Revealed: the plight of prisoners caught up in US rendition

The three men, none of whom was ever charged with any terrorism-related offence, were seized in 2003 and then held in four secret locations by "black-masked ninja" US operatives who made considerable efforts to ensure the prisoners did not know where they were being held. They were eventually released about a month ago.

While it remains unclear where exactly the men were held, human rights campaigners who interviewed them believe they were held in Djibouti, Afghanistan and somewhere in eastern Europe. It was alleged last year that the CIA had been operating covert "black site" prisons in Romania and Poland.

The three men - Muhammad Bashmilah, Salah Qaru and Muhammad al-Assad - are now struggling to rebuild their lives. Mr Assad told Amnesty International, which today publishes the men's testimony in a new report: "For me now, it has to be a new life, because I will never recover the old one."

Mr Bashmilah and Mr Qaru were arrested in Jordan in October 2003 and handed over to the US authorities. Mr Assad was arrested in Tanzania the same year. They were returned in May 2005 to the Yemeni authorities, who charged them with obtaining false travel documents. The men pleaded guilty but were released after the judge decided their time held by the US was sufficient time served.

The Amnesty report details how the men's US guards removed all labels from the food and clothing they were given to make it difficult for them to know where they were. Campaigners narrowed down the likely location of their internment based on the length of their rendition flights, the changing position of the sun when the men were allowed outside to pray, and the winter temperature.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article355817.ece