Mustafa Faraj Mohammad Masud Al Jadid Al Uzaybi: One of the most tortured detainees in CIA history

Summary

Mustafa Faraj Mohammad Masud Al Jadid Al Uzaybi has spent two decades imprisoned without charge after being captured in Pakistan in 2005, tortured at CIA black sites, and transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006, where he remains classified as a ‘Forever Prisoner’. Subjected to extreme “enhanced interrogation” techniques, he is considered one of the most severely tortured detainees in CIA custody. The abuse has left him with lasting injuries and hearing impairment, requiring specialised medical care. Despite a UN opinion in 2023 declaring his detention arbitrary, Mustafa continues to be held.

Background

Mustafa Faraj Mohammad Masud Al Jadid Al Uzaybi, commonly known as Abu Faraj al-Libi, was born is Tripoli, Libya in 1970. He lived with his wife and children before he was subjected to extraordinary rendition, torture, and interrogation. Enforced disappearance and torture. He was subjected to enforced disappearance and torture at CIA black sites following his capture in Pakistan in 2005. In 2006, he was transferred to Guantánamo Bay, where he remains detained without charge or trial, classified as a ‘Forever Prisoner’.

Mustafa was subject to enhanced interrogation” torture techniques and is known as one of the most tortured detainees in CIA history. While being held at a CIA site in Romania, he was subjected to “dietary manipulation, nudity, attention grasp, walling, facial hold, facial slap or insult slap, abdominal slap, cramped confinement, wall standing. stress positions, water dousing, and sleep deprivation (more than 48 hours)”. He was detained and tortured by CIA agents for over 460 days before being transported to Guantánamo Bay.

Over the past two decades, he has suffered from severe health issues, including traumatic brain injury resulting from abuse in detention. These injuries have led to cognitive decline, hearing impairment, and deepening isolation due to difficulties in communication. Despite these medical concerns and the absence of formal charges, Mustafa remains imprisoned for 20 years.

Legal proceedings

Mustafa’s case has been taken up in the UK by Bhatt Murphy. This civil action against the UK government claims UK complicity in CIA rendition and detention operations and seeks accountability and monetary compensation.

A habeas corpus petition originally filed years ago, has also recently been reactivated, challenging the lawfulness of Mustafa’s continued detention. It seeks his release based on the lack of formal charges and insufficient evidence against him. It is supported by a comprehensive post-release plan, including medical treatment and rehabilitation.

His health conditions require neurological and auditory rehabilitation and intensive professional treatment in a specialised facility. A rehabilitation center in Belgium has agreed to accept Mustafa, offering pioneering treatment tailored to his needs. His legal team is also exploring resettlement options in some countries.

The Periodic Review Board administrative process assessing whether detention remains necessary to mitigate a threat was scheduled for April 2025. Possibilities of a plea agreement also exists via a military commissions, though Mustafa has not been formally charged. His legal team is not actively involved in this avenue but monitors it closely.

In 2023, the United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion that Mustafa’s detention was arbitrary in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

CAGE International’s Position

CAGE International calls for Mustafa’s immediate release. His detention without charge for two decades stands as a blatant violation of international human rights and legal norms, a brutal stain on the very rule of law itself. His suffering must end. He deserves justice, compassion and dignity.

We urge the United States government to:

• Comply with international law;
• Transfer Mustafa to a safe third country;
• Ensure that he receives urgent medical care; and
• Facilitate his reunification with family.

We also demand accountability for the torture and abuse Mustafa has endured and call for reparations in accordance with international human rights norms.