THE LAWYER representing a British resident detained in Guantánamo Bay has written to Taoiseach Brian Cowen seeking information on CIA flights involved in his client's "extraordinary rendition" which landed in Shannon in 2002 and 2004.
Clive Stafford Smith wrote to Mr Cowen on Friday on behalf of Binyam Mohamed, whom he is representing in the US military commissions process and US habeas corpus litigation.
Mr Mohamed, a janitor from Kensington in London, was 30 on Thursday last, and has been detained for the past six years, four in Guantánamo and before that for two years in Morocco and Afghanistan.
While the Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International and other bodies have highlighted the movement of CIA flights involved in "extraordinary rendition" through Shannon airport, this is the first time the Irish authorities have been asked for information on specific flights on behalf of a specific detainee.
Coincidentally, Mr Mohamed's case comes up in court in London today, where he is taking judicial review proceedings on the decision of the UK government not to release evidence in its possession that would help prove that he was rendered by the CIA to Morocco, where he claims he was tortured.
So far the UK authorities have refused on the grounds they are not bound to assist in proceedings before a court in another state.
According to Reprieve, the UK organisation that is working on behalf of UK detainees in Guantánamo, British agents met with Mr Mohamed when he was arrested in Pakistan, interviewed him for three hours, and apparently told the US that he was a "nobody". UK agents also told him he was going to be rendered by the US to a foreign country.
"When Binyam was duly sent to Morocco for 18 months of torture, the UK provided background information to the US that was used to manipulate him in his torture sessions," Reprieve said in a briefing document.
Mr Stafford Smith said in his letter to Mr Cowen that Mr Mohamed was seized by the Pakistani authorities on an immigration charge in April 2002, and abused by both US and Pakistani authorities there.
He was then "rendered" to Morocco, where he suffered torture, including having his penis cut with a razor. According to the letter, this treatment was supervised by US agents.
He said that the plane that rendered him to Morocco, number N379P, flew the next day, July 23rd, 2002, to Shannon where it refuelled and the crew stayed overnight before flying on to Washington. Flights logs are enclosed with the letter.
On January 22nd, 2004, Mr Mohammed was "rendered" from Morocco to the so-called "Dark Prison" in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he endured a further five months of torture. According to Mr Stafford Smith, this rendition was also facilitated by Ireland.
The plane that brought him, number N313P, flew from Washington to Shannon on January 16th, where the crew again stayed overnight before flying on to Larnaca in Cyprus and from there to Rabat, where they picked up Mr Mohamed on January 22nd.
Since then he has been held in Guantánamo, in conditions described by Mr Stafford Smith as "worse than any I have witnessed in 25 years of visiting clients on death row across the United States". Mr Stafford Smith is seeking information from the Irish Government that might assist Mr Mohammed in his defence on any charge of involvement in terrorism and vindicate his claims of having been tortured.
This information sought includes the names of those travelling on the flights, their passport details, the hotel or hotels they stayed in, all records, including telephone records, and all details of those involved in the flights.
Mr Stafford Smith heads the UK branch of Reprieve, which is working on behalf of a number of detainees in Guantánamo.