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The British government was ordered to publish previously secret information Wednesday about the alleged torture of a former British detainee by U.S. authorities.

The information shows Britain was aware of allegations that UK resident Binyam Mohamed was being tortured while in U.S. custody after his arrest in Pakistan in 2002.

Britain had sought to keep the information secret, claiming that revealing it would have harmed its relationship with the United States. But Britain's Court of Appeals ruled that the seven paragraphs about Mohamed, who was later moved to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be released.

The paragraphs say Mohamed, 31, was subjected to continuous sleep deprivation along with threats "at some stage during that further interview process by the United States authorities."

"His fears of being removed from United States custody and 'disappearing' were played upon," the newly released information said.

Mohamed was kept under self-harm observation and "the interviews were having a marked effect on him and causing him significant mental stress and suffering," the paragraphs say.

"Although it is not necessary for us to categorize the treatment reported, it could readily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States authorities," the paragraphs say.

Mohamed spent seven years in U.S. custody before returning to Britain in February 2009, after all charges against him were dropped.

After Mohamed's arrest in Pakistan, he was moved to Morocco, where he underwent interrogation by U.S. authorities, Reprieve, a legal charity that has taken on Mohamed's case, said.

The British government knew Mohamed was in Morocco and that the U.S. authorities were interrogating him, Reprieve said.

"During his time in Morocco, Binyam was subject to really medieval torture -- among other horrors, a razor blade was regularly taken to his genitals," Reprieve said.

After 18 months in Morocco, Mohamed was taken to a prison in Afghanistan, where he was kept in total darkness and tortured for a further six months before being taken to Guantanamo Bay, Reprieve said. He remained there for four years.

Mohamed has previously said the "dark prison" in Afghanistan resembled a medieval dungeon with loud music and noise 24 hours a day.

"It was pitch black, no lights on in the rooms for most of the time," he has said. "They hung me up for two days. My legs had swollen. My wrists and hands had gone numb. There was loud music, Slim Shady (by Eminem) and Dr. Dre for 20 days. Then they changed the sounds to horrible ghost laughter and Halloween sounds.

"At one point, I was chained to the rails for a fortnight. The CIA worked on people, including me, day and night. Plenty lost their minds. I could hear people knocking their heads against the walls and the doors, screaming their heads off," he said.

The current case by Reprieve began in 2008, after Mohamed had returned to Britain and was cleared of all charges.

Reprieve went to court on Mohamed's behalf, claiming that Britain had been "mixed up" in his treatment. It asked the British government to disclose all correspondence it had with the United States about his detention and interrogation, saying they would be vital to his defense.

The British government initially refused to disclose the information, but after Reprieve sued, the government released a redacted document in August 2008.

Britain's High Court, which had seen the redacted details, told the media in October 2008 to sue for the details to be published. The end result of that judgment is the seven paragraphs released by the British government Wednesday.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was disclosing the information because it had already been put into the public domain by the decision of a U.S. court in another case.

"At the heart of this case was the principle that if a country shares intelligence with another, that country must agree before its intelligence is released," Miliband said in a statement. "This 'control principle' is essential to the intelligence relationship between Britain and the U.S. The Government fought the case to preserve this principle, and today's judgment upholds it. It agreed that the control principle is integral to intelligence sharing."

There was no immediate reaction to the release from U.S. officials.

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Should be the shortest list since
Great Jewish Athletes in History

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Just don't tell that Piratenews character.

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Bush would be the one that both robbed you, and peed on your favorite rug.

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