Attorneys for a Saudi detainee at the notorious terrorist detention facility Guantanamo Bay have released harrowing drawings illustrated by their client that displayed brutal torture techniques he suffered through at the hands of US officials.

The illustrations were first published as part of a report by Seton Hall University School of Law’s Centre for Policy and Research, titled “How America Tortures”. The Independent also published eight of the illustrations with permission from Mark P Denbeaux, a co-counsel in the detainee’s defence.

Mr Zubaydah has not been convicted of any crimes and was reportedly found not to be a member of the al-Qaida terror group, despite being held in various US black sites and eventually Guantanamo Bay since 2002.

A US Senate report found the CIA had requested “reasonable assurances” that Mr Zubaydah would remain in “isolation and incommunicado for the remainder of his life” in an effort to ensure the details of his torture would never become public.

That same report found that CIA officials lied to former President George W Bush’s White House about Mr Zubaydah, one of the first detainees to experience the administration’s “enhanced interrogation” techniques.

Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Show all 8 1 /8 Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site A Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates the torture he faced in US custody. The graphic illustrations show the various forms of torture Abu Zubaydah said he experienced at a US black site in Thailand. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site The detainee was tied up in painful positions. Mr Zubaydah illustrated multiple examples of the ways he was forced to suffer while chained and tied in painful positions. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site He was confined to a small box. Unable to stand or sit up straight, Mr Zubaydah described being forced to crawl into a box for endless hours while in the fetal position. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Mr Zubaydah suffered through "walling" according to his illustrations The "walling" process involves slamming a detainee's head against the wall. Mr Zubaydah said he was slapped and dragged across the floor by a towel. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Officials waterboarded the detainee 83 times. Mr Zubaydah told his lawyers: "They kept pouring water and concentrating on my nose and my mouth until I really felt I was drowning and my chest was just about to explode from the lack of oxygen.” Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Mr Zubaydah shows how he was forced to stand. With his hands tied high above his head, the detainee was forced to endure long hours while standing on his tiptoes. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site He also faced significant sleep deprivation. Officials doused the detainee with water and forced him to stay awake for prolonged hours, according to his statements and illustrations. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site The detainee was not provided proper hygiene. On top of the "enhanced interrogation" techniques Mr Zubaydah endured, he was also forced to defecate in a bin underneath him in a small box, or at other times as he was strapped to a chair. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law

They said he had given officials additional information about al-Qaida after suffering through the torture, when he had actually exposed details about the terror group’s “activities, plans, capabilities and relationships” beforehand.

“In many ways, these illustrations of Abu Zubaydah are a testament to the triumph of the human will,” Mr Denbeaux said. “He was subjected to treatment so egregious that the CIA sought and received official governmental assurances that their prisoner would ‘remain in isolation and incommunicado for the remainder of his life’. The CIA even arranged for his cremation in the event he died, assuring what they hoped would be his silence even beyond the grave.”

He added: “But with this report, [Mr Zubaydah] is silent no more.”

Officials designed ten “enhanced interrogation” tactics for Mr Zubaydah and other detainees accused of terror activity and having prior knowledge of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.

The details of the torture Mr Zubaydah experienced in US detention are both graphic and disturbing. The report described 83 instances in which he was waterboarded, including the following quote he provided to his lawyers: “They kept pouring water and concentrating on my nose and my mouth until I really felt I was drowning and my chest was just about to explode from the lack of oxygen.”

The illustrations portray several known examples of the US’ “enhanced interrogation” tactics under Mr Bush that Mr Zubaydah has said he experienced while in detention at a US black site in Thailand.

Black sites are secretive prison facilities the US operates internationally.