Mohamed Farag Bashmilah
Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1968 Yemen |
| Occupation(s) | Detainee, torture victim |
| Known for | Victim of US extraordinary rendition, torture, and secret detention |
Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah (born 1968) is a Yemeni national who has been reported as a victim of the United States' contentious extraordinary rendition program. In October 2003, Jordanian security forces detained him and allegedly transferred him to the CIA. He was subsequently held and subjected to torture at clandestine locations, including the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and various CIA black sites.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Bashmilah was physically abused, hooded, handcuffed, and secretly transported to a U.S. Air Force base in Afghanistan. He was detained without any formal charges and sent back to Yemen in May 2005, where he faced an additional nine months of imprisonment. Amnesty International exposed his situation in early 2005, gaining exclusive access during his detention and later publishing comprehensive reports on his case.
Amnesty International also highlighted the experiences of two other Yemeni detainees—Salah Nasir Salim 'Ali and Muhammad Abdullah Salah al-Assad—who were held alongside Bashmilah in CIA black sites and returned with him to Yemen. These three individuals were among the earliest to provide detailed testimonies regarding the operations of CIA secret detention facilities.
While it is estimated that approximately 150 detainees were held within the CIA’s network of black sites, the majority of their identities remain confidential. Bashmilah is a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit initiated under the United States' Alien Tort Statute with support from the ACLU, contesting the legality of his detention and treatment.
Capture
In October 2003, Bashmilah traveled from Indonesia to Jordan, where he was arrested on October 21 after acknowledging to Jordanian authorities that he had visited Afghanistan in 2000. He endured physical assault and threats by the General Intelligence Department until coerced into signing a confession without reviewing its contents. On October 26, he was handed over to the CIA, who restrained and hooded him before transporting him by plane to Kabul, Afghanistan.
American custody
During his confinement at Bagram, Bashmilah was kept in a small, windowless cell lacking heating. His legs were shackled, loud music was played nonstop, and he was compelled to raise his hand every thirty minutes to prevent sleep. This harsh regimen continued for three months, during which he made several suicide attempts and underwent frequent interrogations.
Around April 24, 2004, after a medical examination, Bashmilah was flown to an undisclosed facility where he was placed naked in a new cell subjected to continuous white noise. By September 2004, CIA officials concluded that he had no ties to al-Qaeda and subsequently improved his conditions—providing a new cell, weekly showers, reading materials, and halting interrogations. He also received psychiatric consultations.
Release
On May 5, 2005, Bashmilah was released into Yemeni custody following a flight lasting six to seven hours from the secret detention site. He remained imprisoned in Yemen until March 27, 2006. In December 2007, he participated in an interview with Salon, while his first English-language broadcast interview was aired in June 2006 on BBC Newsnight.
Civil suit
Bashmilah became part of a civil suit filed on August 1, 2007 under the U.S. Alien Tort Statute, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union. The lawsuit also involved four other individuals: Bisher Al-Rawi, Abou Elkassim Britel, Binyam Mohamed, and Ahmed Agiza.
Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture
On December 9, 2014, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee published a 600-page unclassified summary derived from a confidential 6,000-page report that examined the CIA's application of torture techniques. Within this document, Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah was identified as one of 26 individuals subjected to unauthorized torture, with his detention labeled as "wrongful".
Bashmilah’s attorney, Meg Satterthwaite, had previously attempted to obtain official recognition from the US government regarding his detention but was unsuccessful. She detailed the harsh conditions he endured, including prolonged periods in complete darkness, sensory deprivation, exposure to freezing temperatures, and relentless loud music. These extreme circumstances drove Bashmilah to make three suicide attempts.