Artwork & Exhibitions
Prohibited from communicating with the outside world, Abu Zubaydah is a “man deprived of a voice”. But he speak to the world through his art. His drawings reveal the human impact of abandoning the rule of law. They call for wrongs to be righted and bought to an end. They are a warning for the future.
A few of the declassified drawings and captions describing his ordeal will appear below.
They will be changed periodically.
“They put the naked prisoner in a box like a bath with hands shackled. The start questioning with cold water flowing over his head until he almost drowned and cannot breath. The prisoner remains in the position for many hours, with the guards threatening to drown him completely. The prisoner is scared and stressed, then the guards move to a new level, pulling so that his head submerges in water, until he felt like he was going to die. Immediate death is easier than a hard, slow and gradual one. This is how prisoner thinks and hopes.” – Abu Zubaydah
“The big hope was that the detainee would not be put in a room (cell) with large black cockroaches, or other scary looking insects capable of stinging. If the scorpion disappeared or the prisoner couldn’t see it anymore, the prisoner became terrified. Not to mention the backache, extreme pain in his limbs, his head hurt from the lack of sleep and food, and the cold and foul odours.” – Abu Zubaydah
“In some case guards suddenly entered the cell and began hitting you against the wall, sometimes placing a towel around the neck, other times not. They hit the back of the prisoners head repeatedly until he passed out, later startling him awake using cold water. They cursed at the prisoner and continued to beat him on his head, back and buttocks until he collapsed on the ground. Sometimes they flog him on his feet or on the tips of his toes while screaming: Are you trying to resist?” – Abu Zubaydah
“This is one of the methods of torture – hanging prisoners. In very, very cold weather, the prisoner was hung naked by a chain from the roof with his feet tied to the floor for hours, days or weeks with no sleep ( not even for one second). While hanging, the guard beat him with sticks. They ask him about things, once he denies they beat him on the head, back, buttocks (rear-end) or calves. Sometimes they focus only on one area of his body and repeatedly strike very hard, whatever the investigator specify.” – Abu Zubaydah
“Using a very cold water and very air-conditioning , the investigators – dressed as if they were in the North Pole – poured very cold water over the naked prisoner’s shaved head until he fell down, hanging from the chains. They forced the prisoner to stand again and continued. Then another guard came in with a hose, and started shooting very cold water on the prisoner’s back, belly and genitals, focusing on one or multiple areas. They used this method for hours before and after interrogation.” – Abu Zubaydah
“They opened the door to my cell so that I could hear the sounds of shouting, begging, and crying in horror of the brother they were torturing. I heard the powerful and violent sound of a power drill. I heard someone shouting and threatening to use the power drill on the brother’s head, foot or stomach. The interrogator threatened to do this to me. Then the power drill started again and the brother started to shout, cry and beg until his voice suddenly stopped. But one sounds started to shout and scream in my own head, questions pushing me to craziness: Did they drill the brother’s head?! Who is the second one? And who will be the third one? Will it be me?” – Abu Zubaydah
“Usually after using different torture methods, they throw the prisoner inside a big casket-like box. Shackled with short chain between hands and feet, the prisoner is forced to remain bent. Inside the box there was only a bucket, bottled water and one packet of rehydration solution ‘ensure’ to last a day or more. The guards bang on the box so the prisoner cannot sleep even for one second. After one or two hours, they move the whole casket upside down, no food at all, all day.” – Abu Zubaydah
“Before and after the intensive torture, is also a state of torture, only slow, persistent and annoying. This is one of its pictures: Severe cold weather, very high sounds and nakedness. The prisoner needs to relieve himself in front of them and the camera. As for sleep, he is naked and laid down on the very cold ground without a mattress or a cover (of course the pillow was a very big dream that has never been realized). He neither slept nor did not sleep, from all of this, and the nightmares of what they have done or will do to him.” – Abu Zubaydah
“This image represents me imprisoned in a big 2x2m cage for long months in very cold weather in Poland. I was allowed to shower naked once a week outside the cage in front of the guards, my hands restrained by a long chain. In this case, I passed the time by remembering the methods of torture that I had already gone through, and thinking of the ways they may torture me after this cage.” – Abu Zubaydah
“The long daily torture period did not end until I was swamped with blood, vomit, and urine. So I started to create, fabricate, and invent terrorist operations for them from my imagination just to get rid of, and take a break from their torture and terror. When I got out of the black sites and moved to Guantánamo, I started to meet with attorneys, and knew the world news, which I had not been in contact with entirely for four and a half years in custody. Then, I knew what they had done – Killing, destruction, and torture, even against civilians, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries. I realized that they used terrorism in their war on terrorism. So, the result is nothing but more and greater terrorism, from both sides.” – Abu Zubaydah