men in prison. The men had no opportunity under Swedish law to challenge the legality of their expulsions or the reliability of the Egyptian assurances. Agiza and al-Zari were held incommunicado for five weeks after their return. Despite monthly visits thereafter by Swedish diplomats, none of them in private, both men credibly alleged to their lawyers and family members—and, indeed, to Swedish diplomats as well (see below)—that they had been tortured and ill-treated in detention.168 Agiza remains in prison to date after a patently unfair retrial in April 2004. Al-Zari was released without charge or trial in October 2003, remains under surveillance by Egyptian security forces, and reports regularly to the police. He is not permitted to speak with journalists or human rights groups. When Human Rights Watch last reported on the cases in April 2004, many of the details of the men’s transfers were still unknown. In May 2004, a Swedish television news program, Kalla Fakta, revealed that the two men were apprehended and physically assaulted by Swedish police; handed over to the custody of hooded U.S. operatives at Bromma airport who cut off the men’s clothing and blindfolded, hooded, diapered, and drugged them; and then transported aboard a U.S. government-leased Gulfstream jet to Cairo.169 The involvement of the U.S. in the men’s transfers has since been confirmed by the Swedish government.170 Call for International Investigation into the Men’s Transfers In the aftermath of these revelations, the Swedish government called for an “international inquiry” into the men’s treatment. According to Laila Freivalds, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish government “has requested the Egyptian government that a thorough and independent inquiry, including international experts, is carried out regarding these allegations.”171 To date, the Egyptian authorities have denied the men’s allegations and refused to commence an investigation. Inquiries from Human 168 The visits occurred roughly on a monthly basis. According to the Swedish government, twenty-five visits took place between January 2002 and December 1, 2004. See Speech by Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Laila Freivalds (Freivalds Speech), “Security under the Rule of Law,” December 1, 2004, copy on file with Human Rights Watch. 169 See, “The Broken Promise” (English Transcript), Kalla Fakta, Swedish TV4, May 17, 2004 [online] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/17/sweden8620.htm (retrieved March 3, 2005); “The Broken Promise, Part II” (English Transcript), May 24, 2004 [online] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/24/sweden9219.htm (retrieved March 3, 2005); “The Broken Promise, Part IV,” (English Transcript), November 22, 2004 [online] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/11/22/sweden10351.htm (retrieved April 1, 2005). 170 The Swedish security police released two memorandums in late May 2004 confirming the U.S.’s involvement in the transfers and the fact that the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was aware of U.S. involvement. Copies of memoranda on file with Human Rights Watch. Journalist Seymour Hersh has argued that the men’s transfers were effected with the assistance of U.S. operatives in the Department of Defense-sponsored “special access program,” a program that conducts counter-terrorism operations outside the bounds of U.S. and international law. See, Hersh, Chain of Command, pp. 53-55. 171 Freivalds Speech, December 1, 2004. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D) 58