Pakistani at Guantanamo says he's abused

updated 2:59 p.m. ET May 15, 2007

WASHINGTON - A Pakistani terrorism suspect denied any connection to al-Qaida and said he was tortured and his family was hounded by U.S. authorities, according to a transcript released Tuesday by the Pentagon.

Majid Khan, in a lengthy written statement, said the CIA and the Defense Department tortured him after his capture in Pakistan as well as when he was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

"I swear to God this place in some sense worst than CIA jails. I am being mentally torture here," said Khan in a statement read by his personal representative about his time in Guantanamo. "There is extensive torture even for the smallest of infractions."

Khan, who grew up in Maryland and is the only U.S. resident among 15 detainees the government considers most dangerous, also described suicide attempts where he "chewed my artery which goes through my elbow." And he said he went on hunger strikes to pressure authorities to either charge him or send him back to Pakistan.

The CIA and Pentagon have said their interrogation practices are legal and that they do not use torture.

"He has been treated humanely while in Department of Defense custody," said Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.

Accused of plotting sabotage, murder
U.S. government authorities have said that Khan was linked to al-Qaida and involved in plots to blow up American gas stations, poison U.S. reservoirs and kill the president of Pakistan.

In the 39-page transcript, Khan, his father and a Ohio truck driver convicted of supporting terrorism all denied that Khan is a terrorist. Khan's father provided the most graphic descriptions of his son's treatment at the hands U.S. authorities, in a written statement that was also included in the hearing record.

Ali Shoukat Khan said his son was kidnapped in Pakistan and that there, Americans tortured his son "for eight hours at a time, tying him tightly in stressful positions in a small chair until his hands, feet and mind went numb ... He was often hooded and had difficulty breathing. They also beat him repeatedly, slapping him in the face, and deprived him of sleep."

The elder Khan, a retired gas station owner, said his son is not a terrorist and demanded that the government present its evidence, "charge him with a crime and give him a fair trial in a real court." He also said he and his family were pressured by the FBI to speculate about his son's activities.

The FBI, he said, "followed us everywhere we went for a long time, requiring us to tell them in advance where we were going and what we were going to do there."

MORE FROM SECURITY

Security Section Front

9/11 families mixed on Afghan surge Tracking smugglers along the Mexican border 570,000 9/11 pager messages released U.S. offers $5 million reward for 'Bomb Man' Security Section Front   Add Security headlines to your news reader: