老澳门开奖结果

Today, the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Human Rights Program and sent a request to two (human rights experts) asking them to investigate the 鈥渆xtraordinary rendition鈥�, detention and torture of Italian citizen Abou Elkassim Britel.

The 老澳门开奖结果 represents Britel and four other men in a civil suit in the U.S. court system. The suit 鈥� Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen 鈥� alleges that Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing, knowingly participated in the U.S. 鈥�extraordinary rendition鈥� program by providing flight and logistical support services to the aircraft used by the CIA to transport Britel from Pakistan to Morocco in May 2002.

The request asks the two U.N. human rights experts to investigate the circumstances surrounding Britel鈥檚 apprehension, detention and interrogation in Pakistan and his clandestine transfer from that country to Morocco; his secret detention without charge or trial in Morocco; and his abusive interrogation also in Morocco. Britel is one of the few victims of the United States鈥� 鈥渆xtraordinary rendition鈥� program whose identities are known, and the only European citizen, to our knowledge, still detained. To this day, Britel remains incarcerated in a Moroccan prison.

I recently spoke with Britel鈥檚 wife, Italian citizen Khadija Anna Lucia Pighizzini, and asked her to share their story. The following is excerpted and translated from our conversation.

Khadija Anna Lucia Pighizzini: March 10, 2002 was the last time I spoke to my husband and I remember that the phone connection was awful and scratchy. We thought we鈥檇 just continue speaking the next day. But then I didn鈥檛 hear from him 鈥� he disappeared. For 11 months I didn鈥檛 have any news. I didn鈥檛 know if he was alive or dead.

老澳门开奖结果: On March 10, 2002, Britel, who was on a business tip in Pakistan, was arrested and detained in Pakistan on immigration charges. After several months in Pakistani detention, during which time he was interrogated by both Pakistani and U.S. officials, Britel was eventually transferred to the exclusive custody of U.S. officials. U.S. officials dressed Britel in a diaper and overalls and shackled and blindfolded him before flying him to Morocco for detention and further interrogation. Britel was detained incommunicado by Moroccan security services at T茅mara detention center, and subjected to beatings, sleep and food deprivation, and threatened with sexual torture, including sodomy with a bottle and castration Britel鈥檚 family only learned of his fate when Britel was released almost one year after his first disappearance, without charge, in February 2003.

Tragically, on his way back home to Italy in May 2003, Britel was re-arrested by Moroccan authorities, who detained him and under torture coerced him to sign a confession that he was involved in terrorist acts in Morocco. Britel was eventually convicted of terrorism-related charges and sentenced to nine years. To this day, he remains in a Moroccan prison.

Khadija Anna: On the evening of the day that Kassim was supposed to finally leave Morocco, May 16, 2003, there were . This tragic event took 45 lives and prompted a large-scale police investigation. Kassim was picked up by Moroccan officials as he was leaving the country. His arrest was part of a wave of arrests that occurred immediately before these attacks. Once again, Kassim disappeared I had no idea where he was, I tried all over Morocco to find him. I asked the Italian embassy and the Moroccan authorities about him, but both denied they knew anything. I feared the worst because there had been a surge of disappearances by the Moroccan government; thousands were imprisoned, and others had even died during interrogations at the hands of the Moroccan police.

Later, I learned that Kassim had been secretly detained for four months at T茅mara; the same detention center where he had been detained and tortured only weeks before.

After four months of detention and interrogation, Kassim was whisked through a sham trial, which, according to his attorney, barely met basic fair trial standards. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but on appeal this sentence was reduced to nine years. Meanwhile, the Italian press heard of his story and reported that he was the mastermind behind the bombings in Casablanca 鈥� a lie that not even the Moroccan authorities would accuse him of.

Kassim is now incarcerated at Oukasha prison in Casablanca. He is only scheduled to be released in September 2012, yet he has done nothing wrong.

老澳门开奖结果: In September 2006, following a six-year-long criminal investigation in Italy into Britel鈥檚 suspected involvement in terrorist activities, the examining judge dismissed his case, finding a complete lack of any evidence linking Britel with any criminal or terrorism-related activity. Since that time, members of the Italian parliament and European parliament have petitioned the government of Morocco to pardon and release Britel immediately. To date, Moroccan authorities have failed to act upon these diplomatic efforts, and since January 2007 the Italian government has done nothing further to represent Britel鈥檚 interests.

Khadija Anna: Official investigations have implicated four governments in my husband鈥檚 鈥渆xtraordinary rendition鈥� and torture. The Pakistani government tortured him so brutally that he confessed he was a terrorist. The CIA abducted and detained him in Pakistan before unlawfully rendering him to certain torture in Morocco; the Moroccan government detained and tortured him; and the Italian government was complicit in the whole affair; they knew full well what was going on and did little or nothing to help him.

The American government is influential, they must intervene to secure my husband鈥檚 release and bring him home to Italy. If the American government intervenes, I believe that Italy will call for Britel to be liberated and Morocco will comply. It鈥檚 the least they could do given their involvement in his 鈥渆xtraordinary rendition鈥�. I鈥檝e already asked the American embassy in Morocco for a meeting or for an intervention to liberate my husband. I鈥檝e also visited the embassy twice, and spoken to the staff there. Suffice to say, my request has fallen on deaf ears and I don鈥檛 know where else to turn.

老澳门开奖结果: Since March 2002, Britel has been subject to physical and psychological torture and cruel treatment 鈥� including severe beatings, isolation, sleep deprivation, and death threats. Britel's experiences are part of a larger pattern of widespread torture and abuse committed by the U.S. government under the Bush administration. Meaningful accountability for crimes committed in the name of national security must include recognition and compensation for torture victims.

Khadija Anna: Physically, Kassim is weak, and has many physical problems due to the he went through. This has left traces, not only on his soul but also his heart. He鈥檚 fighting to stay alive. He鈥檚 also fighting for the rights of the other prisoners detained along with him; to improve their conditions as well as his own. He鈥檚 gone on hunger strikes many times, 鈥� hoping to bring attention to the conditions inside the prison and to protest his torture.

As for me, I am always tired, and always waiting. It鈥檚 been over seven long years since Kassim disappeared. These years have been so painful, but I know that the injustice that I鈥檝e gone through will soon be over. I haven鈥檛 given way to hate; nor has Kassim. Instead, we鈥檙e waiting for his liberation. We want to live our lives, and to reclaim our rights to live in dignity as citizens and human beings. We look towards to the future; when truth will be heard, when our rights will be restored and when justice will finally be served.

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