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Part of the process of investigation, was to review close to 30,000 pages of documentation from the files that had been disclosed by the US government.

Whether or not the US authorities thought that someone would be bothered to read each line of these documents, the reality is, for us the story of the torture has been in the lines of these details.

Among the disclosed material, were logs kept by the guards of the Segregated Housing Unit of the Charleston Naval Brig where al-Marri was detained – these logs ran into the thousands of pages and in many instances told a story of what Ali al-Marri’s confinement looked like on a fifteen-minute to fifteen-minute basis.

Confrontation with the prison guards

During the middle of May and early June 2004, Ali al-Marri came into confrontation with the prison authorities, first over his denial of the Qur’an and halal food, and then after with the temperature in his cell. In a document dated 2 August 2004, the following events were noted:

“First, in late May, 052 [al-Marri’s prison number] started a hunger strike.
After five days, 052 was told that medical monitoring will have to take place.
If he resisted, he would be strapped to a back brace and blood and urine would be extracted.
The idea of having urine extracted via a catheter appeared to concern him – that night he ended his hunger strike.”

Among the disclosed documentation, the frequently updated prison Pass Down Logs reveal relatively little of this period and exchange, however another set of logs called the Electronic Logs (ELs) help to provide details on a fifteen-minute basis that would otherwise not be known.

The incident begins on 29 May 2004 at 3:00 pm when a visual tour of al-Marri’s cell finds him lying on the floor:

“EC#2 [enemy combatant number 2] was laying on floor.
When Tango 2 approached and told him to get off the floor EC#2 stated it was cold.
Tango 2 then tried to fix the temperature problem, but was unsuccessful.
Upon informing EC#2 that he was unable to fix it EC#2 stated “Now you are just messing with me.”
Tango 2 then told him to get off the floor, then EC#2 ignored him and went right back to the floor.”

Over the next two days, the complaints of al-Marri regarding the temperature would continue, these are only a snapshot of their presentation:

As can be seen from a selection of the logs above, instead of providing Ali al-Marri with the opportunity to find some warmth, instead they took his blankets away at 5:42pm, only then to turn up the temperature 3 hours later and return blankets an hour and a half after that.

“Lt Col Ramos and his people want to play games moving him in a cold cell.”1#3 Electronic Logs, 1c 1133-1565, notation 05/30/04 10:05 pm

This log presents itself as one of the clearer indications that all of the abuse being carried out against al-Marri and the games being played with him were part of an orchestrated campaign to coerce him into compliance.

The following logs highlight the lengths to which the administration was willing to push him:

The Pass Down Logs provide a brief insight into this period later in the day, but without any reference to the logs in the Electronic Brig Logs – it is one of the reasons why the logs must be read together:

1741     Tango 2 told EC 2 to pick up his blankets and pillow up off the floor. EC refused stating it was very cold “I cannot sleep up there” (rack)

1742     Tango 2 took blankets and pillow from EC per order of Mr Seymour.

1744     Tango 2 placed meal in cell tray under door

1745     EC pushed meal tray under door

1747     Tango 2 told EC tray must stay in his cell for 20 min. EC “refused”.

1748     Tango 2 put meal tray back in EC’s cell

1749     EC pushed tray under door

1750     Tango 2 put meal back in cell 119. Tango 2 blocked cell door w/his feet. EC dumped food in toilet and flushed it.

1751     EC pushed tray under door when Tango 2 left

1752     EC hiding in cell under camera

1800     EC crawled under rack to hide from camera

1802     MA² Fesenmyer told EC#2 to come out from under his rack. EC refused stating “its very cold”

1805     Mr Seymour stated he wanted five minute checks on EC#2 until further notice.

By 18:53, the guards turn the temperature of the cell up, and al-Marri is willing to go back to sleeping on his rack.

One question that might be asked based on the logs, is whether the Commanding Officer, Major Swift, was aware of the games that were being ordered by the DoD and FBI agents. On 30 May 2004, the following reference is either a genuine question of concern by the CO, or an attempt to cover the concerted efforts to harm him:

“By order of CO: When medical comes on board tomorrow to check EC Two, medical personnel is to stand in cell #119 for a few minutes and assess the temperature of the cell.
When this is done it must be logged in the computer whether the temperature is too cold, too hot, or just fine.”

Despite the Pass Down Logs claiming that the cell temperature was acceptable, on 31 May 2004, al-Marri made it clear that he would continue his hunger strike out of protest of his treatment. Despite the claims of the log, he continued to complain of the cold in his cell, attempting further methods of controlling the cold air:

Calculated Torture

Video of al-Marri hitting his own head and removing his underwear to shove into vents, 1 June 2004

The real extent and degree of these tactics in order to coerce the compliance of Ali al-Marri were revealed in a leaked Defence Intelligence Agency document from 14 June 2004:

“In an early attempt to induce al-Marri to cooperate, the team decided to offer him a copy of the Koran.
This was not considered a major issue because SJA Fleet Forces Command had previously agreed the Koran could be used as an incentive.
Al-Marri responded to this gesture by making further demands, to include a prayer rug and notification of prayer times.

In view of Al-Marri’s reaction, and with the concurrence of the Consultant, the team requested that the Koran be taken away from al-Marri.
This was done to extinguish al-Marri’s overblown sense of entitlement.
The team has requested that other items be withdrawn from al-Marri, to include one of his blankets and a pillow.

All requests by the team to withhold or withdraw incentive items from al-Marri have been vetted through DH GC, Fleet Forces Command SJA, and JFCOM SJA.”

This tactic of inducing his compliance was previously already stated by the interrogation team and fits as part of a wider plan to destabilise al-Marri from the very beginning of his detention:

“Because Al-Marri had never been interviewed in a controlled environment, it was also necessary to extinguish his expectations of due process and entitlements in order to induce compliance.
This was accomplished by removing all privilege items, such as his mattress and copy of the Koran.”

The harm that Ali Al-Marri was forced to endure over the course of thirteen years in a US prison are by no means summarised in this incident relating to the use of temperature control in al-Marri’s cell.

What this incident does show us, however, is the cruel and calculated way in which his environment was controlled in order to cause him harm.

The coldness of the cell was magnified by the sparce confinement conditions, with a metal rack without a mattress serving only to exacerbate the difficulties of his period of torture.

The lines of detailed control remind us of how important it is that we never succumb to thinking of torture in a singular way (that it is about extreme forms of beating and violence) – but rather how any form of torture, no matter how light, when systematically used, can have devastating consequences.

Find out more about Ali al-Marri’s case in our report Torture in America: FBI & DOD torture of Ali al-Marri on the Charleston Naval Brig 

You can also find documentation on Ali’s torture and detention conditions in this dossier.

Image courtesy of Unsplash/marcin777