Human Rights Watch released a list of 26 “ghost detainees” it says are being held incommunicado by the United States at secret foreign prisons.
Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst for the rights group, said the list is the most complete possible, based on media reports and government documents, of the number of people arrested and held without due process outside the U.S. since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The list, released late Wednesday, includes many of the top suspects held in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in 2000 and the Bali nightclubs in 2002.
“One thing I want to make clear is we are talking about some really bad guys,” Garlasco said. “These are criminals who need to be brought to justice. One of our main problems with the U.S. is that justice is not being served by having these people held incognito.”
The list was released amid heightened debate over possible torture of American-held detainees overseas and rising anger in Europe about possible secret American jails there.
