Human Rights Groups Suspect Torture in Death of Terrorism Suspect
A suspect in the slaying of Wall Street Journal Daniel Pearl was secretly interrogated by both U.S. and Pakistani authorities before his death earlier this year.
Lawyers and human-rights advocates told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) that the harsh interrogation may have played a part in the death of the suspect, Saud Memon. He was being questioned about Pearl’s murder, which occurred at a nursery compound he owned, and about his role as an al-Qaida financier, a senior law-enforcement official told the newspaper.
Investigators learned during questioning that Memon was helping al-Qaida to develop anthrax strains, the newspaper says.
Memon weighed only 80 pounds and was badly injured when he was left in front of his Karachi home, his family and human rights groups told the WSJ. He was held first by the United States at a secret CIA facility in Afghanistan and was said to be in poor shape when he was handed over to Pakistan. At the time of the handover, Memon had “lost all his senses” and looked like skeleton, a Pakistani investigator said.
Doctors said Memon’s death about three weeks after his release was due to meningitis and tuberculosis. The CIA released a statement saying it does not conduct or condone torture.
Memon is among several suspected terrorists held without charge in Pakistan, an issue that has caused conflict between the judiciary and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
Among those arrested under Musharraf’s recent crackdown are human rights activists who objected to the treatment of terrorism suspects. Fired Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had also championed the rights of alleged terrorists.
