UN Experts Demand Immediate Release of Abu Zubaydah After Two Decades of Arbitrary Detention at Guantánamo Bay
(Special Correspondent)
GENEVA (8 January 2025) – In a compelling statement, United Nations experts have called for the immediate release of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, better known as Abu Zubaydah, who has been detained without charge at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay for almost two decades. The experts emphasized that his detention, coupled with the severe human rights abuses he has suffered, is a gross violation of international law and urged the United States to take swift action for his release and relocation to a safe third country.
Abu Zubaydah’s ordeal began following the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Captured in March 2002 in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Abu Zubaydah was swiftly transferred into CIA custody. He was then held at multiple secret ‘black’ sites across several countries, where credible evidence indicates that he was subjected to brutal torture during his detention. Despite his lengthy imprisonment, no formal charges have ever been brought against him, and he remains in Guantánamo Bay to this day.
The UN experts have called for extraordinary measures, urging a Presidential pardon for Abu Zubaydah due to the inhumane treatment he has endured over the years, as well as the profound lack of due process since his initial detention. They stated that his immediate release and relocation to a third safe country are long overdue and necessary to bring justice to an individual who has suffered unimaginable hardship.
“Mr. Abu Zubaydah suffers from serious health conditions, many of which stem from the injuries he sustained during torture,” the experts explained. “These conditions have allegedly worsened due to the ongoing denial of medical attention, and communication between Mr. Zubaydah and his legal counsel has been severely restricted, further hindering his right to a fair process.”
Abu Zubaydah’s case has been scrutinized by various international and regional human rights bodies, all of which have found that his treatment aligns with the grim patterns of torture, enforced disappearance, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that are hallmarks of the United States’ rendition and secret detention program. The UN experts have underscored that Abu Zubaydah’s rights have been repeatedly violated by the U.S. and the countries involved in his illegal detention and torture.
Beyond his immediate release, the experts have called for Abu Zubaydah to be granted an enforceable right to compensation, alongside other measures of reparations, in accordance with international human rights law. They emphasized the lasting psychological and physical trauma Abu Zubaydah has endured, as well as the long-term consequences of the abuse he was subjected to.
