After around three weeks in this detention facility, which would have been on or around 5 June 2003, bin Attash says that he was blindfolded, had earphones placed on his ears, and was transferred to another location: 'I was transported in a sitting position, shackled by the ankles and by the wrists with my hands in front of my body. I think the flight lasted probably more than eight hours. On this occasion the transfer was done using a military plane. If I shifted my position too much during the journey somebody hit me by hand on the head'.

Several sources speaking in confidence to Dick Marty, the Council of Europe's rapporteur who investigated European complicity in the rendition programme, claimed that bin Attash was held in Poland during the time that the CIA had a secret prison in the country. Investigations by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, published in a 2012 memo titled Advancing Accountability in Respect of the CIA Black Site in Romania, also places bin Attash in Poland after his detention in Afghanistan. This destination matches with the detainee's recollection of an eight-hour flight time. Moreover, flight data collected by The Rendition Project documents a flight from Afghanistan to Poland on 5 June 2003, by the CIA-owned Gulfstream V with tail number N379P. This is a known renditions aircraft, and the flight into Poland was disguised by the use of a 'dummy' flight plan, which is a key characteristic of detainee transfer flights into and out of Europe. From Poland, it is known that the aircraft flew onto Morocco, with two further 'High-Value Detainees' on board, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Ramzi bin al-Shibh. In all, therefore, it seems likely that this rendition circuit by N379P carried bin Attash from his detention in Afghanistan to further secret detention in the CIA black site in Poland. Click here for our analysis of the flight data and documentation associated with this rendition circuit.

While in Poland – a location which bin Attash has referred to only as his 'next place of detention' – he has testified that he was kept in a cell for the first month before the torture started again.

This account of his torture at the CIA-run DETENTION SITE BLUE is confirmed by CIA records. After more than a month at the site, cables cited by the SSCI report document the use of EITs on bin Attash between 18-29 July 2003. Specifically, they recount the extensive use of sleep deprivation between 21-23 July 2003, including more than 110 hours of deprivation in one session with only four hours rest between. This had begun as standing sleep deprivation, but due to the swelling of his one leg he was moved to seated sleep deprivation after 93 hours. Cables document the use of nudity and dietary manipulation during this period, with one cable, dated 22 July 2003, noting that threats were made to subject bin Attash to rectal rehydration.

On 22 September 2003, Walid bin Attash and the other detainees still held in Poland at that point were transferred out of the country, on board the CIA-owned Boeing 737 with the tail number N313P. The aircraft flew a disguised flight direct to Bucharest, Romania, where some of the detainees – including bin Attash – were offloaded. Others remained on the aircraft, which then flew another disguised flight to Morocco to pick up further detainees, and then to Guantánamo Bay to deliver them to secret detention there. Click here for our analysis of the flight data and documentation associated with Walid bin Attash's rendition from Poland to Romania.

Little is known about bin Attash’s time in Romania, or even the length of his detention in the black site. The Council of Europe’s 2012 investigation into the prison in Romania found that detainees who had been moved from Poland in September 2003 had, by that time, been considered to have lower intelligence value after some months in CIA detention. This set of detainees, according to the report, were less likely to have been subjected to 'enhanced interrogation techniques' while in Romania (which was not the case for 'High-Value Detainees' such as Janat Gul and Abu Faraj al-Libi, who were captured during 2004-2005 and taken directly to Romania for 'enhanced interrogation').

Very little is known about the fate and whereabouts of bin Attash and the other 'High-Value Detainees' after their time in Romania. Most were likely moved during 2005, with evidence pointing towards Lithuania and Afghanistan as the final detention sites before their final transfer out of secret detention in September 2006. Click here for an analysis of where the 'High-Value Detainees' – including Walid bin Attash – may have been held during 2005-2006.

DoD records document that bin Attash was transferred out of the CIA’s secret prison network and into US military detention in Guantánamo Bay on 4 September 2006, after around 40 months (1207-1209 days) in CIA secret detention. This transfer took place alongside the other HVDs in custody at that time. In the case of some other HVDs, however, CIA records state that they were transferred a day later, on 5 September 2006. Regardless of these inconsistencies in records, it does appears that all HVDs were moved out of CIA custody  and transferred to Guantánamo Bay on 4 September or 5 September 2006. This final transfer was announced by President Bush, as part of a wider disclosure about the CIA’s use of secret prisons.

Bin Attash remains detained in Guantánamo Bay, where he has been charged with conspiracy in relation to the 9/11 attacks and is facing a military trial along with Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, and Ammar al-Baluchi.