CIA ‘black site’ in Thailand where terrorists linked to 9/11 ‘were tortured’ opens for tourists

Thailand is set to open a brand-new kind of tourist attraction on Saturday – the army base once suspected of being home to a CIA black site and secret torture prison.

The attraction, located in Thailand’s north-eastern city of Udon Thani, will open as Ramasun Camp Historical Museum and will be free to enter.

The facility is rumoured to be where the US Central Intelligence Agency took south-east Asia’s most wanted terror suspect, Riduan Isamuddin – also known as Hambali.

Thailand is set to open Ramasun Camp Historical Museum – the ex-army base once suspected to be home to a US CIA blacksite and secret torture prison

The facility is rumoured to be where the US Central Intelligence Agency took south-east Asia's most wanted terror suspect, Riduan Isamuddin – also known as Hambali

The facility is rumoured to be where the US Central Intelligence Agency took south-east Asia’s most wanted terror suspect, Riduan Isamuddin – also known as Hambali

Hambali was arrested in 2003 for his alleged links to the 9/11 attack as well as the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings which killed 202 people.

The terror suspect was said to have been held in a ‘secret location’ for three years before he was sent to Guantanamo Bay.

The CIA’s first international detention site was always rumoured to be in Thailand, where detainees where reportedly waterboarded or had their heads repeatedly slammed into walls.

However, speaking to the Bangkok Post, Lieutenant Colonel Ratkrit Daengthaisong – commander of the battalion for Ramasun – rejected all reports that Ramasun harboured such a secret facility.

‘I think it is because the compound is off-limits to outsiders while local people are aware of an underground tunnel. That may give them a sense of secrecy,’ he said.

‘So, we will open up Ramasun camp to the public and let them see for themselves. You’ll see giant radar towers and a 300 metre underground tunnel.’

 The CIA's first international detention site was always rumoured to be in Thailand, where detainees where reportedly water-boarded or had their heads repeatedly slammed into walls

 The CIA’s first international detention site was always rumoured to be in Thailand, where detainees where reportedly water-boarded or had their heads repeatedly slammed into walls

Ramasun allegedly started life as a US army Radio Research Field station in 1964 and was later used in the Vietnam war to spy on communists and control plane movements.

The base was then abandoned between 1976 and 1997, according to the government-run Thailand Tourism Directory website.

The US has neither confirmed nor denied using Thailand in its war on terror, but Thai governments have continually denied any involvement in CIA blacksites.

Ramasun allegedly started life as a US army Radio Research Field station in 1964 and was later used in the Vietnam war to spy on communists and control plane movements

Ramasun allegedly started life as a US army Radio Research Field station in 1964 and was later used in the Vietnam war to spy on communists and control plane movements

US President Donald Trump selected Gina Haspel as CIA Director when he took office, which – given Haspel’s background – brought the subject into question once more.

Haspel allegedly ran a blacksite named Cat’s Eye in Udon Thani where she oversaw the interrogation of maritime terrorist Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri before he too was transported to Guantanamo Bay.

It is unclear whether the site Haspel ran was Ramasun or one attached to the Udon Thani Air Force Base 14 kilometres away.

The latter is still operational and not open to the public.

Ramasun is one of three sites in the Udon Thani area suspected to be part of the CIA’s global network of secret locations.

The US has neither confirmed nor denied using Thailand in its war on terror, but Thai governments have continually denied any involvement in CIA black sites

The US has neither confirmed nor denied using Thailand in its war on terror, but Thai governments have continually denied any involvement in CIA black sites

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk