US 'offered Binyam plea bargain'

By Jon Manel
BBC News

Mr Mohamed, a British resident, claims he was tortured in US custody

Former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed was offered a "plea bargain" by US authorities, previously unpublished High Court documents have revealed.

Under the deal, proposed in 2008, he would have served one more year if he had pleaded guilty to terror charges.

Mr Mohamed, released in February 2009 after nearly seven years, alleges that he was tortured on behalf of the US in Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan.

The US Department of Defense said it was unable to comment at this time.

'Cover up'

Details of the US proposals have emerged after a section of a judgement made by the High Court in London in 2008 was made public the first time.

Under the proposed plea bargain, Mr Mohamed was told he had to agree not to take any kind of legal action against the US or any other country, including against military and civilian officials.

His representatives say this would have prevented him from trying to claim damages.

The document also reveals that Mr Mohamed's lawyer, Clive Stafford-Smith, told the court that his client would have to have had to sign a document as part of the plea bargain saying he had not been tortured, and have agreed not to make any public statement about what he had been through.

Gradually, the truth is leaking out Clive Stafford-Smith Reprieve

These plea bargain discussions took place after charges against him were dropped in October 2008, the court head.

According to the High Court document, under the plea bargain proposal "the maximum period of confinement that would be adjudged and approved would be 10 years, but the Convening Authority would order the suspension of the balance of the sentence over one year".

Mr Stafford-Smith, who is legal director of the human rights charity Reprieve, said: "The facts revealed today reflect the way the US Government has consistently tried to cover up the truth of Binyam Mohamed's torture.

"Gradually, the truth is leaking out, and the governments on both sides of the Atlantic should pause to consider whether they should continue to fight to keep this torture evidence secret."

The High Court document also shows that a US prosecutor had told Binyam Mohamed's representatives that claims Mr Mohamed had made about torture "could be disproved and that BM knew his claims were demonstrably false".

The document reveals that in August 2008, Mr Mohamed's lawyers had been prepared to agree to a plea bargain in which their client would neither have pleaded guilty nor not guilty to terrorism charges in return for receiving a sentence of no more than three years.

As part of this proposal, the time he had already served would have been taken into account, which would have meant him being freed relatively soon. This was rejected by the US authorities.

Mr Mohamed's lawyers said this offer had to be viewed in the context of Mr Mohamed facing a sentence of at least 30 years and of not being released until the "war on terror" was over, even if he had been acquitted.