Dark prison

The dark prison is the informal name used by some Guantanamo Bay detainees for a secret prison they claim they were detained in near Kabul, Afghanistan.^[1] According to an article distributed by Reuters, eight Guantanamo detainees have described the conditions they were held under in "the dark prison" or the prison of darkness.

Detainees claimed that they were detained in complete darkness for weeks on end. They described being deprived of food and water and being fed filthy food and water when they were fed.^[1]

The prisoners' details have been consistent, that the guards did not wear military uniforms — prompting Human Rights Watch to suggest it was run as a black site by the Central Intelligence Agency. One prisoner reported being threatened with rape.^[1]

The Miami Herald reports that the Dark Prison is another name for the Salt Pit.^[2]

Detainees who claimed to have been detained in the dark prison included

Jamil al-Banna
Abd al-Salam Ali al-Hila	currently detained in Camp Delta
Bisher al-Rawi	detained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps until March 2007 arrested in Gambia with Jamil al-Banna released when the British public learned he was already co-operating with MI5 in their surveillance of Abu Qatada
Hassin Bin Attash	currently detained in Camp Delta claims he was tortured in the black sites 17 when captured brother of Waleed Muhammad bin Attash
Binyam Mohammed	detained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps until February 2009 claims he was tortured in the black sites US government claims he is a co-conspirator of Jose Padilla
Laid Saidi	Saidi worked for the Al-Haramain Foundation, in Tanzania, until his capture on May 10, 2003.[3] Was also detained in "the salt pit" at the same time as Khaled el-Masri.
Sanad al-Kazimi	Alleges he was beaten with electric cables and attempted suicide three times in the prison.[4]
Hayatullah	Held in "the black prison" for forty days before being transferred to Bagram, in 2007.[5] Reports that the walls of the prison are currently concrete blocks, but that captives who had been held there a long time say they were originally plywood, painted black. Believed the prison was near Bagram, and was also called "Tor Jail".

See also

• Black jail, possibly the same place
• Black site
• Detainees in CIA custody

References

1. ^ ^{a b} U.S. Operated Secret ‘Dark Prison’ in Kabul (Human Rights Watch, 19-12-2005)
2. ^ Rosenberg, Carol, Jonathan Landay, Prosecutors probing deaths of two CIA captives, The Miami Herald, June 30, 2011
3. ^ Algerian Tells of Dark Term in U.S. Hands, New York Times, July 7, 2006 - mirror
4. ^ Mayer, Jane, "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals", 2008. p. 274-275
5. ^ "Interviews With Detainees". New York Times. 2009-11-29. Archived from the original on 2010-01-18. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F11%2F29%2Fworld%2Fasia%2F29detainees.html%3F_r%3D1%26fta%3Dy%26pagewanted%3Dprint&date=2010-01-18. 

1. ^ Detainees describe 'dark prison', Science Daily, December 19, 2005