Washington objects to U.K. court decision releasing U.S. intel

The intelligence community and the White House are decrying a British court decision that forced the U.K. government to disclose classified U.S. intelligence.

After a lengthy court battle, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Wednesday released a brief summary of U.S. intelligence tactics involved in the U.S. interrogation of Binyam Mohamed, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, in 2002.

The U.S. had provided the seven-paragraph summary of Mohamed’s treatment as part of his release to British authorities in February 2009.

Several international news organizations had sued to obtain the summary information. The appeals court rejected the British government’s argument that releasing the information would harm intelligence ties between the two countries.

The summary provides details about how Mohamed, an Ethiopian national who had lived in the U.K., was subjected to sleep deprivation, threats and shackling. The document also notes British officials would have viewed Mohamed’s treatment as a breach of their country’s commitment to Geneva Convention provisions that ban torture if administered by their intelligence officers.

The White House immediately condemned the British appeals court’s actions, arguing that it would complicate future intelligence-sharing agreements with British authorities.

“We're deeply disappointed with the court's judgment today, because we shared this information in confidence and with certain expectations,” said White House spokesman Ben LaBolt. “As we warned, the court's judgment will complicate the confidentiality of our intelligence-sharing relationship with the U.K., and it will have to factor into our decisionmaking going forward."

LaBolt also praised the British government’s attempt to fight the court and reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s role as a key counterterrorism partner.

“This just means that we need to redouble our efforts to work through this challenge, because the U.K. remains a key partner in our collective efforts to suppress terrorism and other threats to our national security," LaBolt added.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair called the U.K. court decision “not helpful” but pledged to continue the two countries’ close cooperation regarding counterterrorism intelligence.

“The decision by a United Kingdom court to release classified information provided by the United States is not helpful, and we deeply regret it,” Blair said. “The United States and the United Kingdom have a long history of close cooperation that relies on mutual respect for the handling of classified information. This court decision creates additional challenges, but our two countries will remain united in our efforts to fight against violent extremist groups.”

Mohamed was detained in Pakistan in 2002 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2004.

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