British Judges Accuse U.S. of Applying Torture in Guantanamo

The issue has caused political friction. U.S. authorities threaten to break anti-terrorist cooperation if more details are disclosed.

Two judges of the Superior Court of England and Wales accused the United States today of concealing evidence over the alleged torture of a suspected terrorist detained in the prison at the United States Guantanamo Naval Base, in Cuba.

Ethiopian Binyan Mohammed, a 31-year-old English resident, is accused of conspiring with the Al Qaeda terrorist network to plan attacks against civilians. Mohammed has been at Guantanamo for more than four years.

Behind closed doors, the judges would not disclose evidences because U.S. authorities threatened interrupting anti-terrorist cooperation with Great Britain if details were made public.

In turn, the judges indicated that the lawyers who represent the case of the British minister of Exteriors, David Miliband, mentioned specifically that the threat continues to be watched under the new administration of Barack Obama.

For their part, Judges John Thomas and David Lloyds Jones, affirmed that the evidences of alleged torture should be disseminated to the margin as “it could be politically embarrassing.” The magistrates noted they had “no reason” to think that “a threat so grave would be produced like the one made by the United States over reconsidering sharing intelligence information” with the government of London if they disclosed any kind of evidence.

From Downing Street, the residence and the official office of the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, a spokesman said not having any knowledge of a threat made by the Obama administration to cancel anti-terrorist cooperation with the United Kingdom.

“We have not collaborated with the new US administration over the details of this case,” assured the spokesman while emphasizing that London and Washington “have a solid relationship in matters of intelligence” and that “it would continue.”