Families search for those lost in “African Guantanamo”

Human rights advocates say Kenyan authorities in January and February captured more than 100 people fleeing Somalia’s war — when Ethiopian and American-backed forces drove out an Islamist regime — and smuggled them into a secret detention programme.

In a case some have dubbed the “African Guantanamo,” suspects were flown across borders in shackles and faced what rights groups call illegal, aggressive interrogation without access to consular officials or lawyers.

The U.S. embassy in Nairobi refused to comment on the allegations, directing Reuters to Washington where officials would not comment on specifics and reiterated a standard line: “We are still committed to fighting terrorism in the region.”

Mohammed Abdillahi pores over court proceedings and affidavits as he waits for prayers to begin at the Jamia Mosque in downtown Nairobi.

The distraught 58-year-old Kenyan spends every spare moment rallying against his government’s role in what he calls the “illegal arrest, disappearance and rendition” of his son.

Kenyan authorities deny any knowledge of 21-year-old Abdi Mohammed Abdillahi, but his father says the evidence is on TV.

Posted by Dilated_Rebel
Born and raised very humbly in a “small town” in southern California, I was a product of different worlds. Literally, part of my family descends from Mexico the rest from Portugal and Uruguay. This mixture had kept me from supporting any racist psyche found...