20 years later, can the US close Guantanamo?

 

Ever since January 2002, the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has become synonymous for many with abuse of prisoners and disregard for the rule of law.

Of its 39 remaining prisoners, 18 are cleared for release, but waiting for a country to take them.

My Brother’s Keeper: a former Guantánamo detainee, his guard and their unlikely friendship

 

Mohamedou Ould Salahi and one of his former guards, Steve Wood, reunite in Mauritania 13 years after last seeing each other, rekindling an unlikely relationship that profoundly changed their lives.

Mohamedou was a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay for 14 years. During his incarceration he was subjected to torture and solitary confinement, but never charged with a crime. His memoir, Guantánamo Diary, became an international bestseller and was adapted into the film, The Mauritanian, starring Tahar Rahim and Jodie Foster.

My Brother’s Keeper: a former Guantánamo detainee, his guard and their unlikely friendship

Mohamedou Ould Salahi and one of his former guards, Steve Wood, reunite in Mauritania 13 years after last seeing each other, rekindling an unlikely relationship that profoundly changed their lives.

Mohamedou was a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay for 14 years. During his incarceration he was subjected to torture and solitary confinement, but never charged with a crime. His memoir, Guantánamo Diary, became an international bestseller and was adapted into the film, The Mauritanian, starring Tahar Rahim and Jodie Foster.

 

Rendition Revisited

Will the Trump administration sanction a return to some of the darkest days of the so-called war on terror?

Former senior military personnel have warned that the United States could be about to re-introduce a programme of torture outlawed by the then President, Barack Obama, in 2009.

Following the 9/11 attacks, a covert CIA programme led to individuals being abducted and subjected to so-called enhanced interrogation, techniques including sleep deprivation, wall-slamming and waterboarding.

Current President Donald Trump has stated that torture works, he would bring back waterboarding, and "if we can, we should have worse". He has also pledged to keep the notorious Guantanamo detention facility open.

The Guantanamo 22. (video)

How a group of men from China's Uighur community were sold in Afghanistan and imprisoned in Guantanamo as terrorists.

China's western autonomous region of Xinjiang is home to the country's mostly Muslim Uighur minority. 

But many have fled China in recent years to escape persecution from Chinese authorities who have banned some of their cultural and religious traditions.

In October 2001, a group of Uighurs seeking refuge in Afghanistan and Pakistan, faced a new and unexpected misfortune. Their quest for a better life ended in incarceration.

In reaction to the 9/11 attacks, the United States started a military intervention in Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda fighters, and the local population was encouraged to report and hand over terrorists in exchange for large sums of cash.

The Confession: The Story of Moazzam Begg

Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg chronicles tensions between the West and Islam through his own experience.

Moazzam Begg has experienced a generation of conflict. He was detained under suspicion of "terrorism" in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and the UK. 

He confessed to being a member of al-Qaeda in 2002 and spent almost two years in detention in Guantanamo, yet has never been convicted of any crime. 

In 2014, Begg was arrested once again and charged with "terrorism offences" - only to be released with dropped charges months later.

In a gripping first-hand account, Begg chronicles the forces that he believes led to his confession and describes what life is like for him as a Muslim in modern-day Britain.

Guantanamo's Child - Omar Khadr

Unprecedented access and an exclusive interview with Omar Khadr during his first days of freedom.

At 15 Omar Khadr was held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Now 28 years old, after 13 years locked away, he is finally able to speak about his experiences. He was branded as a terrorist and convicted as a murderer.

"I don't wish people to love me, I don't wish people to hate me, I just wish for people to give me a chance," Khadr says.

In 2002, during a military firefight, as a young teen, Khadr was alleged to have thrown a grenade at US troops in Afghanistan, killing one soldier. After a decade at the US-run detention camp, he was transferred to a maximum security facility in Canada.

The Dark Prison: Legacy of the CIA Torture Programme

Victims of the CIA's brutal interrogation programme speak out about torture and its effect on their lives.

It's been more than a year since US President Barack Obama admitted that the CIA tortured prisoners at its interrogation centres.

While the CIA has long admitted the use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning by pouring water into a person's nose and mouth, a truncated and heavily redacted report by the Senate Intelligence Committee in December 2015 detailed other abuses that went beyond previous disclosures.

Reading like a script from a horror film, some of the techniques involved prisoners being slapped and punched while being dragged naked up and down corridors, being kept in isolation in total darkness, subject to constant deafening music, rectal rehydration and being locked in coffin-shaped boxes.

Donald Trump Authoritarian Ruler Wannabe

Donald Trump in an interview with the Miami Herald stated his support for sending U.S. citizens charged with terrorism to the U.S. Naval prison at Guantanamo Bay Cuba.   The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld that military tribunals violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and four Geneva Conventions signed in 1949.

Jose Padilla a U.S. Citizen was arrested and held as an enemy combatant in a U.S. military prison at the Charleston Naval base in the U.S. state of South Carolina.  He was allegedly tortured while in custody. The interrogations were filmed and though ordered not to, the videos were destroyed to cover up the abuse and torture. Jose Padilla was never tried or convicted of any of the original crimes he'd been charged with.  After a trial in Miami Florida he was convicted of providing material support  and funding for terrorist activities outside the United States.    

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump either doesn't understand the constitution and how it works, or just doesn't care and is willing to violate the rights of U.S. citizens.  If elected he would become an authoritarian leader.


ORLANDO, Florida — Donald Trump on Thursday said he'd be "fine" with American citizens accused of terrorism being tried in a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay.

Trump has previously come out against closing Guantanamo, forcefully promising to keep it open at different points in the primary season.

The Dark Prison: Legacy of the CIA Torture Programme (video)

Victims of the CIA's brutal interrogation programme speak out about torture and the impact on their lives. It's been more than a year since US President Barack Obama admitted that the CIA tortured prisoners at its interrogation centres. While the CIA has long admitted the use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning by pouring water into a person's nose and mouth, a truncated and heavily redacted report by the Senate Intelligence Committee in December 2015 detailed other abuses that went beyond previous disclosures. Reading like a script from a horror film, some of the techniques involved prisoners being slapped and punched while being dragged naked up and down corridors, being kept in isolation in total darkness, subject to constant deafening music, rectal rehydration and being locked in coffin-shaped boxes. Critical to the development of the CIA's brutal interrogation programme was a legal memo that said the proposed methods of interrogation were not torture if they did not cause "organ failure, death or permanent damage".

Guantanamo's Child - Omar Khadr (Video)

Unprecedented access and an exclusive interview with Omar Khadr during his first days of freedom.
At 15 Omar Khadr was held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Now 28 years old, after 13 years locked away, he is finally able to speak about his experiences. He was branded as a terrorist and convicted as a murderer.

"I don't wish people to love me, I don't wish people to hate me, I just wish for people to give me a chance," Khadr says.

In 2002, during a military firefight, as a young teen, Khadr was alleged to have thrown a grenade at US troops in Afghanistan, killing one soldier. After a decade at the US-run detention camp, he was transferred to a maximum security facility in Canada.

The Canadian national was released on bail on May 7, 2015 and is appealing his conviction.

In his first full-length interview since his release, Khadr talks to Al Jazeera's Witness about his arrest and subsequent detention and conditions at the controversial military prison.

Guantanamo Bay: Americas Jail Of Shame

The U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay Cuba was turned into a prison following the attacks of 11 September 2001. It's been open for 15 years in all that time not a single prisoner has been tried in a court of law.  Most of those held there have been released after it was determined that they either weren't terrorists, had any connection to terrorism or  were low level operatives with no intelligence value.  Many of the prisoners held at the facility were victims  of rendition  others ended up incarcerated at Guantanamo thanks to bounties offered by the U.S. government for the capture of suspected terrorists.  Once there a number of detainees were subjected to torture which violated their rights as prisoners.

779 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo Bay of those 678 have been released to 56 countries. It can't be stated enough. None of these men were ever charged, tried or convicted of a crime associated with terrorism.

Why was Guantanamo Bay chosen as the facility to hold these terror suspects? Because it was viewed as being outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.


From the Guardian:

2002

The first 20 detainees arrive from Afghanistan on 11 January. The world is shocked by pictures from Camp X-ray of men in orange jumpsuits kneeling in wire mesh cages outdoors. Vice-President Dick Cheney describes the prisoners as “the worst of a very bad lot” and “devoted to killing millions of Americans”.

2003

Prison population hits a peak of 697 detainees in May.

2004

The “Tipton three” – Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2001 by a local warlord – are released without charge and flown back to Britain.

2005

Moazzam Begg, a British citizen detained in Pakistan in 2002 as a suspected member of al-Qaida, is released and continues to advocate for detainees through the organisation Cage Prisoners.

2006

A UN report recommends the closure of Guantánamo Bay prison.

A behind the scenes tour of the Guantánamo Bay library – video

Guardian US correspondent David Smith was granted a tour of Guantánamo Bay prison, and a peek inside the library shows about 35,000 items available for inmates, from Harry Potter novels (very popular) to men’s health and fitness magazines, to a scratched-out copy of Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope

The Guantanamo 22 (video)

How a group of men from China's Uighur community were sold in Afghanistan and imprisoned in Guantanamo as terrorists.
China's western autonomous region of Xinjiang is home to the country's mostly Muslim Uighur minority.

But many have fled China in recent years to escape persecution from Chinese authorities who have banned some of their cultural and religious traditions.

In October 2001, a group of Uighurs seeking refuge in Afghanistan and Pakistan, faced a new and unexpected misfortune. Their quest for a better life ended in incarceration.

In reaction to the 9/11 attacks, the United States started a military intervention in Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda fighters, and the local population was encouraged to report and hand over terrorists in exchange for large sums of cash.

Twenty-two Uighur men were captured and sold as "terrorists" to the US. They were transported to Guantanamo Bay, the notorious US military prison, where they were imprisoned for many years, initially without any form of judicial process, and were later proved innocent.

From China to Guantanamo, Cuba, this film maps the incredible story of three of these "prisoners of the absurd", linked to worldwide terror networks through no fault of their own.

Man held at Guantánamo for 13 years a case of mistaken identity, say officials

No one should be surprised that this miscarriage of justice should take place, especially involving prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.  2/3 of those incarcerated there have been cleared for release as there is no evidence that any of them were involved in terrorist activities.  Many of those imprisoned  at Guantanamo Bay ended up there because bounties placed on any person whom American authorities believed to be associated were any terrorist group.  Others were victims of extraordinary rendition a policy enacted by the Bush administration.  After arriving at Cuban prison many were tortured even though it's against the law.

A man who has spent 13 years in the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested partly in a case of mistaken identity, US officials conceded Tuesday.
Officials admitted that Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri, 37, was a low-level Islamist foot soldier and not an al-Qaida courier and trainer as previously thought, during a Guantanamo hearing.
Wearing a beard and voluminous white T-shirt, and accompanied by a linguist and two personal representatives, the Yemeni appeared before a panel assessing whether he can be released.
A profile published by the Department of Defense maintains he fought in Afghanistan and mixed with members of al-Qaida. But officials concede that they wrongly believed he had a more significant role because he was confused with others who had a similar name.

Guantanamo's Child - Omar Khadr (video)

Unprecedented access and an exclusive interview with Omar Khadr during his first days of freedom.

At 15 Omar Khadr was held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Now 28 years old, after 13 years locked away, he is finally able to speak about his experiences. He was branded as a terrorist and convicted as a murderer. "I don't wish people to love me, I don't wish people to hate me, I just wish for people to give me a chance," Khadr says. In 2002, during a military firefight, as a young teen, Khadr was alleged to have thrown a grenade at US troops in Afghanistan, killing one soldier. After a decade at the US-run detention camp, he was transferred to a maximum security facility in Canada. The Canadian national was released on bail on May 7, 2015 and is appealing his conviction. In his first full-length interview since his release, Khadr talks to Al jazeera's Witness about his arrest and subsequent detention and conditions at the controversial military prison.

Slovakia accepts three Guantanamo Uighur inmates

In what can be considered a miscarriage of justice the 20 Uighurs imprisoned  at Guantanamo bay Cuba were captured in Afghanistan during the U.S. invasion in October of 2001 none of them were ever accused  or charged with any crime involving terrorism yet they were all held for more than 10 years.  

Three Chinese Muslim Uighurs have been flown to Slovakia from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the Slovak interior ministry says.

The three are now in the capital Bratislava, a ministry official told the BBC. None of them are terror suspects, the ministry stressed.

Slovakia - a member of the EU and Nato - also accepted three inmates from Guantanamo in 2010.

The US says all the Uighur prisoners have now been released from Guantanamo.

Since 2001 the prison has housed suspects detained by US forces during operations against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

"As in the case of the first transport, the persons in this transport have never been suspected nor accused of terrorism. The transport is a follow-up to the agreement of 2009 [with the US]," the Slovak ministry statement said.

The sad reality is that a majority of those still held at Guantanamo bay were captured as part of a bounty offered by the U.S. for any suspected terrorist found in Afghanistan.  80% of them weren't terrorist they were just unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Revised Guantanamo Force-feed Policy Exposed

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Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - Hunger striking Guantanamo prisoners who are force-fed a liquid nutritional supplement undergo a brutal and dehumanising medical procedure that requires them to wear masks over their mouths while they sit shackled in a restraint chair for as long as two hours, according to documentation obtained by Al Jazeera. The prisoners remain this way, with a 61cm - or longer - tube snaked through their nostril until a chest X-ray, or a test dose of water, confirms it has reached their stomach.

At the end of the feeding, the prisoner is removed from the restraint chair and placed into a "dry cell" with no running water. A guard then observes the detainee for 45-60 minutes "for any indications of vomiting or attempts to induce vomiting". If the prisoner vomits he is returned to the restraint chair.

That's just a partial description of the "chair restraint system clinical protocol" which medical personnel are instructed to follow when administering a nutritional supplement to prisoners who have been selected for force-feeding by Guantanamo Commander Rear Admiral John Smith.

Standard operating procedure

The restraint system, published here for the first time, along with the feeding procedures policy, was contained in a newly revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Guantanamo hunger strikers, obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera from United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which has oversight of the joint task force that operates the prison.

The 30-page manual contains the most detailed descriptions to date pertaining to the treatment of hunger strikers and prisoners who undergo force-feedings. The SOP replaced a previous SOP issued in 2003 - revised in 2005 - which was declassified several years ago by the Pentagon, albeit with redactions. The new, unredacted policy obtained by Al Jazeera went into effect March 5 - one month after Guantanamo prisoners launched their protest over the inspection of their Qurans. 

The procedure appears to have been revised and implemented in order to deal with a mass hunger strike.

"Just as battlefield tactics must change throughout the course of a conflict, the medical responses to GTMO detainees who hunger strike has evolved with time," says the SOP. "A mass hunger strike was successfully dealt with in [2005] by utilising procedures adopted from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the approach delineated in this SOP.

"However, the composition of the detainee population, camp infrastructure, and policies has all undergone significant change since the initial version of this SOP… Much of the original instruction has been retained in the form of enclosures. In the event of a mass hunger strike, these enclosures can be utilised as they have proven efficacy under mass hunger strike conditions."

The SOP notes that there are a number of prisoners who have been hunger striking since 2005, who have "proven their determination", and whose physical frailty have limited Guantanamo authorities' "options for intervention". The document goes on to say, "in the event of a mass hunger strike, isolating hunger striking patients from each other is vital to prevent them from achieving solidarity".

On April 13, guards staged a predawn raid at the communal camp and isolated more than 100 prisoners into single cells in an attempt to bring an end to the protest.

'Orwellian'

Leonard Rubenstein, a lawyer at the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath and the Berman Institute of Bioethics, who reviewed the SOP document for Al Jazeera, said the revised guidelines were troubling because they prohibit doctors and nurses from acting independently and make clear that they are simply "adjuncts of the security apparatus".

Indeed, the SOP says that in order to effectively manage hunger strikers, a "close partnership" must exist between the Joint Medical Staff and the Joint Detention Group security force. Rubenstein characterised the relationship as "Orwellian".

"It is a very frightening idea that the medical staff is an adjunct of the security force," Rubenstein said. "The clinical judgment of a doctor or a nurse is basically trumped by this policy and protocol. Doctors are not acting with the kind of professional medical independence. It's clear that notwithstanding references to preservation of detainee health in the policy the first interest is in ending the protests."