Rendition: Tales Of Torture

KHALED EL-MASRI The case of Khaled al-Masri, 41, a German citizen allegedly handed over to the US by Macedonian agents in 2004, helped spark controversy over so-called "ghost flights" and secret "torture prisons". Kuwaiti-born Mr Masri was seized close to the Macedonian border as he headed towards Albania following what he has described as a row with his wife in Germany. After being held for three weeks in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, Mr Masri says he was beaten, handcuffed, blindfolded, drugged, and flown to a CIA prison in Afghanistan. Mr Masri alleges he was held in Afghanistan for five months, often in solitary confinement, while US agents interrogated him. He says he was beaten frequently, and told he was being held in "a country without laws". Eventually, the Washington Post has reported, the CIA concluded they had simply made a mistake, and Mr Masri was returned to the Balkans, dumped close to where he was found, and eventually made his way back to Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that his case will be investigated by a German parliamentary committee. MAHER ARAR Syrian-born Maher Arar, 34, was picked up by US immigration in September 2002 as he passed through New York's JFK airport. He was heading home to Canada after a family holiday in Tunisia. After days of questioning, he says he was placed on a private jet, shackled, bound, and flown to Syria. Mr Arar has told the BBC that he was repeatedly tortured during 10 months' detention in Syria - often whipped on the palms of his hands with metal cables - before being released after intervention by the Canadian government. In 2004 Mr Arar filed a lawsuit against senior US officials, claiming that whoever sent him to Syria knew he would be tortured by intelligence agents. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4502986.stm

Note: http://news.bbc.co.uk/g...