cutting, that was one kind of pain. The burning, that was another.
...
On August 6, I thought I was going to be transferred out of there [the prison]. They came in and cuffed my hands behind my back.
But then three men came in with black masks. It seemed to go on for hours. I was in so much pain I'd fall to my knees. They'd pull me back up and hit me again. They'd kick me in my thighs as I got up. I vomited within the first few punches. I really didn't speak at all though. I didn't have the energy or will to say anything. I just wanted for it to end. After that, there was to be no more first-class treatment. No bathroom. No food for a while.
Eventually, Benyam was released from Morocco, only to be transferred to the "Dark Prison" at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. Here detainees are routinely kept shackled, naked, and freezing, with loud music playing constantly, between interrogation sessions. From there he was transported to Gitmo, where he remains to this day.
On August 7, 2007 the United Kingdom government requested the release of Binyam Mohamed and four other men who had been legal British residents without being British citizens. He was not released however, and in June, 2008 the U.S. military announced they were formally charging Mohammed. His tribunal date has not been set.
Please recommend so the world can see that at least some of us Americans do not agree with the treatment meted out by our current administration. If Obama publically mentioned this while in Britain, I would be overjoyed.