Lufti Al-Arabi Al-Gharisi
Citizen of Tunisia held in extra-judicial detention by the United States
| Lutfi al-Arabi al-Gharisi | |
|---|---|
| Arrested | 2002 Peshawar, Pakistan |
| Detained at | CIA black sites, the dark prison, Bagram |
| Other name(s) |
|
| ISN | 1209 |
| Charge(s) | no charge, extrajudicial detention |
| Status | ghost prisoner[citation needed] |
Lutfi al-Arabi al-Gharisi is a citizen of Tunisia held in detention by the United States.[1][2][3]
On 15 January 2010, the Department of Defense complied with a court order and published a heavily redacted list of Captives held in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility.[1] There were 645 names on the list, which was dated 22 September 2009. One of the names was Lutfi al-Arabi al-Gharisi. Historian Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, speculated that Lutfi al-Arabi al-Gharisi may have been a Tunisian, identified by human rights groups as a ghost prisoner.[2] If so he was captured in late 2002 in Peshawar, Pakistan.[3] Worthington reported this individual was held in the CIA's "dark prison", and several other CIA black sites. Worthington speculated that he might also have been a Tunisian captive identified by Marwan Jabour, named "Hudeifa".[4]
On 9 December 2014, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee published the 600-page unclassified summary of a 6,000-page report on the CIA's use of torture.[5] While some of the CIA's captives were identified as only been subjected to torture that had been authorized from Washington, other captives, like Al-Gharisi, were identified as having been tortured by CIA officials who did not have authorization. According to the Intelligence Committee, Al-Gharisi "underwent at least two 48-hour sessions of sleep deprivation in October 2002."
On 4 October 2016, the Washington Post reported that Al-Gharisa and another CIA captive asserted that they were subjected to previously unknown techniques.[6] In particular, they asserted that their captors had built what they described as an "electric chair", they were shown the chair, and threatened that it would be used on them. They also reported that they too had been subjected to a form of water-boarding, although the CIA claimed waterboarding had only been used on three high-value detainees.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b "Bagram detainees" (PDF). Department of Defense. 22 September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2010.
- ^ a b Andy Worthington (19 January 2010). "Dark Revelations in the Bagram Prisoner List". truthout. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010.
Lutfi al-Arabi al-Gharisi may be Abou Hudeifa, a Tunisian identified as a 'ghost prisoner' in 'Off the Record,' a report by various human rights groups that was published in June 2007. Al-Libi identified him as Abou Houdayfa, but noted that his real name was Lotfi. Captured in Peshawar, Pakistan, at the end of 2002, he was reportedly held in several CIA prisons in Afghanistan, including the 'Dark Prison,' before being moved to Bagram.
- ^ a b Inel Tarfa (9 October 2016). "Scarring Below the Surface: Torture, the CIA and Tunisian Nationals". Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
Lotfi Arabi Gherissi and Ridha Najjar were originally taken captive in Pakistan in 2002, before being transferred to the secret CIA prison called Cobalt in Afghanistan.
- ^ Andy Worthington (26 January 2010). "Bagram: The First Ever Prisoner List (The Annotated Version)". Archived from the original on 31 January 2010.
It's also probable that he is "Hudeifa," a Tunisian prisoner mentioned by Marwan Jabour, who was also held in several secret prisons, but was released in 2006. He later told his story to Human Rights Watch, who published it as a report, "Ghost Prisoner," in February 2007.
- ^ Emma Roller, Rebecca Nelson (10 December 2014). "What CIA Interrogators Did To 17 Detainees Without Approval". National Journal. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
Treatment received: "Underwent at least two 48-hour sessions of sleep deprivation in October 2002.
- ^ Greg Miller (4 October 2016). "CIA threatened prisoners with makeshift electric chair in secret Afghan prison: Human Rights Watch". National Post. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
