Guantánamo settlement: UK pays detainee over torture case

Published: 12 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

The UK has reportedly paid a Guantánamo settlement to detainee Abu Zubaydah, acknowledging its role in his alleged torture. Legal representatives confirmed that British intelligence provided questions to CIA interrogators, directly impacting the treatment he endured. This Guantánamo settlement marks a rare acknowledgment by the UK for complicity in overseas detention programs, highlighting the moral and legal responsibility of cooperating with allies violating international law. The financial agreement provides both practical redress and symbolic recognition of decades of suffering.

Abu Zubaydah, formally Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, is a stateless Palestinian raised in Saudi Arabia, seized in Pakistan in March 2002. The US initially claimed he was a high-ranking al-Qaida member, though this allegation was later dropped. He was subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program, which included repeated waterboarding, prolonged confinement in coffin-sized boxes, beatings, sleep deprivation, and exposure to cold water. His abuse occurred across secret facilities in Thailand, Lithuania, Poland, Afghanistan, Morocco, and ultimately at Guantánamo Bay.

Now 54, he remains held without charge at Guantánamo Bay, a “forever prisoner.” His lawyers emphasized that the Guantánamo settlement is important both practically and symbolically. Helen Duffy, his international counsel, described it as recognition of the UK’s indirect role in enabling severe abuse, noting that accountability in intelligence cooperation is critical for upholding human rights. The settlement amount was not disclosed but described as substantial.

Evidence of UK involvement was revealed in 2018 parliamentary reports, showing MI5 and MI6 had fed questions to the CIA while fully aware that Abu Zubaydah was being tortured. The Supreme Court allowed him to pursue a civil claim in December 2023, confirming that the UK’s involvement could not be dismissed due to his presence in other countries. The ruling reinforced that abuses committed by UK intelligence were official actions, establishing clear legal responsibility for overseas complicity.

Accounts of Zubaydah’s treatment, detailed in US Senate investigations, documented repeated waterboarding, confinement in restrictive spaces, and other extreme physical and psychological abuse. His recent drawings depicting these experiences offer a rare insight into life at black sites. Despite the Guantánamo settlement, the UK government has not formally admitted liability. Lawyers continue to urge official recognition, apology, and the release of detainees still held without charge.

This case highlights broader questions about the UK’s intelligence collaboration, demonstrating the enduring consequences of supporting allies who violate international norms. Observers suggest the Guantánamo settlement sets a precedent for financial redress in similar cases and underscores the risks inherent in counterterrorism cooperation. Governments are reminded that moral and legal accountability persists even decades after human rights violations occur.

Abu Zubaydah’s experience serves as a reference point in debates over international law, detention ethics, and the responsibilities of states working in global counterterrorism. The settlement reflects a tangible recognition of suffering while emphasizing the need for continued scrutiny of intelligence operations abroad.

Check our latest news