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Lufti Bin Swei Lagha

From Alfawiki
Lufti Bin Swei Lagha
Born (1968-11-28) November 28, 1968 (age 57)
Tunis, Tunisia
OccupationFormer detainee
Known forExtrajudicial detention at Guantanamo Bay

Lufti Bin Swei Lagha is a Tunisian national who was subjected to extrajudicial detention by the United States at Guantanamo Bay. The Department of Defense records indicate his birthdate as November 28, 1968, in Tunis, Tunisia.

Background

Historian Andy Worthington, known for his work The Guantanamo Files, reports that Lagha resided in Italy before journeying to Afghanistan. Worthington points out that two Tunisians, including Lagha, attracted heightened scrutiny due to their travel from Italy while pursuing improved living conditions.

Tajik detainee Airat Vakhitov has alleged that medical personnel at Kandahar unnecessarily amputated eleven of Lagha’s fingers and toes and subsequently inflicted beatings on the amputated stumps during interrogations. This abuse reportedly ended only after Lagha was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

Upon his return to Tunisia, Lagha faced trial and was sentenced to three years imprisonment for "associating with a criminal group with the aim of harming or causing damage in Tunisia."

Previously classified Joint Task Force Guantanamo evaluation

On April 25, 2011, the whistleblower group WikiLeaks released confidential evaluations conducted by analysts from Joint Task Force Guantanamo.[1] Lagha’s four-page review, completed on September 10, 2004, and endorsed by camp commander Jay W. Hood, recommended transferring him back to Tunisia if access to the detainee or intelligence gathering could be guaranteed.[2]

Repatriation

Tunisian detainee Lotfi Lagha was returned from Guantanamo to Tunisian authorities in late June 2007.[3][4] Prior to his detention at Guantanamo, he was held at the Bagram Theater detention facility in early 2002, where he alleges that American soldiers forced the amputation of all eight fingers and subjected him to physical abuse despite medical advice opposing such procedures.

Following repatriation, Lagha was incarcerated in Mornaguia on charges related to affiliation with a criminal organization.[3] Reports from September 2007 indicated that he and another returned Tunisian detainee expressed a preference for Guantanamo over their conditions in Tunisia. Lagha was placed in solitary confinement from June 21 until August 7, surpassing the ten-day maximum stipulated by Tunisian Civil Code, despite US State Department assurances regarding humane treatment upon their return.[4]

Trial and conviction

On October 24, 2007, Lufti Lagha was found guilty of "associating with a criminal group with the aim of harming or causing damage in Tunisia." Several additional charges were dismissed. Officials did not disclose which organization was implicated or its intended actions. Remarkably, five years after his fingers were amputated, Lagha’s hands remained covered with bandages.

His attorney, Samir Ben Amor, reported that Lagha endured beatings both while detained at Guantanamo and after his return to Tunisia. US authorities have asserted that all detainees received humane treatment but have not responded directly to specific claims of mistreatment.

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TelegraphWikiLeaksRevealed2011-04-25
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TheTelegraphDabIsn660
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WashingtonPostLofti20070812
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WashingtonPost20070902
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