Delivered into enemy hands

"When rebel forces overtook Tripoli in August 2011, prison doors were opened and office files exposed, revealing startling new information about Libya's relations with other countries. One such revelation, documented in this report, is the degree of involvement of the United States government under the Bush administration in the arrest of opponents of the former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, their subsequent torture and other ill-treatment in US custody, and their forced rendition to Libya. Delivered into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to Gaddafi's Libya is based on Human Rights Watch interviews with more than a dozen former members of an anti-Gaddafi Libyan Islamist group who, after September 11, 2001, were swept up in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia and sent back to Libya, mostly between 2004 and 2006. At the time, the United States and the United Kingdom were trying to transform Gaddafi from foe to ally. The report also documents allegations of torture and other serious ill-treatment committed by US personnel in US secret detention sites in Afghanistan. These include a newly reported case of waterboarding and another case of similar water torture. The report also details the mistreatment of these men back in Libya, where they endured solitary confinement, other abuses, and long prison sentences following unfair trials. Human Rights Watch calls on the US, the UK, and other governments involved in these renditions to investigate the alleged abuses. The US should provide a full accounting of its extensive secret detention program, enable victims to obtain redress, and prosecute those responsible for authorizing the mistreatment"--P. [4] of cover. ; "This report is based on interviews conducted in Libya with 14 former detainees, most of whom belonged to an armed Islamist group that had worked to overthrow Gaddafi for 20 years. Many members of the group, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), joined the NATO-backed anti-Gaddafi rebels in the 2011 conflict. Some of those who were rendered and allegedly tortured in US custody now hold key leadership and political positions in the country"--Publisher's website.