The Nuhanovic Foundation supported the case of Abu Zubaydah against the states of Poland and Lithuania before the European Court of Human Rights.

Abu Zubaydah, a Saudi Arabia national suspected of terrorist acts, is one of the victims of the CIA ‘extraordinary rendition’ programme. He was abducted from Pakistan in 2002 and secretly detained and tortured in numerous states worldwide, including Poland and Lithuania. At present, he remains in custody in Guantanamo Bay, where he was transferred in 2006, without having ever been charged of any crime.

On 24 July 2014, the ECtHR condemned Poland for allowing the United States to secretly detain and torture Abu Zubaydah on its territory and for failing to conduct a meaningful investigation into these crimes. Significantly, the Court awarded Abu Zubaydah 100.000 euros as compensation for moral damage. This judgment represents the first acknowledgment by a court of law of Mr. Zubaydah’s rendition and torture since the starting of his arbitrary detention in 2002.

On 17 February 2015, the judgment became final, as the ECtHR rejected Poland’s request for rehearing. Although the Polish government is legally obliged to implement the Court’s findings, it has so far failed to do so. In February 2020, the Dutch international law practice “Human Rights in Practice” wrote a letter to the Council of Europe addressing these shortcomings and making recommendations.