Terrorist asks for freedom
Abu Zubaydah, a ‘‘war on terror’’ prisoner who was the first to undergo abusive interrogation in secret CIA custody after the 9/11 attacks, appeared before a Pentagon panel yesterday to plead for his release – the first time he had been seen by members of the public since being captured in 2002 during a shootout in Pakistan.
‘‘The focus of this hearing is on the threat you may pose to the United States,’’ an unnamed member of the Parole Review Board told Abu Zubaydah, whose real name is Zayn al Abdeen Mohammed al Hussein. ‘‘It is not on the lawfulness of your detention.’’
The United States government says Abu Zubaydah, who was born in Saudi Arabia in 1971, was a senior al Qaeda communications operative who ‘‘was generally aware of the impending 9/11 attacks’’ and may have coordinated the training of two of the hijackers at a militant camp in Afghanistan.
It says he also plotted attacks against Israeli, Jordanian and Western targets, though it also acknowledges that he has been a co-operative prisoner at Guantanamo.
Abu Zubaydah, through an unnamed personal representative, said he was no threat to American security and ought to be released.
‘‘Zayn al Abdeen has stated that he has no desire or intent to harm the United States or any other country, and he has repeatedly said that the Islamic State is out of control and has gone too far,’’ the representative said.
There was no mention of Abu Zubaydah’s treatment during his years in CIA custody. US records show he was waterboarded at least 83 times, the last session administered at the insistence of CIA headquarters, even though interrogators on the ground had judged him compliant.
The review board included representatives of the Pentagon, the State Department, the Justice Department, the Homeland Security Department and other agencies.
The hearing was conducted via video conference. Abu Zubaydah, two personal representatives and a translator were in a courtroom at Guantanamo while the parole board members were at undisclosed other locations.