EX-Gitmo inmate dies of mistreatment: Source
A man formerly held at the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba has died in Kazakhstan as a result of maltreatment in detention and inadequate healthcare after release, a source says.
Asim Thabit Abdullah al-Khalaqi, a Yemeni national who was held at the notorious detention camp for 11 years, died on May 7 of kidney failure triggered by the long internment, according to Khalaqi’s friend, Jihad Dhiab, also known as Abu Wa’el Dhiab.
Dhiab, a Syrian ex-Guantanamo prisoner who is now living in Uruguay, made the remarks in an interview with British daily The Guardian on Friday.
“It (Khalaqi’s death) was a consequence of his years in Guantanamo and the lack of proper healthcare both in the prison and in Kazakhstan,” Dhiab said, adding, the 47-year-old “repeatedly requested health attention through his lawyer, but after a few medical checks he was told he was fine.”
However, Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, rejected Dhiab’s allegations, claiming that Khalaqi got "outstanding medical care" at Guantanamo and received a health screening before release.
Khaliqi, who had been held at the detention camp since 17 January 2002, was released from jail and resettled in Kazakhstan in December 2014.
The Guantanamo Bay detention facility was set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center complex in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The US currently keeps 122 prisoners at the infamous jail.
Washington says the prisoners are terror suspects, but has not pressed charges against most of them in any court.The US military has been criticized for force-feeding Guantanamo prisoners who have been engaged in hunger strikes for years to protest their confinement.
Despite a promise by US President Barack Obama to close the prison due to its damage to the US reputation, the facility remains open with more than 120 detainees, many of them without charge or trial.
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