German-born ex-prisoner describes torture at Guantanamo Bay

18-01-2007

DW-World.de:

... A German-born Turk <Murat Kurnaz > who was held at the US prison camp Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for four years told German politicians on Thursday he was tortured during his detention as lawmakers demanded to know why the previous government had failed to intervene in his case ...

On Thursday, deputies from opposition parties and the conservative bloc of Chancellor Angela Merkel serving on the parliamentary committee investigating the case demanded to know why former chancellor Schröder's government apparently failed to take action on Murat Kurnaz's behalf ...

Kurnaz, who was taken prisoner in Pakistan in 2001, was handed over to American troops and held as an enemy combatant until August 2006. He has also testified that he was abused by German intelligence agents while being held in Guantanamo in 2002.

Shown pictures of three men, Bremen-born Kurnaz was able to identify one of the Germans who allegedly interrogated him in Cuba and said it was "highly likely" he had seen a second and was unsure about the identity of the third ...

<Kurnaz' lawyer Bernhard> Docke said there was no reason for Germany to refuse an alleged American offer to release Kurnaz into German custody in 2002 as German and US officials were at that time aware he did not pose a terror threat ...

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