'torture treaty' CIA's Network of Overseas Prisons

Guantanamo Bay court gag breaks 'torture treaty'

23rd October 2013 - Lawyers for the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners charged over the September 11 terror attacks have challenged rules for handling secret evidence that they say prevent them from seeking an investigation into CIA torture claims.

In a pre-trial hearing at the US base in Cuba, lawyers sought to persuade a military judge that courtroom rules for handling classified evidence are so restrictive they violate the Convention Against Torture, a global treaty ratified by the US in 1994.

The lawyers argued that the rules prevent the defendants from disclosing details of their harsh treatment in the CIA's network of overseas prisons. read more>>>

Gitmo team seeks ‘black site’ secrets

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — 10/23/13 - Attorneys for the accused 9/11 co-conspirators are telling lawmakers they may demand access to classified information on the CIA’s “black sites.”

In a yet-to-be-released motion by James Connell, the lead attorney for Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, the defense team asks U.S. military prosecutors to hand over details of his interrogations at the secret CIA sites to lawmakers and staff who have classified security clearances, such as members of the Defense and Intelligence committees.

The attorneys think that move could pave the way for releasing parts of a controversial Senate report that contains allegations of torture by U.S. officials, potentially against detainees like Ali. read more>>>

Records: Guantanamo inmate injured in CIA custody

23 October 2013 - Newly disclosed medical records show that an accused terrorist held at Guantanamo Bay sustained a head injury that was serious enough to cause lasting health problems while he was being held and interrogated by the CIA, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Ammar al-Baluchi, one of five Guantanamo prisoners charged with aiding the Sept. 11 attack, told medical officials at the U.S. base in Cuba that he suffered auditory hallucinations, memory loss and delusions as a result of the injury, attorney James Connell said at a pretrial hearing dealing largely whether he and his co-defendants have adequate avenues to report allegations of mistreatment.

The head injury occurred between 2003 and 2006 before al-Baluchi was taken to the U.S. base in Cuba and while held in the CIA's network of overseas prisons and subjected to a special interrogation program for suspected terrorists that his lawyers say amounted to torture. The records do not indicate how the injury occurred. read more>>>