In the first rendition of Obama's presidency, Lebanese contractor Raymond Azar was hooded, stripped down and photographed naked, and flown to the U.S. for an alleged crime that seems out of whack with his high-security treatment: conspiracy to commit bribery. Azar, 45, pleaded guilty to the charges this week, and he faces a maximum of five years in prison, but will likely get closer to two-and-a-half years or less. The harsh proceedings have baffled human-rights groups—Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director at Human Rights Watch, called the case "bizarre." "He was treated like a high-security terrorist instead of someone accused of a relatively minor white-collar crime," she said. Yet Justice Department lawyers have denied any misconduct in the case. "The FBI followed standard operating procedures when transporting prisoners to the United States," said a spokeswoman. Restraints "were used with the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of the defendants and the agents."
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