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UN Panel Calls for Bush Administration to Close Guantanamo
Bay Military Prison
Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism
Under Fire
UN Panel Calls for Bush Administration to Close Guantanamo
Bay Military Prison
The UN Committee Against Torture also urges an end to secret
CIA prisons and an end to abusive treatment and interrogation
techniques against detainees. In addition, the panel sharply
criticized practices in regular prisons in the United States
including widespread sexual abuse of inmates. [includes rush
transcript]
The U.S. has rejected calls by the United Nations for the
closure of its prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "We cannot
be in a situation in which we are just turning loose on helpless
populations or unprotected populations people who have vowed
to kill more Americans if they're released." There are
about 460 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Most have been
held for more than four years without charge.
A UN panel said Friday the indefinite detention of prisoners
at Guantanamo violates the world"s ban on torture. In
issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture recommended
the closure of Guantanamo, an end to secret CIA prisons and
an end to abusive treatment and interrogation techniques against
detainees.
The UN report comes a day after several suicide attempts
and a clash between prisoners and guards at Guantanamo. According
to the US military, several prisoners wielding improvised
weapons attacked guards as they entered a communal living
area to stop a prisoner who was trying to hang himself. There
have been 39 suicide attempts at Guantanamo since the prison
opened in January 2002.
The 11-page UN report was issued after four days of hearings
in Geneva. It was the first time since the start of the administration's
so-called war on terror that the U.S government was subject
to questioning by international body about treatment of detainees
in U.S custody.
The UN Committee Against Torture is in charge of monitoring
compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture. That treaty
prohibits its signatories from using cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment on prisoners and mandates that countries ensure
that any detainee is given minimum legal rights. The U.S ratified
the treaty in 1994.
The U.S government's delegation was headed by John Bellinger
III who is the legal advisor to the State Department. This
is him on Friday, responding to the report.
- John Bellinger, U.S State Department Legal Counsel
The report released this weekend is the most recent call
for shutting down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
Earlier this month, British Attorney General Peter Goldsmith
called for the prison to close saying it was “an unacceptable
symbol of injustice.” And in February, the UN”s
Commission on Human Rights called Guantanamo illegal and said
it should be shut down.
- Dr. Nora Sveaass, member of the 10-person UN Committee
Against Torture
Ex-Guantanamo Chaplain James Yee on Faith and Patriotism
Under Fire
James Yee, a Muslim Chaplain, was posted in Guantanamo Bay,
in 2002, but less than a year after serving there, he was
accused of espionage by the military and faced charges so
severe, that he was threatened with the death penalty. Yee
was locked away in a Navy prison in Charleston, South Carolina,
spent 76 days in solitary confinement and was subject to abusive
treatment. In 2004, the government dropped all charges against
him. [includes rush transcript]
We continue looking at the issue of torture and Guantanamo
Bay. On May 5th, The University of California at Davis', Center
for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas hosted a forum,
which I moderated, about the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo
Bay. Former Army Chaplain James Yee was one of the featured
speakers at the event.
James Yee, a Muslim Chaplain, was posted in Guantanamo Bay,
in 2002, but less than a year after serving there, he was
accused of espionage by the military and faced charges so
severe, that he was threatened with the death penalty. Yee
was locked away in a Navy prison in Charleston, South Carolina,
spent 76 days in solitary confinement and was subject to abusive
treatment. In 2004, the government dropped all charges against
him and in October 2005, James Yee wrote a book about his
experience called, “For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism
Under Fire.”
Here is James Yee speaking at the forum. I asked him how
he ended up going to Guantanamo and to talk about what he
saw and experienced there.
- James Yee, former Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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