The global gulag

For some time we have been hearing stories about America's secret network of prisons where suspected terrorists are "disappeared", interrogated, and tortured. Now, thanks to Amnesty International, we have an inside view. A recently released report tells the story of two friends - Salah Nasser Salim ‘Ali and Muhammad Faraj Ahmed Bashmilah - currently being held in Yemen. Muhammad was detained in Jordan while visiting his mother; Salah was arrested in Jakarta and then rendered there. Both were detained for four days, during which they were tortured. Salah describes the torture as including beatings, falaqa, and threats of sexual assault and electrocution;

Muhammad Faraj Ahmed Bashmilah was unable to talk in detail about the torture he says he suffered during his four days of detention in Jordan, stating only that his treatment was ‘inappropriate’ before breaking down in tears. He suggested that Amnesty International ask Salah Nasser Salim ‘Ali to describe the torture.

After four days, each man was blindfolded, shackled, and flown for three to four hours to another location in a small aircraft with American guards and crew. Each was then held in solitary confinement for six to eight months in an American-run prison, described as "an old-style underground facility with high walls" - during which they were interrogated by US officials. They were then transferred - again by plane, again with American guards - to a more modern facility, where they were subjected to further interrogation. At no stage were they allowed to contact a lawyer or their families, and at no stage were they seen by the Red Cross. Finally, they were transferred to Yemen, where they are currently being detained without charge. According to Yemeni authorities, this was a condition of their "release" from US custody.

As with extraordinary rendition, this is a fundamental violation of the "western values" the US claims to be defending. Disappearances and torture are the hallmarks of tyrannies, not of supposedly civilised nations. But a tyranny seems to be exactly what the "war on terror" is turning the US into - and that is something we should all lament.