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May 12, 2009

Prisoner who Tied Iraq to al-Qaeda Found Dead in Libyan Jail
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A Libyan man whose fabricated testimony about al-Qaeda was used by the
United States to justify its 2003 invasion of Iraq has reportedly killed
himself in his Libyan jail cell. Human rights groups are demanding an
immediate investigation into the death of Ibn Shaykh al-Libi. After his
capture in Afghanistan in 2001, US forces sent him to a prison in Egypt
where he was tortured. After being beaten and subjected to a “mock
burial” by his Egyptian interrogators, Libi made up the false claim that
Iraq had provided training in chemical and biological weapons to
al-Qaeda operatives. The Bush administration used Libi’s false testimony
to make the case for invading Iraq. Al-Libi was later held in a secret
overseas CIA prison. Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch said, “He was
Exhibit A in the narrative that tortured confessions contributed to the
massive intelligence failure that preceded the Iraq war.” Former friends
of Libi have cast doubt on his reported suicide, arguing that the former
mosque preacher knew suicide was prohibited by Islam.



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