In September, Marine Sgt. Heather Cerveny reported a conversation she heard between five Guantanamo guards who bragged at a bar about beating detainees. In an affidavit filed to the Pentagon’s inspector general, Cerveny said the men identified themselves as guards and shared stories about the common mistreatment of prisoners. One part of her statement retells the story of a guard grabbing a prisoner’s head and slamming it into the cell door. She also described widespread complacency to the abuse at the base.

Now the investigation in response to Cerveny’s account has ended, but not in the way the sergeant had hoped. The chief investigator on the case, Col. Richard Bassett, has reported that “the evidence did not support any of the allegations of mistreatment or harassment.” Amazingly, Bassett came to this conclusion without interviewing any detainees. Jose Ruiz, a Miami-based command spokesman, tried to explain this obvious cover-up by saying, “He talked to all the parties he felt he needed to get information about the allegations that were made.” Bassett’s findings were approved by the head of the Southern Command, Admiral James Stavridis.

Not only did the “investigator” failed to conduct a thorough investigation into the abuse, but Cerveny could now be facing charges for reporting that abuse. Following Bassett’s recommendations, Admiral Stavridis said a “letter of counseling” should be sent to Cerveny for initiating a “fictitious account” of detainee abuse. Bassett has also accused Sgt. Cerveny of filing a false statement during a brief meeting with her.

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