A Pakistani terrorism suspect denied any connection to al-Qaida "No, no! Certainly not!"
and said he was tortured and his family was hounded by U.S. authorities, according to a transcript released Tuesday by the Pentagon. Majid Khan, in a lengthy written statement, said the CIA and the Defense Department tortured him after his capture in Pakistan as well as when he was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
| Khan is Pakistani? I could have sworn he was a Canadian just last week. Or was that another member of the Kanadian Khan Klan. |
"Yarr! Won't talk will you? Mongo! Bruise his mind!"
"Duh! Yeah, boss!"
"Aaaaaiiiiieeeee!"
``There is extensive torture even for the smallest of infractions.''
| "Hey, you didn't finish your carrots. To the rack with him!" |
| He can chew his elbow? |
"Yes, Mawstah!"
"Aaaaiiiieeeeeeee!"
The CIA and Pentagon have said their interrogations practices are legal and that they do not use torture.
Well... Maybe an occasional Dutch rub. But only is special circumstances.
Khan's father, however, provided the most graphic descriptions of his son's treatment at the hands U.S. authorities, in a written statement that was also included in the hearing record. Ali Shoukat Khan said his son was kidnapped in Pakistan and that there, Americans tortured his son ``for eight hours at a time, tying him tightly in stressful positions in a small chair until his hands, feet and mind went numb ... He was often hooded and had difficulty breathing. They also beat him repeatedly, slapping him in the face, and deprived him of sleep.''
| Here's a quarter, call someone who cares |
The elder Khan, a retired gas station owner, said his son is not a terrorist and demanded that the government present its evidence, ``charge him with a crime and give him a fair trial in a real court.'' He also said he and his family were pressured by the FBI to speculate about his son's activities.
"Speculate about Sonny's activities, Pop, or the bunny gets it!"
"No! Not Fluffy! I'll speculate! I'll speculate!"
The FBI, he said, ``followed us everywhere we went for a long time, requiring us to tell them in advance where we were going and what we were going to do there.''
"What're you doing in there? Did you die in there? There are other people who need to use that, too, y'know!"
During the hearing, the government said Majid Khan told others that he wanted to ``martyr himself'' in a plot to assassinate Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. They quoted his father and brother saying that Khan was involved with ``a group he believed to be al-Qaida'' and was involved in transporting people across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
| And why would they think that, you might ask.... |
| He's got a couple other brothers who are al-Qaida deaders or in the slammer as well, I think |
Other than that, he's pretty harmless.
Khan also is said to have helped pick possible operatives, including Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver who is now serving 20 years in prison for supporting terrorism. Faris was studying how to destroy New York City suspension bridges. Faris submitted a statement for the hearing, and said he was coerced and tricked by the FBI into make statements about Khan. ``If I don't tell them what they wanted to hear, they were gong to take me to Gitmo (Guantanamo).''
"They wuz gonna put ladies' underwear on my head and ever'thing!"