Navy Adm. Patrick M. Walsh concludes conditions of confinement at Guantanamo Bay are consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions however suggests some improvements be made

Missoula, Feb. 26 (Al-Masakin)–In stark contrast to the independent review, Current Conditions of Confinement at Guantanamo: Still in Violation of the Law, conducted by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Admiral Patrick M. Walsh said at a press conference at the Pentagon on Monday that the conditions at the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities do indeed comply with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions with respect to the humane treatment of prisoners. 

 

His statement to this effect was however qualified by the assertion: “The chain of command responsible for the detention mission at Guantanamo consistently seeks to go beyond the minimum standard in complying with Common Article 3,” the Armed Forces Press Service reported on Tuesday. 

 

The Admiral thereafter made several recommendations asserting that the detainees needed more “human-to-human contact, recreation opportunities with several detainees together, intellectual stimulation and group prayer.”

 

In his report Review of Department Compliance with the President’s Executive Order on Detainee Conditions of Confinement with respect to Common Article 3 Admiral Walsh said “No prohibited acts were found.”

 

This is not to say that the conditions of confinement there are not in fact very harsh, but to say that the conditions of confinement are not in violation of the law.  In his conclusions the Admiral said that conditions of confinement must be looked at in terms of what may be considered humane today vis-à-vis what would be considered humane over a prolonged period of detention.

 

“While our review has determined that all conditions of confinement are currently in conformity with Common Article 3, our list of recommendations calls attention to those actions that we think will assist USSOUTHCOM in its continuing efforts to enhance humane conditions of detention in Guantánamo.

 

“The Review Team recognized the value of socialization throughout the detention facilities, especially considering the length of time individuals at Guantánamo have been detained. The key to socialization is providing more human-to-human contact, recreation opportunities with several detainees together, intellectual stimulation, and group prayer. Socialization is essential to maintain humane treatment over time,” the report released Feb. 23 said.

 

Admiral Wash in his report conceded that prolonged uncertainty about their future was having a detrimental impact on the mental health of those detained there.

 

“The Review Team is convinced that the ability of detainees to understand their future has a direct correlation to detainee behavior and conditions inside the camp population, and will impact the long-term ability to comply with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Rising tension and anxiety among the detainees leads to acts of defiance, non-compliance with camp rules, and manifestations of self-harm or attempts to injure or kill camp personnel. Therefore, we recommend seeking immediate assistance through the interagency process to expeditiously determine the detainees’ future and take action to repatriate or transfer detainees as appropriate. Increased emphasis in this regard will help the [Joint Detention Group] JDG Commander manage the detainee population consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

 

“Not knowing when they might depart Guantánamo (for home or elsewhere) has almost certainly increased tension and anxiety within the detainee population,” the Admiral in his report said.

 

With respect to alleged detainee humiliation through forced nudity the report maintained:

 

“Search for and seizure of contraband take a graduated approach: guards use a detainee “pat-down” search first, followed by an electronic wand or “Rapiscan” system to search private areas; if those means are not available or sufficient, guards conduct a modified strip search, respecting detainee privacy; complete strip searches are a last resort, only authorized by [Joint Detention Group Commander] CJDG. Female guards are not authorized in areas of the camps that would provide them a view of detainees showering; female guards are not permitted to be present when strip searches occur, nor are they authorized to operate “Rapiscan” systems.

 

Rapiscan Systems manufactures “hands-off” electronic people screening which the manufactures claims their screening systems produce “high resolution images that enable the operator to easily identify concealed threat and contraband items…ideal for high security environments because both organic (e.g. explosives, narcotics, ceramic weapons) and inorganic (e.g. metal) materials are apparent in the image” and use “advanced techniques to protect the privacy of the person being screened while enabling effective detection of threat items.”

 

The DoD report on searches of detainees concluded: “No prohibited acts were found and conditions are humane.”

 

EHC / EHC

Vice President Biden acknowleged torture of detainees was a powerful recruiting tool for al-Qaeda at swearing-in of new CIA Director Leon Panetta

Missoula, Feb. 23 (Al-Masakin)–Vice President Joseph Biden at swearing in ceremony for new CIA director Leon E. Panetta Feb. 19 acknowleged torture and detainment of suspects at Guantanamo Bay prison was a powerful recruiting tool for al-Qaeda. 

Refering to Executive Order Ensuring Lawful Interrogations, which revoked Executive Order 13440 of July 20, 2007, the Executive Order to Close Guantanamo Bay Detention Facilities, Executive Order Review of Detention Policy Options, signed Jan. 22, 2009, the Vice President said. 

“He issued an executive order to reverse the policies that in my view and the view of many in this Agency caused America to fall short of its founding principles and which gave al-Qaeda a powerful recruiting tool. As a result of these orders, we will close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. We will have a single standard across the government for interrogation of – in armed conflict. And we’ll ensure the Red Cross access to all those who are detained in armed conflict,” the Vice President said.

EHC / EHC

Photos: Torture victim Binyam Mohamed repatriated to U.K.

Mon Feb 23, 10:36 AM ET

Former British resident Binyam Mohamed, back right, who has been held at Guantanamo Bay leaves a plane at Northolt military base in west London Monday Feb. 23, 2009. A former British resident who claims he was brutally tortured at a covert CIA site in Morocco has been freed from Guantanamo after nearly seven years in U.S. captivity — an ordeal that could come back to haunt the U.S. and British governments. Wearing a tan sweater, a white cap and carrying a bundle of documents, Binyam Mohamed landed at Northolt military base Monday — the first Guantanamo prisoner released since President Barack Obama took office.(AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld/PA Wire)

Mon Feb 23, 9:09 AM ET

Former British resident Binyam Mohamed, top, who has been held at Guantanamo Bay steps from a plane at Northolt military base in west London Monday Feb. 23, 2009. A former British resident who claims he was brutally tortured at a covert CIA site in Morocco has been freed from Guantanamo after nearly seven years in U.S. captivity — an ordeal that could come back to haunt the U.S. and British governments. Wearing a tan sweater, a white cap and carrying a bundle of documents, Binyam Mohamed landed at Northolt military base Monday — the first Guantanamo prisoner released since President Barack Obama took office.(AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld/PA Wire)

Victim of CIA torture Binyam Mohamed repatriated to U.K.

 

News Code: 368310

GMT: 2/23/2009 1:51:35 PM

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‘Tortured’ Guantanamo detainee back in UK

London, Feb 23, IRNA — UK resident Binyam Mohamed returned to Britain Monday after being incarcerated at the US internment camp in Guantanamo Bay for more than four years and allegedly previously tortured by the CIA.

His arrival comes after a London High Court ruling that evidence of how the 30-year old Ethiopian may have been tortured, and what Britain’s MI5 security agency knew about it, must remain secret because of serious threats from the US.

Binyam’s lawyer, Stafford Smith, who is director of Reprieve human rights group, is pressing for the evidence to be released. “He is a victim who has suffered more than any human being should ever suffer,” Smith said.

He was originally arrested in Pakistan in 2002, before the CIA secretly flew him to Morocco where he was allegedly brutally tortured. Later he was flown to Afghanistan before being sent to Guantanamo Bay.

In a statement, Binyam said that the worst moment of his captivity was when he realized his alleged torturers were receiving material from UK intelligence agents.

“I have to say, more in sadness than in anger, that many have been complicit in my own horrors over the past seven years,” he said. “It is still difficult for me to believe that I was abducted, hauled from one country to the next, and tortured in medieval ways — all orchestrated by the United States government.”

Prior to his release, the British resident ended a month-long hunger strike ago after visits from his lawyers, Foreign Office officials and a UK doctor, who passed him fit to travel.

Previously the British government insisted that it was not responsible for residents held in Guantanamo Bay, but on Sunday Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Binyam would be allowed ‘temporary admission’ into the UK.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is under pressure to release the evidence about his alleged torture, said his release was the first step towards the goal of closing Guantanamo Bay.

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End News / IRNA / News Code 368310

GTMO prisoners to be relocated to the Baltic: Russia Today

News

 February 2, 2009, 19:58

Gitmo prisoners might see the cold sea

It looks like Gitmo prisoners will be faced with a climate change as some of them will probably have to move from the warm tropical island of Cuba in the Caribbean to a much colder place on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Yes, Barack Obama has ordered the prison in Guantanamo Bay to be closed by the end of 2009, but prisoners are definitely not going home or anyway near it.

Authorities in the small Baltic state of Latvia, as well as in EU and NATO countries, are considering a proposal made by the U.S. to host prisoners with unidentified status, a “correctional” facility in Europe where certain Guantanamo prisoners will be transferred, reports the DELFI news agency.

Earlier this year, Latvia’s neighbour, Estonia, had volunteered to welcome the same facility in its country.

Currently, there are about 60 prisoners out of 250 in Guantanamo accused of terrorism but whose guilt has never been proven.

At a meeting of the heads of foreign ministries of the EU, it was decided that European Commission would draw up principles to deal with prisoners of this kind.

It must be noted that a large number of ex-Guantanamo prisoners who were released beginning in 2002 were soon observed as they were involved in new terrorist activities.

Nothing has been decided so far, since Latvia is not sure whether it has the necessary juridical background as well as technical capabilities to deal with such a prison on its territory.

Latvia is a relatively new EU member and has already suffered one of the most among European countries due to the world economic crisis, which has resulted in mass protest demonstrations throughout the country. That is why there is little wonder that Latvian authorities, being in great need for money to fill gaps in the budget, are ready to accept money from any sources available.

Maybe operating a foreign prison with a dingy reputation is not a good idea for a European country, but the current situation, with no foreseeable financial assistance in the near future, has created different rules amidst a new European reality.