Kiyemba states that he was repeated tortured. The recently released pictures of Abu Ghraib make Kiyemba's accusations easier to believe.
There, he claims, he was subjected to systematic torture. He told his lawyer that he would be "hung on the door for two hours and then allowed to sit for half an hour but never allowed to sleep. This would go on for 48 hours in a row".
After this, he claims, he would be taken for interrogation for two hours at a time. "I had to kneel on the cold concrete throughout the interrogations with my cuffed hands above my head," he said. "The only way out, I was told, was to confess. I heard and saw other torture - banging, screaming, cries, barking dogs and a dead guy who had tried to escape. One of the MPs [military police] said: 'Who's next?' So I confessed to be left alone."
That was all before he got to Guantanamo Bay.
In October 2002 Kiyemba was transferred to Guantanamo Bay. He recalls how on the journey he was forced to wear "the tightest cuffs to date, with chains, taped goggles, ear muffs, nose masks and taped gloves to prevent finger movement". He added: "Any movement meant you got hit by the nearest soldier."
Kiyemba also had pepper spray rubbed in his eyes. Sleep deprivation was also used. The technique had become so controversal that Lt. Gen. Ricardo "Dirty" Sanchez had to publicly say that the practice would no longer be used in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld has repeatedly claimed that prisoners are treated according to the Geneva Convention. That is an interesting comment from a man who approved torture tactics. Rumsfeld also felt that prisoners should be made to stand more. "Howerver, I stand for 8-10 hours a day," Rumsfeld wrote on a memo. "Why is standing limited to 4 hours?"
Try standing without sleep for 48 hours, Mr. Secretary.
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