The UK government has awarded 'substantial' compensation to Abu Zubaydah, a detainee who endured CIA torture and remains in Guantanamo Bay without trial, according to revelations by the BBC. Zubaydah was the first to experience the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation' post-9/11, initially suspected as a senior al-Qaeda figureāa claim later retracted by the US government.
Despite awareness of his severe mistreatment, MI5 and MI6 submitted questions to the CIA during Zubaydah's interrogations. This has led Zubaydah to mount a legal challenge against the UK, accusing its intelligence services of being 'complicit' in his torture. The matter has recently resolved with a financial settlement.
Prof Helen Duffy, Zubaydah's international legal counsel, stated, 'The compensation is important, it's significant, but it's insufficient.' She pressed for the UK and other responsible governments to secure his release, indicating that 'these violations of his rights are not historic, they are ongoing.'
While the Foreign Office, which administers MI6, refrains from commenting on intelligence matters, Prof Duffy highlighted the legal limitations in disclosing the precise compensation amount, confirming only that it is a 'substantial amount of money' with payment underway. However, Zubaydah currently has no access to these funds.
Dominic Grieve, former chair of a parliamentary inquiry into Zubaydah's case, reflected on the financial settlement as a 'very unusual' case, yet acknowledged that Zubaydah's treatment was 'plainly' wrong.
Originally captured in Pakistan in 2002, Zubaydah, a Palestinian born in Saudi Arabia, has been detained at Guantanamo Bay without charge since 2006. He remains one of 15 'forever prisoners' at the US military facility, despite multiple rulings and reports on his abuse. His capture was initially celebrated as a significant triumph in the 'war on terror' by President George W. Bush, who alleged Zubaydah was a senior al-Qaeda operativeāa position the US government subsequently retracted.
Zubaydah's capture marked his status as a 'guinea pig' for the US's contentious interrogation methods following 9/11. As per the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's review of the CIA detention programme, Zubaydah faced treatment labelled torture by UK standards. This included being waterboarded 83 times and enduring confinement in coffin-like structures.