How European Governments Turned Guantánamo Terror Detainees Into Millionaires, While the Americans Held Firm

The United Kingdom government quietly reached a large monetary settlement this month with Abu Zubaydah, the accused Al Qaeda operative who’s been held by the United States at Guantánamo Bay for nearly two decades without charge. The confidential payment – to a prisoner the Americans have no intention of releasing – marks the latest chapter in an unusual pattern that has emerged over the past 15 years: Islamic extremist terror suspects who spent years in detention – some of whom remain in detention – receiving taxpayer-funded settlements from the British and Canadian governments while their alleged victims receive little or nothing.Mr. Zubaydah’s attorney, Helen Duffy, announced the agreement on January 13, describing the payout as a “substantial sum” intended to address the “intolerable suffering” her client endured. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, reports suggest it is widely believed to be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. The settlement compensates Mr. Zubaydah for British intelligence services’ complicity in his treatment at so-called CIA black sites where, his lawyers allege, he was waterboarded at least 83 times in a single month and locked into a coffin-sized box for 11 days and two hours between 2002 and 2006.What makes the payment remarkable is not just the money but the broader context. Mr. Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in 2002 amid claims he was a high-ranking al-Qaeda official who allegedly ran training camps in Afghanistan. For years, American intelligence officials tried to force Mr. Zubaydah to divulge what they believed he knew about Al Qaeda’s operations and future terror plots.The ‘forever prisoner’ Abu Zubaydah. JTF GitmoIn recent years, during various legal proceedings, the Americans have retreated from directly claiming Mr. Zubaydah belonged to Al Qaeda. He is still imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, one of four so-called “forever prisoners” whom the United States will not release but is also not putting on trial.The U.K., however, has paid Mr. Zubaydah a large settlement. The settlement, reached through Mr. Zubaydah’s legal team while he is in detention, represents compensation for the British role in his mistreatment — though how or when he might access the funds, given his continued imprisonment, is unclear.The UK settlement follows a 2018 parliamentary report confirming that UK security and intelligence services were aware Mr. Zubaydah was being tortured, but continued to provide questions for the CIA to ask him without seeking assurances of his condition. The former member of Parliament who chaired the inquiry, Dominic Grieve, acknowledged the payout was very unusual but that, in his view, Mr. Zubaydah was clearly wronged.The Settlement PrecedentBritain’s payment to Mr. Zubaydah represents the latest in a series of multimillion-dollar settlements that Western governments have paid to Guantánamo detainees – most of whom have been released – over the past decade and a half. The pattern began in 2010 when the UK government agreed to pay anywhere between $8 million and $16 million USD to settle lawsuits from 16 former Guantánamo detainees who accused British intelligence agencies of complicity in their torture and rendition. At least one recipient received more than $1.6 million, according to sources familiar with the settlement terms.A humvee passes the guard tower guard tower at the entrance of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, also known as ‘Gitmo’ on October 23, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. John Moore/Getty ImagesThe British government defended the 2010 decision on financial grounds. Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke told Parliament that fighting the lawsuits could have cost between $48 million and $80 million USD in legal fees over an estimated five-year litigation period. Officials said about 100 security service personnel had been working full-time on the issue, resources that could be redirected if settlements were reached.Yet the financial calculus sparked immediate controversy. Labour MP Ian Austin noted in Parliament that compensation for victims of the July 7, 2005, London terror bombings is capped at a maximum of $800,000 USD per person, meaning some terror suspects received more than the victims of terrorism on British soil.The disparity between British payouts and American refusal to compensate former (and current) detainees reflects fundamental differences in legal systems and political will across the Atlantic. “Allied governments face more aggressive domestic courts and human rights litigation that force payouts while the U.S. benefits from sovereign immunity, the Military Commissions Act, and political will to reject compensation for detainees,” managing director at Nestpoint Associates, John Thomas, tells the Sun. “The U.S. views these men as enemy combatants captured in a war on terror, not victims deserving taxpayer money while our US allies pay to quell lawsuits and avoid exposing their own intelligence roles.”Canada has demonstrated that the pattern of settlements extends beyond Europe. In 2017, the Canadian government paid Omar Khadr CA$10.5 million and issued a formal apology to settle his lawsuit alleging the government conspired with his American captors. In this Dec. 12, 2008 file courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the US military, Canadian-born accused terrorist Omar Khadr attends a pre-trial session in Camp Justice on the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool, FileMr. Khadr was captured in Afghanistan at age 15 after a 2002 firefight that killed a United States Army Special Forces medic. He spent a decade at Guantánamo before being transferred to Canada to serve the remainder of his sentence.The Khadr settlement proved deeply divisive. His supporters argued he should have been treated as a child soldier. Critics pointed out that Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, providing material support for terrorism, spying and conspiracy in 2010. However, he later claimed he falsely pleaded guilty to secure his release. The payment sparked particular outrage because a Utah court ordered Mr. Khadr to pay $134 million to the widow of the soldier he killed and another wounded soldier, though that civil judgment remains uncollected.Sweden paid an earlier settlement in 2008, providing $500,000 to a former terror suspect for handing him over to Washington officials in 2002, who sent him to Egypt to be tortured. Australia reached an undisclosed settlement with former Guantánamo detainee Mamdouh Habib in 2010.The Accountability GapOther European courts have also ordered compensation in cases involving CIA black sites. The European Court of Human Rights ruled against Poland and Lithuania for hosting secret detention facilities, ordering each country to pay 100,000 euros in damages to detainees held at those sites. The court found that both governments were aware the CIA would subject detainees to treatment contrary to the Convention on Human Rights.These international judgments represent some of the few instances when European or international legal bodies sought accountability for the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program, which the Americans have said was focused on preventing future terror attacks. What is striking is the contrast between the European settlements and court rulings – about American interrogation and detention practices – and the position of the United States itself. Activists in orange jumpsuits, representing the 35 men who are still being held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, participate in a protest in front of the White House on January 11, 2023 at Lafayette Square. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe United States government has yet to pay out a cent in legal settlements to the roughly 700 men it has released from Guantánamo Bay who were all held – many for years – without charge. The Americans classified many of the men as “enemy combatants” and held them outside the United States, thus depriving them of the rights they’d have as rdinary criminal defendants on American soil. American courts have consistently blocked compensation claims from former detainees. The state secrets privilege has been invoked to dismiss cases. Other lawsuits have been dismissed on immunity grounds or for procedural reasons. In 2012, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against John Yoo, the author of the so-called torture memos justifying the CIA’s interrogation practices, arguing he had immunity because the definition of torture wasn’t firmly established.The European and Canadian settlements and court rulings, however, show that these governments and courts have little compunction about paying men who the Americans strongly believed were dangerous terrorists. “These no-admission settlements are classic scandal management,” Mr. Thomas says. “They pay to make lawsuits disappear without any official acknowledgment of wrongdoing or systemic reform. They let governments buy silence and avoid damaging trials that could reveal intelligence-sharing failures, but they do little for real accountability.”The pattern extends beyond legal immunity. No senior officials in the United States or allied countries have been penalized for the enhanced interrogation program, despite findings from the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report detailing systemic abuse. Cases have been dismissed on grounds of state secrecy, with sensitive intelligence documents shielded from public disclosure.The Forever PrisonersMr. Zubaydah’s case highlights the legal limbo that defines Guantánamo’s remaining population. Now 54 years old, he has been in American custody for 23 years without being charged with any crime. His attorney argues that this prolonged detention without trial amounts to ongoing torture. The European Court of Human Rights has described his continued detention at Guantanamo as a “flagrant denial of justice.”In 2022, the United States Supreme Court dismissed Mr. Zubaydah’s lawsuit seeking testimony from two former CIA contractors as part of an investigation into his treatment while detained in Poland. The decision effectively closed off another avenue for accountability or disclosure about what happened during those years in CIA custody.Prisoners bow during evening prayers at the ‘Gitmo’ detention center on October 22, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. John Moore/Getty ImagesConservative critics of the UK settlement contend that the payments reward individuals who posed genuine security threats. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick demanded transparency about why the government paid an alleged terrorist held in Guantánamo Bay, noting that successive American presidents have continued to detain Mr. Zubaydah based on security assessments.Yet accountability advocates contend the settlements represent minimal justice for grave human rights violations. The payments come without admissions of guilt, without prosecution of responsible officials, and without the systemic changes that might prevent similar abuses in future conflicts.“The precedent should be chilling for our allies,” Mr. Thomas says. “If you cooperate too closely with U.S. operations, you risk multimillion-dollar payouts when things go wrong, potentially chilling intelligence sharing in future threats. For the United States, it reinforces that we can lead aggressive counterterrorism without financial liability, but scare our partners to potentially bear the legal and monetary costs.”He warns that the implications extend beyond finances. “This lack of personal accountability signals that national security excesses carry no real consequences for decision-makers, eroding trust in the system and setting a dangerous example that ends justify means, even when they involve torture,” Mr. Thomas adds.

How European Governments Turned Guantánamo Terror Detainees Into Millionaires, While the Americans Held Firm

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