At least 39 people have been held by the U.S. as secret off-the-books prisoners, although it’s impossible to know how many are still being held. At least two of those secretly imprisoned were children.
Joanne Mariner of Human Rights Watch said it was unknown if the suspects were now in U.S. or foreign custody, or even alive or dead.
“We have families who have not seen their loved ones for years. They’ve literally disappeared,” Mariner told Reuters.
Among the cases detailed in the report is the detention in September 2002 of two children, then aged seven and nine, of confessed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was later detained and is now held at Guantanamo.
“According to eyewitnesses, the two were held in an adult detention center for at least four months while U.S. agents questioned the children about their father’s whereabouts.”
Been looking for some “high crimes and misdemeanors” for impeachment purposes? Does crimes against humanity count?
UPDATE: This practice, as used in Iraq, of the US military kidnapping the children of “enemies” as an “interrogation” tool was first pointed out by despoticmachine in the very early days of this blog. This was long before the “ghost detainee” practice’s existence was confirmed by the Bush Administration, and it was only confirmed as it applies to international “terror suspects,” not Iraqis. However I have no doubt the Iraq reports were true as well.
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