Questions remain about Shannon stopovers

It’s been revealed (Amy Goodman, Democracy Now) that a secret CIA “Black Site” prison existed within Guantanamo in which prisoners may have been tortured and subjected to mind altering drugs. 

A book by a former US sergeant at Guantanamo, Joseph Hickman, raises claims that three prisoners alleged to have committed suicide in 2006 may have died instead due to torture.

Mani al-Utaybi, and Yasser al-Zahrani from Saudi Arabia were already approved for release.

A review of Ali Abdullah Ahmed’s case revealed “no evidence of terrorist involvement”.

In 2008, Murat Kurnaz, a former detainee revealed in his memoir, that all the other prisoners at Guantanamo concluded the three detainees had been killed.

I met Murat Kurnaz when he visited Ireland in 2008. His description of his “rendition” journey from Afghanistan to Guantanamo in 2002, indicates that he was taken to Guantanamo by US military aircraft.

He was bound, gagged and drugged on the flight so he was unable to see which airports his plane landed at. These planes would have needed to refuel in locations such as Portugal, Spain or Ireland.

One of Kurnaz’s refuelling airports may have been Shannon airport.

Edward Horgan

Newtown

Castletroy

Limerick