The British government has quietly settled a damning legal case, paying a "substantial sum" to Abu Zubaydah, a Guantánamo Bay detainee who was waterboarded 83 times by the CIA. The payout serves as a tacit admission that British intelligence agencies—MI5 and MI6—were complicit in his torture, feeding questions to his interrogators while he was being brutalized in secret "black sites."

Abu Zubaydah, a stateless Palestinian, has been held without charge by the US for over two decades. He is known as the "guinea pig" for the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program. Lawyers for the detainee argued that while the torture was physical American, the questions were British, making the UK a partner in the crime.

The "Outsourcing" of Torture

"The UK government cannot wash its hands of this," said his lead counsel. "They knew he was being waterboarded, they knew he was being kept in a coffin-sized box, and yet they kept sending questions. That is not intelligence gathering; that is participation."

• The Settlement: While the exact figure is classified, sources suggest it is in the millions of pounds. The settlement avoids a potentially embarrassing public trial that would have exposed sensitive intelligence cables from the height of the "War on Terror."
• The "Mistake": Abu Zubaydah was initially branded a high-ranking Al-Qaeda operative. The US government later conceded he was not even a member of the group. He remains in Guantánamo simply because, as one official put it, "he knows too much."
• Moral Reckoning: The payment has reignited calls for a judge-led inquiry into UK complicity in rendition. Human rights groups argue that writing a check does not absolve the state of moral responsibility for enabling torture.

A Legacy of Shadows

The case is a stark reminder of the dark underbelly of the post-9/11 era. For Abu Zubaydah, the money changes little—he remains in a cell in Cuba, a "forever prisoner" with no prospect of release. But for the UK, it is a costly acknowledgment that in the pursuit of security, the nation lost its moral compass.