Becuase Everything Else Sucks

Four Years in Gitmo for Being an Arab with a Battery Charger

By Manila Ryce
Published Monday, April 2nd, 2007, 9:00 am
Filed under: Human Rights, World: Europe, Terrorism, Society/Culture: Racism, Society/Culture, World Issues, US Politics

The US failed to observe fair legal processes at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Cuba according to Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi national and British resident who was released from the camp after more than four years last week. Bisher al-Rawi told reporters “Allegations are made against you that are laughably untrue, but you have no chance to prove them wrong. There is no trial, no fair legal process.” Al-Rawi was finally released only after he agreed to work for Britain’s domestic spy agency.

Al-Rawi and Jamil el-Banna, another British resident, were arrested for carrying electronic equipment which was deemed to be “suspicious” by British police at Gatwick airport. “The device turned out to be a perfectly innocent battery charger,” explained a senior counsel from the US law firm representing al-Rawi.

Al-Rawi’s representation continued: “The police in London apologised and let him go but … the British had sent information to the Americans that he was travelling with a suspicious device.” The CIA then arrested the two men in Gambia, and were put under American custody. “The British never then corrected the initial information, to say the device was innocent. That was the basis for [al-Rawi’s] original seizure.”

Al-Rawi was interrogated as a terrorist in a CIA secret prison in Afghanistan before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay. At Gitmo he was held in solitary confinement in a 6ft. by 8ft. cell with the lights on 24 hours a day. Al-Rawi now is working towards the release of all remaining Britons in Guantanamo Bay. “I hope everyone who believes in justice and the rule of law will join with me to work for the release of Jamil and the other British residents,” he said. Britain has secured the release of all its citizens in Gitmo, but says the release of nine prisoners who are residents of Britain but not nationals is not its responsibility.

source

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One Response to “Four Years in Gitmo for Being an Arab with a Battery Charger”

  1. My buddy is an Afghan ex-marine, and right after this detention center was built, he was contracted to go out there and translate letters and interrogation proceedings etc.

    He was there in 2002 - 2004. Firstly, he said it was well known that Donald Rummy had set up the bid to get the money to build the detention center. He contracted cheep labor from Honduras and kept the left over money. Most of the inmates are not terrorists. Nor do were they tied to any terrorist groups. In fact, most of the inmates were turned in by Pakistani’s who were collecting $5,000 cash from the U.S. military personel in Afghanistan/Pakistan, for turning in any suspected terrorist. Refugees would come across the boarder and Pakistan would kill two birds with one stone and turn them into the U.S. as terrorists and collect the cash. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the same $5000 offer was made the the villagers and brother began to turn on brother and etc.

    At the time, he saw lots of terrible things but what I found most interesting was the level of arrogance that was displayed on the part of the other U.S. contractors there. He said certain prisoners would be held under suspicion because of their answers to physcological examinations. For example, a phsycologist would ask the inmate: “Did your father beat you? Is that why you’re so angry?” And after the translation, the context would be totally lost to a culture where spankings are still common. The inmate wouldn’t understand, the U.S. took it as non-complience and he’d be held captive longer. A lot of the men were illiterate to their own language, mainly Pashto, so the U.S. decided to teach them how to read and write. Except, they taught them how to read and write english.

    He witnessed this type of logical progression for about two years and then quit after telling one of his C/O’s to go fuck himself.

    yazo
    04/2/07 at 10:43 am

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