http://www.msnbc.com/news/771111.asp?pne=msn

MOROCCO TORTURE CLAIM

Meantime, a lawyer representing suspected al-Qaida members held in Morocco was quoted as saying on Sunday his clients had been tortured into giving false confessions on planning anti-Western attacks.

Tawfiq Msaef also told the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that three Saudis among the seven suspects told police they had suspended ties with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida group in 2001.
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“All of them were subjected to various forms of physical torture, verbal abuse, including cursing and the removal of women’s veils, and extortion to force them to confess,” the daily quoted Msaef as saying.

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Boy I don't think I could endure much of that kind of torture.

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“What astonished the police is that the persons in custody had no information or terrorist targets and that no physical evidence against the detainees had been found despite repeated searches carried out by police of the homes of the Saudis,” he added.

The three Saudis and four Moroccans, including three young women, were arrested in May and June. Authorities accused them of “criminal conspiracy, willful homicide, attempted sabotage of buildings with explosives and the use of false documents.”

Authorities say the suspects were planning to attack U.S. and British ships in the Gibraltar strait. They are being held at a Casablanca jail awaiting trial. No date has yet been set.

A Moroccan Islamist human rights group said last week they were being held in harsh conditions and were handcuffed at all times.

MSNBC’s Jon Bonné and The Associated Press contributed to this report.