JURIST - Paper Chase: Guantanamo detainee seeks ECHR ruling on Poland role in CIA secret prison

[JURIST] Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder] detainee Abu Zubaydah on Monday asked the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] to rule on whether Poland violated their client's rights [Reuters report] by aiding the US in detaining and allegedly torturing Zubaydah in a secret CIA prison [JURIST news archives]. Zubaydah, a top al Qaeda suspect, alleges that he was transferred to Poland and subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. An investigation into the prison has been ongoing in Poland [JURIST report] since 2008, but Zubaydah's lawyers argued that it has made no noticeable effort to bring any perpetrators to justice. The letter is notice that there will be an application for a formal hearing filed soon.

The ECHR has already agreed to take the case of accused USS Cole [JURIST news archive] bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri who also alleges that he has been tortured [JURIST report] in a secret CIA prison in Poland. In August, the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) urged the ECHR to review allegations that Romania was involved [JURIST report] in the torture and other ill-treatment of al-Nashiri as well. The application alleged that al-Nashiri was subject to torture and mistreatment while in the secret CIA detention facility "Bright Light" located in Romania's capital.