The Raw Story : Former detainee paints harrowing portrait of life at Guantanamo Bay
Ahmed had left England to meet with friends in Afghanistan and go to a Pakistani wedding. He made the mistake of going during the US-Northern Alliance war against the Taliban. The local warlord anxious for reward money and to prove loyalty turned over him and his friends to the US Army and CIA as al-Qaida terrorists.
Conditions were not good, particularly after a Major General Miller arrived. There were many kinds of abuse including sexual. After being tortured for five months he confessed to working for al-Qaeda and appearing in recruitment videos. But the UK had records of him working, on probation, and doing community service at that time.
Ahmed believes that Guantanamo interrogators were "obviously" aware that they were extracting false information from detainees. "By torturing people, you cannot make them confess the truth," he explains. "You can make them say what you want, but you can't get what you don't [already] know. Torture doesn't work."Ahmed was finally turned over to the British after public pressure in Britain and taken to England. Two days later he was released without charges. He is married with kids now but can not speak of his time in US custody without tears.
"It shouldn't be allowed in any country, whatsoever," he adds. "Even if a tortured person is a terrorist, you've just become a terrorist by torturing them. You've actually come to his level, and that's the last thing you want."
Maj. Gen. Miller has claimed 400 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have confessed to being involved in terrorism, and have continued to provide "actionable intelligence" to interrogators.
OK, conservatives and Christians - who would Jesus torture?
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