Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay is located in Guantánamo Province at the south-eastern end of Cuba ({{coor dm|19|54|N|75|9|W|}}). A United States Naval base at Guantanamo Bay hosts a detainment camp for prisoners of war collected from both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Detention of prisoners

See also Camp X-Ray, Camp Delta

Related Topics:
Camp X-Ray - Camp Delta

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The use of Guantanamo Bay as a military prison has sparked protests from around the globe, particularly from human rights organizations concerned about reports of the torture and abuse of detainees. Critics of U.S. prisoner of war policies also question the propriety of using an offshore prison, and the unclear legal status it causes for its detainees (neither prisoners of war, nor tried as common criminals). Because the territory is not U.S. soil, it is unclear whether the detainees are protected by the same constitutionally guaranteed civil rights, which would otherwise be invoked if they were detained in the United States.

Related Topics:
Human rights - Prisoner of war

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On June 16, 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a unit of defense contractor

Related Topics:
June 16 - 2005 - Defense contractor

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Halliburton will build a new $30 million detention facility and security perimeter around the base.

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In the last quarter of the 20th century, prior to the decision by President George W. Bush to lead the United States into the War on Terror, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas. Beginning in 2002, however, a small portion of the base was used to imprison suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere at Camp X-Ray, Camp Delta and Camp Echo. As of June 2005, the United States was holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects at the facility, some of whom were captured in Afghanistan. On September 22, 2004 ten prisoners were brought from Afghanistan.

Related Topics:
20th century - George W. Bush - War on Terror - Haiti - 2002 - Al-Qaeda - Taliban - Afghanistan - Camp X-Ray - Camp Delta - Camp Echo - June 2005 - September 22 - 2004

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Legal status

The particular legal status of Guantanamo Bay was a factor in the choice of Guantanamo as a detention center. Because sovereignty of Guantanamo Bay ultimately resides with Cuba, the U.S. government argued unsuccessfully that people detained at Guantanamo were legally outside of the U.S. and did not have the Constitutional rights that they would have if they were held on U.S. territory (see Cuban American Bar Ass'n, Inc. v. Christopher, 43 F.3d 1412 (11th Cir. 1995)). In 2004, the Supreme Court rejected this argument in the case Rasul v. Bush with the majority decision and ruled that prisoners in Guantanamo have access to American courts, citing the fact that the U.S. has exclusive control over Guantanamo Bay.

Related Topics:
Constitutional - 1995 - Supreme Court - Rasul v. Bush

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On November 8, 2004 U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson ruled in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that the Bush Administration could not try such prisoners as enemy combatants in a military tribunal and could not deny them access to the evidence used against them. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34519-2004Nov8.html However, on 15 July 2005, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in overturning Robertson ruled that al-Qaeda members could not be classified as prisoners of war and upheld military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base for al-Qaeda members. This ruling does not necessarily authorize all military tribunals as the case only dealt with the POW status of al-Qaeda members.

Related Topics:
November 8 - 2004 - James Robertson - Hamdi v. Rumsfeld - Bush Administration - 15 July - 2005

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Prisoners held at Camp Delta and Camp Echo have been labelled "illegal" or "unlawful enemy combatants", but a number of observers such as Human Rights Watch maintain that the United States has not held the Article 5 tribunals specified by the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross has stated that, "Every person in enemy hands must have some status under international law: he is either a prisoner of war and, as such, covered by the Third Convention, a civilian covered by the Fourth Convention, a member of the medical personnel of the armed forces who is covered by the First Convention. There is no intermediate status; nobody in enemy hands can fall outside the law." Thus, if the detainees are not classified as prisoners of war, this would still grant them the rights of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV), as opposed to the more common Third Geneva Convention (GCIII) which deals exclusively with prisoners of war. Many have argued for the summary execution of all unlawful combatants, using Ex parte Quirin as the precedent, a case during World War II which upheld the use of military tribunals for six German soldiers caught on US soil. The Germans were deemed to be saboteurs and unlawful combatants, and thus not entitled to POW protections, and all were eventually executed for war crimes on request of the President of the United States of America.

Related Topics:
Human Rights Watch - International Committee of the Red Cross - Fourth Geneva Convention - Third Geneva Convention - Unlawful combatants - Ex parte Quirin - World War II - War crimes - President - United States of America

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A further concern is that most detainees were captured and transferred to the camp from non-U.S. soil. International laws regarding warfare would allow the United States to do so, but only if the persons can be classified as prisoners of war. Unless they are classified as prisoners of war, they fall under the protection of the GCIV and thus would qualify for protection against individual or mass forcible transfer under Article 49 of the GCIV. Because the detainees are not classified as prisoners of war, the legality of U.S. actions remains questionable.

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Prisoner complaints

Three British prisoners, released in 2004 without charge, have alleged ongoing torture, sexual degradation, forced drugging and religious persecution being committed by US forces at Guantanamo Bay. The prisoners have released a 115-page dossier detailing these accusations. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/aug2004/guan-a06.shtml They have also accused British authorities of knowing about the torture and failing to respond.

Related Topics:
British - Torture

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The accounts of the British prisoners have been reiterated by two former French prisoners, a former Swedish prisoner, and a former Australian prisoner.

Related Topics:
French - Australian

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Former Guantanamo detainee, the Swede Mehdi Ghezali was freed on July 9, 2004 after two and half years internment. Ghezali has claimed that he was the victim of repeated torture. His lawyer has declared that he intends to sue the US for their treatment of him.

Related Topics:
Swede - July 9 - 2004

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Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, freed in January, 2005, after nearly three years in captivity, has accused his American captors of torturing him and other detainees arrested in Afghanistan and Pakistan.http://www.channel4.com/news/2005/02/week_4/24_begg3.html Mr Begg, in his first broadcast interview since his release, claimed he "witnessed two people get beaten so badly that I believe it caused their deaths".

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An Associated Press report asserted that some of the detainees were turned over to the United States by Afghan tribesmen in return for cash rewards. Detainees testified during military tribunals that bounties ranged from $3,000 to $25,000. The allegations were in transcripts the U.S. government released in compliance with a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by AP. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5043187,00.html There has not been independent confirmation of any of the above allegations since the U.S. government prohibits investigation by any third party. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4123200.stm

Related Topics:
Associated Press - Afghan - Bounties - Freedom of Information

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NGO reports

On November 30, 2004, The New York Times published excerpts from an internal memo leaked from the U.S. administration,http://nytimes.com/2004/11/30/politics/30gitmo.html?ei=5094&en=8d107165e454d8b6&hp=&ex=1101877200&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1101843681-+nTyVVJpq8yXt1yEg4X28g referring to a report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Related Topics:
November 30 - 2004 - The New York Times - International Committee of the Red Cross

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The ICRC reports of several activities which, it said, were "tantamount to torture": exposure to loud noise or music, prolonged extreme temperatures, or beatings. It also reported that a behavior science team (BSCT), also called 'Biscuit', and military physicians communicated confidential medical information to the interrogation teams (weaknesses, phobias, etc.), resulting in the prisoners losing confidence in their medical care.

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Access of the ICRC to the base was conditional, as is normal for ICRC humanitarian operations, on the confidentiality of their report; sources have reported heated debates had taken place at the ICRC headquarters, as some of those involved wanted to make the report public, or confront the U.S. administration. The newspaper said the administration and the Pentagon had seen the ICRC report in July 2004 but rejected its findings.http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4645430,00.html http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6951969. The story was originally reported in several newspapers, including The Guardian, and the ICRC reacted to the article when the report was leaked in May.http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList4/C5667B446C9A4DF7C1256F5C00403967

Related Topics:
Humanitarian - July 2004

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In May 2005, a human rights report from Amnesty International reflects ongoing claims of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo and other military prisons. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/11779485.htm http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/11825077.htmhttp://www.nationalreview.com/rice/rice200506140804.asp

Related Topics:
May 2005 - Amnesty International

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Government and military inquiries

In response to the complaints of abuse by the prisoners and others, U.S. Navy Secretary Gordon England ordered a review of detainee incarceration practices at Guantanamo, conducted by a Navy inspector general, which concluded the facility was "being operated at very high standards."

Related Topics:
U.S. Navy - Gordon England - Incarceration

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On June 3, 2005, a U.S. military report supported allegations that US soldiers had abused the Qur'an. The report found that a soldier deliberately kicked a Qur'an; an interrogator stepped on a Qur'an; a guard's urine came through an air vent, splashing a detainee and his Qur'an; water balloons thrown by prison guards caused a number of Qur'ans to get wet; and a two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of a Qur'an. It concluded that many other allegations of desecration were unfounded (see Qur'an desecration controversy of 2005).

Related Topics:
June 3 - 2005 - Qur'an - Qur'an desecration controversy of 2005

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In June 2005 the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee visited the camp and described it as a "resort" and complimented the quality of the food. However Democratic members of the committee complained that Republicans had blocked the testimony of attorneys representing the prisoners. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/06/30/at_hearing_guantanamo_wins_praise_and_criticism/Democratic Senators have visited Guantanamo and they reported that they could not find evidence of abuse or mistreatment.

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On June 10, 2005, as testimony was being given about alleged human rights abuses at Guantanamo, before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on reauthorization of the Patriot Act, Chairman James Sensenbrenner (one of the act's authors) declared debate over the detainees at Guantanamo Bay irrelevant. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UNCIVIL_HEARING?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Related Topics:
June 10 - 2005 - Patriot Act - James Sensenbrenner

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On July 12, 2005 members of a military panel told the committee that they proposed disciplining prison commander Army Major General Geoffrey Miller over the interrogation of Mohamed al-Kahtani who was forced to wear a bra, dance with another man and threatened with dogs. The recommendation was overruled by General Bantz J. Craddock, commander of U.S. Southern Command, who refered the matter to the Army's inspector general. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/13/senate.guantanao.ap/index.html

Related Topics:
July 12 - 2005 - Mohamed al-Kahtani

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The book, Inside the Wire by Erik Saar and Viveca Novak also claims to reveal the abuse of prisoners. Saar, a former US soldier, repeats allegations that female interrogators taunted prisoners sexually and in one instance wiped what seemed to be menstrual blood on the detainee. In reality it was just a red marker but the prisoner was unable to clean himself and hence unable to pray. Other instances of beatings by the IRF (initial reaction force) have been reported in this book and it supports the claim that the Qur'an was flushed down the toilet. An FBI email http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/09_05_05_fbi_email.pdf from December 2003, six months after Saar had left, said that the Defense Department interrogators at Guantanamo had impersonated FBI agents while using "torture techniques" on a detainee.

Related Topics:
Inside the Wire - Erik Saar - Viveca Novak - Menstrual - IRF - Qur'an - December 2003

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'Exceptional treatment' of prisoners

The U.S. government has claimed it has accommodated religious needs. It has claimed that special religious diets are prepared http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/11846878.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp, religious literature is supplied, and daily prayers are respected. But continued alleged religious harrassment is one of the triggers to the hunger strike that started on August 8, 2005. Detainee Omar Khadr told his lawyer that the camp authorities were only broadcasting the call to prayers four times a day, not the five times Islam requires. Further, camp authorities were allegedly offending the religious sensibilities of the detainees by having female personnel announce the call to prayers. Finally, he claimed that camp authorities were allowing guards to disrupt prayer sessions.

Related Topics:
Hunger strike - Omar Khadr

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According to detailed accounts reported by the New York Times on June 24, 2005, from former interrogators, military doctors have assisted with refinement of the techniques interrogators have used on detainees, including advice on how to incrementally adjust psychological duress levels and manipulate fears, as a means of attempting to make the detainees more cooperative and willing to provide information.http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/politics/24gitmo.html?hp&ex=1119585600&en=0bb87618febc3438&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Related Topics:
New York Times - June 24 - 2005

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A related article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported doctors involved with devising and supervising the interrogations indicated they understood the interrogation procedure refinements they gave advice on were designed to increase fear and distress, as a means to obtaining intelligence. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, while declining to address the specifics of the doctors' accounts, responded by asserting the doctors were not covered by ethics rules, since they were advising interrogators as behavioral scientists rather than treating patients.

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According to a June 21, 2005 New York Times opinion article, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/opinion/21lewis.html?th&emc=th on July 29, 2004 an FBI agent was quoted as saying, "On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they had urinated or defecated on themselves and had been left there for 18, 24 hours or more."

Related Topics:
June 21 - 2005 - July 29 - 2004 - FBI

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U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney suggested detainees were treated better than they would be "by virtually any other government on the face of the earth."

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Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall Schmidt, who headed the probe into FBI accounts of abuse of Guantanamo prisoners by Defense Department personnel, concluded the man (a Saudi, described as the "20th hijacker") was subjected to "abusive and degrading treatment" due to "the cumulative effect of creative, persistent and lengthy interrogations." The techniques used were authorized by the Pentagon, he said. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-07-13T203032Z_01_SCH364432_RTRUKOC_0_SECURITY-GUANTANAMO.xml

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Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, Chariman of the Senate Intelligence Comittee, challenged the allegations, on July 11, 2001, after taking a tour, contending the detainees received better care than most Kansans. However, visiting politicians were not allowed to speak to any of the detainees http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=ul3zV53kyG&Content=618. Roberts commented on the high quality of the food on the detainee's menus while the detainees were in the midst of a widespread hunger strike. One of the issues in that hunger strike was that they were allegedly being fed filthy, black, foul-tasting drinking water.

Related Topics:
Pat Roberts - Kansas - Senate Intelligence Comittee - Hunger strike

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