Years after the C.I.A. closed down its “black site” program, new details are slowly coming to light during trials at Guantánamo Bay. Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, a former Qaeda commander, shared his harrowing experience of being held in a windowless, closet-sized cell and subjected to humiliating treatment while in U.S. custody. He described being blindfolded, stripped, forcibly shaved, and photographed naked multiple times after his capture in 2006.
Carol Rosenberg, the only reporter covering war crimes cases at Guantánamo Bay, provided insights into the hearing where Mr. Hadi shared his story. The public was granted a glimpse of Quiet Room 4, the cell where Mr. Hadi was held, during the sentencing hearing that began last week. He recounted never seeing the sun or hearing the voices of his guards, who were fully covered in black attire, including masks.
At 63 years old, Mr. Hadi was among the last detainees held in the C.I.A.’s overseas black site network, where numerous terrorism suspects were interrogated in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Despite the closure of the program under the Obama administration, many of its secrets have remained hidden. However, through the ongoing national security trials at Guantánamo Bay, some details are starting to emerge.
During the court proceedings, spectators were able to witness Quiet Room 4, a small empty chamber that Mr. Hadi likened to the cell where he spent three months, albeit without the bloodstain that marked the wall of his previous confinement. The revelations from these trials shed light on the harsh realities faced by individuals detained in these black sites and the lasting impact of such treatment on their lives.