HRF Statement on transfer of Al-Iraqi to Guantanamo

“In the absence of clear knowledge about how al-Iraqi was detained and treated, there have to be serious red flags raised everywhere as a result of this announcement,” said Hina Shamsi, deputy director of Human Rights First’s Law and Security Program.

“Al-Hadi al-Iraqi appears to have been held in secret and arbitrary detention over a period of months. The fact that he has been in CIA custody raises deep concerns that he has been held in violation of U.S. and international law as part of the CIA ‘program’ of secret detention and abusive interrogation techniques disclosed by the President last year. Even as the rules governing CIA interrogation are being debated, it appears that the CIA program has continued. Congress should demand to know under what rules these detentions and interrogations may be operating.”