Guantanamo detainee paid 'substantial' compensation by UK to settle torture complicity case
The UK government has paid a large amount of money to Abu Zubaydah, a man who has been held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly 20 years without a trial. He was the first person the CIA used "enhanced interrogation" on after the 9/11 attacks. Although the US originally claimed he was a high-level leader in al-Qaeda, they later dropped that accusation.
The payment comes after Abu Zubaydah sued the UK, arguing that MI5 and MI6 were involved in his torture. While the CIA carried out the abuse, British intelligence services sent questions to be used during his interrogations, even though they knew he was being mistreated. Official reports show that he was waterboarded 83 times and kept in small boxes.
His lawyer, Professor Helen Duffy, said that while the money is important, the ultimate goal is to win his freedom. He is currently known as a "forever prisoner" because he has never been charged with a crime but remains locked up. The exact amount of money he was paid is a secret for legal reasons, and he cannot access the funds himself while he is still in prison.
The Foreign Office refused to comment on the case, but former officials have admitted that the UK should have stopped cooperating with the US when it became clear that torture was taking place. Abu Zubaydah’s legal team is now calling on the US and its allies to finally release him so he can try to start a new life.
