Guantánamo Bay
On 24 March, the US military
reported that a Navy sailor based at Guantánamo had contracted the Covid19
virus, the first of the 6000 military personnel stationed there. According to
journalist Carol Rosenberg, this does not affect the prisoners at Guantánamo
Bay or any personnel at the detention centre, and extensive measures have been
taken to protect staff and prisoners, many of whom are at heightened risk after
years of torture and abuse at the hands of the US military. Meetings with
lawyers must also currently take place via video link or telephone and not in
person due to the virus.
A federal judge has ordered the US
government to set up a Mixed Medical Commission, an independent medical panel,
made up of one US military doctor and two doctors from third countries, to
carry out a psychological assessment of Saudi prisoner Mohammed Al-Qahtani to
see if he is receiving adequate psychiatric care at the facility. Al-Qahtani
has suffered from schizophrenia since his childhood. His lawyers are calling
for him to be returned to Saudi Arabia for psychiatric treatment. Although he
admitted as much before he was detained in Afghanistan in 2001, the US detained
him and subjected him to brutal forms of torture, including “beatings, exposure
to extreme temperatures and noise, sleep deprivation and extended solitary
confinement. An FBI official in 2002 observed al-Qahtani speaking to
non-existent people, hearing voices and crouching in a corner of his cell while
covering himself with a sheet for hours at a time”. The Pentagon has admitted
that he was tortured and as a result he has never been charged in over 18 years
of detention. The ruling is a first at Guantánamo where the military is
secretive about medical records and procedures. In spite of awareness of his
mental health illnesses, he is still considered a threat to US security.
The Department of Defense has stated that it is considering
reducing the number of staff at Guantánamo, the most expensive prison in the
world with only two convicted prisoners, to make the facility more efficient
and effective. There are currently 45 military personnel for each of the 40
remaining prisoners.
The third judge in the case of five men accused of involvement in
attacks on New York City in September 2001, US Air Force Colonel Shane Cohen,
who only took over the case last year, has announced his retirement from the
case after just nine months as he is retiring from active military duty in
July. He said in a letter that his last day as judge in the case will be 24
April, although no further hearings are scheduled in the case until June. His
departure is likely to make the start date for the trial of January 2021, which
he set, more improbable. Last month a long-term lead defence lawyer also quit
the case on health grounds; these are just the latest obstacles to the show
trial going ahead.
Extraordinary Rendition
Following a hearing in December 2019, the appeals chamber of the
International Criminal Court in The Hague has authorised an investigation into
war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the US, Afghan and Taliban
soldiers in Afghanistan post-2003. Allegations relating to British troops may
emerge in the process. The ruling grants the prosecutor greater authority to
act on her own initiative. The US has criticised this decision.
LGC Activities
Owing
to the social distancing and self-isolation measures currently in place to deal
with Covid19, the London Guantánamo Campaign’s monthly Shut Guantánamo!
demonstration will be held virtually at 12-2pm on Thursday 2 April. To take
part, please email a photo/video of your banner to us at london.gtmo@gmail.com before 12pm on 2
April or share your picture/video to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/London-Guantánamo-Campaign-114010671973111/
or via Twitter (or just a message) @shutguantanamo between 12 and 2pm on Thursday
2 April. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/London-Guantánamo-Campaign-114010671973111/
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