Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden’ is a three-part documentary series that delves deep into the 9/11 attacks and their long-term effects on the nation. When the authorities learned that the terrorist group called Al-Qaida, which was led by Osama bin Laden, was behind it all, they embarked on a mission to locate him by hook or crook. In their quest to do so, they managed to apprehend an alleged terrorist named Abu Zubaydah.
Abu Zubaydah Was Allegedly Subjected to Years of Repeated Torture
Born on March 12, 1971, in Saudi Arabia, Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, who is popularly known as Abu Zubaydah, first came on the radar of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during their mission to capture Osama bin Laden, dead or alive, following the 9/11 attacks. In order to locate the leader of Al-Qaida, the CIA operatives targeted other members of the terrorist organization. Thus, during their mission, they captured Abu Zubaydah, the alleged terrorist associated with Al-Qaida and Osama, in Pakistan in 2002. Following his successful capture, he remained in the custody of the CIA for quite a few years.
It has been reported that the authorities allegedly used extensive and torturous interrogation techniques on Abu, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions for long hours, forced nudity, confinement in small and dark spaces, deprivation of solid food, and physical assaults. Before finally transferring him to Guantanamo in September 2006, the alleged terrorist was held at numerous secret locations, including a year in a Polish prison. It was also alleged that some video evidence of his interrogations was destroyed by the CIA in 2005. Nearly a decade later, on July 24, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights instructed the Polish government to pay Abu in damages, which he claimed he would donate to the victims of torture.
Abu Zubaydah is Still Detained by the US Authorities in a Detention Facility
Nearly two decades after Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan and detained by the US authorities, UN independent human rights experts demanded he be released. In early January 2025, they stated, “We are exceptionally requesting a Presidential pardon for Mr. Abu Zubaydah, owing to his treatment while in detention and the lack of due process since he was first detained. His immediate release and relocation to a third safe country are long overdue.” They emphasized the detainee’s deteriorating physical conditions, most of which they believed were the results of the extensive torture he allegedly faced at the hands of the CIA operatives. According to the claims made by international and regional human rights mechanisms, Abu also faced more than a few human rights violations during his time as a detainee of the CIA.
They added, “In addition to his liberation, we request that Mr. Abu Zubaydah is accorded an enforceable right to compensation and other measures of reparation, in accordance with international law.” Besides the physical trauma, the experts also highlighted what they perceived is the psychological effect of the alleged torture and inhuman treatment he had received. They emphasized, “We recall the principle of joint responsibility that applies to States when more than one of them was involved in the perpetration of a human rights violation. Accordingly, we call on States to proactively offer their territory for the prompt relocation of Mr. Abu Zubaydah.” Despite the protests from the UN independent human rights experts, Abu Zubaydah is reportedly still held up behind bars in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba under the authority of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF).
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