Lithuania pays U.S. terror suspect $113,000 for enduring CIA agents' torture

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The government in Lithuania has paid more than $100,000 in compensation to a Saudi terror suspect who officials say was held and tortured by the CIA in the Baltic country without ever facing formal charges.

The suspect, Abu Zubaydah, was first arrested by U.S. authorities a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and was ultimately held at the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than 20 years without being charged. He remains imprisoned at the U.S. facility in Cuba.

During some of his incarceration, officials say Zubaydah was held and tortured at a secret site outside the Lithuanian capital Vilnius -- code-named "Violet" -- in 2005 and 2006.

A demonstrator is seen at a rally against torture and unlawful detentions at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI

Monday, the Lithuanian government authorized the payment of $113,000 to Zubaydah for the torture sessions at the Violet site.

Three years ago, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Lithuania violated the European Convention on Human Rights by allowing the CIA to torture Zubaydah.

It's been reported that some of the torture techniques the CIA used against Zubaydah included waterboarding, being confined in a box, being kept awake and having his head banged against a wall. He eventually lost an eye while in U.S. custody.

Zubaydah, however, will not have access to the money -- as he's still being held at Guantanamo Bay and his assets have been frozen by the U.S. government.

U.S. officials initially accused Zubaydah of being involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist plot, but no evidence has ever been produced supporting that charge, or that he was ever a member of al Qaida. He is often referred to as the "forever prisoner."