Redha al-Najar
Redha al-Najar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 Tunisia |
| Occupation | Detainee |
| Known for | Detention at Bagram Theater Internment Facility and CIA black sites; subject of habeas corpus petition |
Redha al-Najar (born 1966) is a Tunisian national who was detained by the United States at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility. He stands out as one of the limited number of detainees at Bagram for whom a writ of habeas corpus was submitted. Al-Najar was apprehended in May 2002 at his residence in Karachi, Pakistan, and subsequently spent two years held within the CIA's secret detention centers before being transferred to Bagram. His legal representation included Barbara Olshansky from Stanford University's International Human Rights Clinic, Tina Monshipour Foster of the International Justice Network, and Sylvia Royce.
In January 2010, the Department of Defense made public a redacted roster of individuals detained at Bagram, listing "Ridha Ahmad Najjar," which historian Andy Worthington identified as an alternative spelling of Redha al-Najar. Worthington revealed that al-Najar was confined in several CIA black sites, such as the "dark prison", "Panjshir prison", and two locations referred to as "Rissat prison" and "Rissat prison 2". His detention was kept hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross. While imprisoned, he suffered harsh treatment including extended periods of shackling.
On 9 December 2014, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee released a list naming 39 individuals subjected to torture by the CIA; "Ridha Ahmad Najar" appeared on this list. That same month, Tina M. Foster published an op-ed outlining the severe torture endured by al-Najar—lasting nearly 700 days—as detailed in a dedicated segment of the Committee’s report.
The US Government returned al-Najar to Tunisia on 15 June 2015.