ACLU, AI call for independent probe into Guantanamo death
The American Civil
Liberties Union has renewed its call for an independent investigation into all
deaths at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility after the death of another
detainee, reported Wednesday by the U.S. military as an "apparent suicide".
The prisoner, a 37-year-old Afghan
identified as Inayatullah Nassim, had been held without charge or trial since
September 2007. Seven other prisoners have died at the camp, including five
reported as suicides, but the causes of death have never been independently
verified. ACLU
HIGHLIGHTS
"This latest death highlights the immediate need
for a full and independent inquiry into deaths at Guantanamo. It also underscores the tragic
consequences of indefinite detention and unfair trials of detainees," Jamil
Dakwar, director of the ACLU Human Rights Program, said. ACLU
"This man was imprisoned at Guantanamo for nearly four
years, with no end in sight. If there is credible evidence against detainees
then they should be charged and prosecuted in a fair trial or safely settled or
released - that is the way for justice to be served according to American law
and values," he added. ACLU
The U.S. Naval Criminal
Investigative Service has reportedly started investigating the incident to
establish the cause of death. Initial reports said that guards found Inayatullah
unresponsive and not breathing after which medical personnel were called who
pronounced him dead when life-saving measures failed, according to a statement
by the Joint Task Force Guantanamo. pakobserver.net
The U.S. military must allow a fully independent,
civilian-led investigation into the death of the detainee at the U.S. Naval Base
at Guantanamo in Cuba, Amnesty
International said. Amnesty International
Amnesty International continues to
call on the U.S. to bring the
detainees still held in Guantanamo to fair trial in independent courts,
or to release them. Amnesty International
FACTS & FIGURES
Since October 2001, when the current
ongoing war on Afghanistan
began, almost 800 detainees have been brought to Guantanamo.
Informationclearinghouse.info
During his Presidential campaign,
Barack Obama described Guantanamo as a "sad chapter in American
history" and promised to close down the prison in 2009. Guardian
Red Cross inspectors and released
detainees have described acts of torture, including sleep deprivation, beatings
and locking in confined and cold cells. Human rights groups have also argued
that indefinite detention constitutes torture. Huffington Post
The Interrogation and detention
regime implemented by the U.S. has resulted in the deaths of over 100
detainees in U.S. custody.
Andyworthington.co.uk
Washington has ignored human rights standards
in its own treatment of terrorism suspects. It has refused to apply the Geneva
Conventions to prisoners of war from Afghanistan, and has misused the designation of
'illegal combatant' to apply to criminal suspects on U.S. soil.
HRW
SAR/HJ/SM