A man tortured two decades ago by the CIA for his suspected role as a terrorist has sued two former Spokane psychologists, who made millions of dollars from the government for developing the techniques used during the brutal interrogations.
Zayn Al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, also known as Abu Zubaydah, says he underwent extreme torture, including prolonged extreme solitary confinement, waterboarding, mock executions and lack of medical attention that cost him his left eye.
Zubaydah is suing psychologists and former CIA contractors Bruce Jessen and James Mitchell, who he says tortured him.
A New York law firm is filing the suit for Zubaydah with the help of local attorney Jeffry Finer. Finer declined to comment about the pending case filed in federal court in Spokane on Monday.
Zubaydah remains detained at Guantanamo Bay. He has never been charged with a crime.
The allegations of torture are not new. Jessen and Mitchell settled a previous torture civil suit in 2017 brought by three men who were tortured after Zubaydah.
Zubaydah's torture was discussed extensively in the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture.
In the 2017 lawsuit, the three men alleged that the torture techniques used against them were pioneered when Jessen and Mitchell interrogated Zubaydah.
The terms of that settlement were not disclosed by the American Civil Liberties Union. It was the first time the CIA or its private…
