the guantanamo camp
2004 ~ 2005 ~ 2006 ~ 2007
sequential

 

 

guantanamo (a u.s. base)

january 2004: for those it considers "enemy combatants," the u.s. opened a military prison at guantanamo in cuba; it has a number of sections; "camp x-ray" which began receiving about january 2002, may have closed in favour of "camp delta," "camp 4" and other sections; 3 children, sixteen years and under are said to be held at "iguana house"(their release/return was announced jan.29, 2004); no list of detainees is provided by the u.s. so the status and safety of "missing" detainees is in doubt; the intentional lack of accountability leaves these prisoners under death threat.

historical note: "camp delta, guantanamo 660 prisoners, 42 countries: no rights, no charges." revolutionary worker #1214, rwor.org, october 5, 2003.

 

assessment of guantanamo camp, june 21, 2004 (public sources) by j.b.gerald; see appendix 1 (guantanamo2004.pdf) [ posting added may 8, 2008].

 

update: although u.s. policy has tried to isolate these prisoners from any legal jurisdiction, they have become subject to u.s.law through decision of the u.s.supreme court (june 28, 2004, rasul et al.vs bush); fifteen detainees are identified as "potential defendants" for military tribunals (july 14,2004, guardian unlimited,uk); the u.s. holding of the guantanamo detainees is in violation of geneva conventions.

 

update: affirming the geneva conventions, federal judge james robertson ruled on november 8th, 2004, that detainees held by guantanamo are prisoners of war and are being denied their international and military protection, and their trials are illegal ("judge says detainees' trials are unlawful," leonnig and mintz, washington post, nov. 9, 2004).

 

update: according to the washington post ("at guantanamo, a prison within a prison: cia has run a secret facility for some al qaeda detainees, officials say," dec. 17, 2004), a portion of the guantanamo prison's camp echo is devoted to a secret cia prison; the article by priest and higham noted as washington post staff writers, states: "under a presidential directive and authorities approved by administration lawyers, the cia is allowed to capture and hold certain classes of suspects without accounting for them in any public way and without revealing the rules for their treatment;" the article makes no mention of u.s. or international laws which declare such actions crimes against humanity; while the cia is able to run extra-legal detention camps in some countries, this article suggests that u.s.defense department control of guantanamo base bends the cia to some respect for d.o.d.'s sub-standard geneva convention compliance.

 

update, jan. 25 2005: at guantanamo bay prison complex, 350 "self-harm" incidents, and among these - 120 "hanging gestures," were reported for 2003; the u.s. southern command considered an attempted mass suicide of 23 of the detainees, as a tactic to be met with decreasing the prisoners' ability to communicate; after a psychiatric ward was installed at guantanamo the number of "self harm" incidents decreased to 110 in 2004 ("23 at guantanamo attempted suicide in 2003,"ap, yahoo news jan 25, 2005); the statistics suggest that the camp is "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part," and should be noted among violations of the united nations convention on genocide, concerning u.s. treatment of muslims; statistics for mainland military prisons and the domestic prison system are less available.

 

update of feb.1, 2005, washington d.c.: on jan.19th, judge richard leon, a bush appointee, refused to consider the cases of seven detainees, ruling that non-resident prisoners captured abroad were entitled only to the rights current u.s. politicians ceded them; on jan. 31, judge joyce green (a johnson adminstration appointee) ruled the initial military tribunal process illegal, and she affirmed constitutional rights of the detainees ("judge backs guantanamo challenge," jan. 31, 2005; "guantanamo bay military reviews ruled illegal," washingtonpost.com jan. 31, 2005).

 

update march 22, 2005: the lawyer for australian david hicks confirms the existence of video evidence of torture and abuse of detainees ("guantanamo abuse 'videotaped'," sheed, march 21, 2005, aap, www.news.com.au).

 

update april 14, 2005: lawyers for prisoner mustafa ait idir, have filed suit in boston against president bush for acts against the prisoner, beatings and shoving his head in the toilet; his face is partly paralyzed; he was arrested in bosnia in 2001, entering guantanamo in january 2002 ("prisoner suffers facial paralysis after being tortured," april 14, 2005, granma international english edition)

 

update: with 18 more detainees released, the camp/prison currently holds approximately 520 people [any "ghost" detainees are probably not included in this statistic]; 232 have been returned and released, and 65 turned over to foreign governments (source: "18 more detainees leave guantanamo," white, april 20, 2006, the washington post).

 

update: lawyers clive stafford in london and barbara olshansky in new york believe at least six detainees may have been incarcerated before the age of eighteen; these are among those with claims of being tortured; officials of international red cross thought several may have been has young as twelve ("some held at guantánamo are minors, lawyers say," neil lewis, june 13, 2005, new york times); entitled ( rasul v. bush, june 28, 2004) to hearings in court on the reason for their imprisonments, all detainees remain denied due process by the bush administration and military authorities ("at gitmo, still no day in court : how feds avoid hearings for terror suspects — despite supreme court ruling," riley, tayler, brune, june 15, 2005, newsday, newsday.com).

 

update, june 24, 2005: guantanamo military doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, have used prisoners' medical information to "break" them; u.s. medical ethicists show some confusion ("interrogators cite doctors' aid at guantanamo prison camp," lewis, june 24, 2005, the new york times); torture is a crime against humanity; in breaking the geneva conventions it is a crime against the uniform code of military justice; there is no confusion of law about this matter; there is no confusion of ethics; amid claims of torture as standard practice in u.s. prisons adrian lomax gives examples of the denial of appropriate medical treatment in the wisconsin prison system ("the real american gulag, torture in u.s. prisons: common, lethal, unreported," adrian lomax, june 16, 2005, counterpunch).

       threat against the press: al-hajj, a cameraman for aljazeera in afghanistan, imprisoned in guantanamo since 2001, "has endured horrendous abuse - sexual abuse and religious persecution," according to his lawyer, clive stafford-smith who claims his client's entire innocence ("aljazeera guantanamo inmate 'abused'," salih, june 22, 2005, aljazeera.net).

 

update: the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit rules that al-qaeda isn't covered by the geneva conventions; the court and bush administration do not consider a guantanamo prisoner, salim ahmed hamdan, a prisoner of war ("al-quaida detainees not protected by geneva convention: u.s. appeals court," yost, july 15, 2005, macleans.ca); a paradox: the prisoner, is held in guantanamo due to u.s. military action in the occupation of afghanistan; he has not been proven a member of al-quaida; he is not allowed the status of "a prisoner of war" although the u.s. military has invaded his country and removed him from his country and imprisoned him in guantanamo; this risks the court: by depriving the prisoner of self-evident rights before law the court risks complicity in a crime against humanity.

 

update: omar khadr, a canadian, was taken prisoner in afghanistan at 15; now 18, his lawyers have asked a d.c. court to prohibit torturing or interrogating the prisoner any further; guantanamo personnel stand accused of beating the prisoner, threatening rape, using the prisoner as a mop for urine; the court refused ("khadr fails to halt u.s. interrogations," james gordon, july 19, 2005, ottawa citizen).

 

update: according to two men recently released from guantanamo, 180 prisoners are currently on hunger strike and hundreds are becoming mentally ill under u.s. treatment; one states prisoners are denied medical care ("freed afghans decry guantanamo conditions," kazem, july 21, 2005 los angeles times, http://www.latimes.com); bbc news a bit suddenly, reports 52 prisoners on hunger strike under medical monitoring, with some receiving liquids intravenously ("guantanamo detainees refuse food," 22 july, 2005, bbc news world edition); mention of intravenous fluids may suggest dehydration / starvation / blood loss.

 

update: in the british lancet, dr. michael wilks has called the american psychological association a "disgrace," and encourages medical groups with ethics to stop psychologicsts from advising those involved with interrogation at guantanamo ("psychologists role as advisors criticized," august 5, 2005, seattle times).

 

update: a canadian federal judge orders canada's intelligence community to stop interrogating omar khadr, now 18, held at guantanamo by the u.s.; the ruling subjects canada's intelligence people abroad to its law and charter of rights ("judge orders canada to stop quizzing teen in guantanamo," aug. 10, 2005, globeandmail.com).

 

update : dr. robert jay lifton compares guantanamo to nazi germany as "a parallel atrocity producing situation" ("psychological warfare? a debate on the role of mental health professionals in military interrogations at guantanamo, abu ghraib and beyond," wilks, behnke, lifton, moderator goodman, august 11, 2005, democracy now).

 

update: the widespread hunger strike at guantanamo forced the u.s. military to concessions, allowing a prisoners representational committee, clean water at meals, improved food, books, and some alleviation of several other mind controls detainees found objectionable enough to forego food and water ("lawyers cite guantanamo concessions: u.s. said to be negotiating with prisoners," charlie savage, august 13, 2005, the boston globe, boston.com news ).

 

update: at least 89 guantanamo are back on hunger strike again due to the conditions of their detention ("89 guantanamo detainees resume hunger strike," charlie savage, aug. 27, 2005, boston globe, international herald tribune); see "urgent" ; from urgent august 29, 2005, u.s., canada: lives of men detained without trial or conviction are at risk as their hunger strikes continue ; at least 89 guantanamo detainees are back on hunger strike due to prison conditions, and despite army promises of improvement; some prisoners are weakened by the previous hunger strike and may be risking death.

 

update of sept. 10, 2005: the guardian reports that 200 guantanamo detainees are now in their fifth week of a resumed hunger strike, claiming they were tricked into taking food for two weeks by army promises of respect for the quran, respect for them and better conditions; they ask to be charged or freed ("hunger strikers pledge to die in guantanamo," gillan, sept. 9, 2005, the guardian, u.k.;"prisoner restraints," letters, sept. 9, 2005, the guardian); these prisoners are psychologically managed into positions where they starve themselves to severe damage or death, within a highly controlled situation of detention without trial, the self harm appears to be a result of intentional psychological destabilization, breaking down of the prisoner's will to live, enforced hopelessness, a lack of rights and recourse which amount to criminal disrespectfor their human rights; if this occurs to detainees of the same religious, ethnic, racial or political grouping, there is evidence of persecution; when physical or mental pain is intentionally inflicted on prisoners, with evidence of persecution, officials responsible should be liable to prosecution under international law and statutes against torture of individual countries. -jbg; see "urgent".

 

sept. 29, 2005: accurate information on the number of detainees on hunger strike, or their condition of health, is difficult to find; the u.s. army may be supplying misinformation to the detainees' lawyers ("hunger strike by detainees goes to court," lewis, sept.22, 2005, new york times); if detainees starve themselves to death, held illegally in u.s. custody without a trial or established guilt or benefit of the geneva conventions, then u.s. policy itself would have committed a crime against humanity.

       omar khadr, a canadian citizen, subjected to torture.. ("omar khadr: the continuing scandal of illegal detention and torture by u.s. forces in guantanamo bay," sept. 27, 2005, lawyers against the war, [access: www.nightslantern.ca]); [additional].

 

oct. 7, 2005: the guantanamo hunger strike continues; the u.s. is imposing restraints on what the relatives of detainees are allowed to say; the u.s. military considers the detainees to have provided valuable information ("u.s. plays down guantanamo strike," oct.1, 2005, bbc news world edition); mechanisms of psychological warfare used against detainees are accompanied by an increasing number of attempted suicides; the clear purpose of the torture is to elicit information, which is a war crime under the geneva conventions ["no physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever;" geneva convention iii , part 3, section 1; current u.s. administration denial of geneva convention protection is criminal].

      on oct. 5th, u.s. senators mccain, graham and others by vote of 90 to 9 passed an ammendment to a military spending bill, limiting interrogation techniques employed by the military to what the army field manual on intelligence interrogation allows ("senate supports interrogation limits," babington and murray, oct. 6, 2005, the washington post); the army field manual FM 34-52, intelligence interrogation, , specifically "appendix j," strongly affirms the geneva conventions, and relies on u.s.army field manual 27-10: the law of land warfare, which clearly specifies grave breaches of the geneva conventions as punishable war crimes.

      sami al-laithi has been sent back to egypt by the u.s. dept. of defense, after over 3 years in guantanamo bay; the detainee, cleared of being an enemy combattant, now faces torture in egypt ("egyptian returnee 'faces torture'," oct. 4, 2005, bbc news); rendition to torture is a specific violation of the convention against torture, signed and ratified by the u.s..

 

october 19, 2005, u.k.: clive stafford smith, lawyer for benyam mohammed al-habashi, an ethiopian resident of the u.k. now in guantanamo, is suing great britain " for breaching the convention on torture"; habashi was initially a london teenager tortured in various countries under the cia's extraordinary rendition program ("britain sued for 'complicity' in torture," mackay, sunday herald online, scotland).

 

october 19, 2005, guantanamo: lawyers for detainees say that some hunger strikers, are being force fed in ways to make them hurt; u.s. military medical ethics are in question ("guantanamo medics accused of abusive force-feeding," savage, oct. 15, 2005, boston globe online) parallels between military medical ethics at guantanamo and the nazi doctors, have been noted by dr. robert lifton ("psychological warfare? a debate on the role of mental health professionals in military interrogations at guantanamo, abu ghraib and beyond," wilks, behnke, lifton, moderator goodman, august 11, 2005, democracy now); u.s. medical ethics are always a study since the u.s. medical community essentially provides medical care for the rich and lets the poor die; in guantanamo the fact that a number of detainees have been treated in a manner that provokes their attempted suicide by starvation, clarifies a policy of psychological torture and is a violation of the geneva conventions and a war crime; from urgent oct. 19: the condition of hunger strikers/detainees at guantanamo bay camp continues to put the u.s. military at risk in any eventual war crimes trials.

 

october 29, 2005, guantanamo: in response to a hunger strike which may have put as many as 200 detainees at risk protesting what are apparently suicide provoking conditions of detention, the u.s. has been force feeding detainees in a manner described as "torture;" a u.s.district court judge has ruled that the u.s. government must notify lawyers for hunger strikers, of any attempt to force feed detainees at guantanamo, and has required lawyers have access to their clients' medical records.("judge orders notice of force-feeding," oct.27, 2005, herald sun, news.com.au; "new allegations of abuse," tayler, oct.27, 2005, newsday).

 

november 9, 2005: among five others, omar khadr, a canadian taken prisoner in afghanistan as a minor child, subjected to what international courts may call torture, and held in guantanamo without benefit of geneva convention protections, is charged with murder by the u.s. for killing an american soldier; portions of the trial will remain secret; khadr is threatened with the death penalty ("us charges five guantanamo detainees with war crimes," aldinger, reuters, nov. 7, 2005, yahoo! news; "ottawa accused of not helping canadian held at guantanamo charged with murder," nov. 8, 2005, cbc news); the u.s. position is curious - by denying an enemy combattant prisoner of war status in order to kill the prisoner, the bush administration risks losing geneva convention protections for u.s. military personnel; [one of] omar khadr's brother[s] was released from guantanamo only after agreeing to work for the cia, but subsequently escaped from assignment to return to canada (see prisoners page c/o rocco galati); forced employment is slavery.

 

november 10, 2005: according to cnn, maj. jane boomer has stated for the pentagon that the military trials of five detainees announced nov.7, will not ask for the death penalty: omar ahmed khadr, ghassan abdullah al-sharbi, jabran said bin al-qahtani, sufyian barhoumi, binyam ahmed muhammed ( "u.s. : no death penalty in 5 gitmo cases," reuters, cnn.com); the ottawa citizen quotes maj. michael shavers as spokesman for the pentagon assuring that omar khadr's would not be treated as a capital case ("u.s. rules out execution of canadian omar khadr," nov. 10, 2005, ottawa citizen).

 

november 10th - 16th, 2005: the u.s. senate has added an amendment to the defense bill which suspends the guantanamo detainees' rights of habeas corpus, previously affirmed by the u.s. supreme court; in response to objections, u.s. senators reached a "compromise," which in principle allows human beings a legal right to themselves in instances the u.s.senate deems fitting; see bulletin board, november 11th and 16th, 2005.

 

december 9, 2005: 25 men and women of faith from the catholic worker and other veterans of the u.s. nonviolent peace movement are walking from santiago cuba to guantanamo detention camp, hoping to provide comforts due the prisoners by human compassion and the law; the catholic worker's matt daloisio quotes matthew 25:36 , "i was in prison, and you visited me;" they hope to be at the camp where the u.s. military tortures muslims accused of terrorism, on international human rights day, december 10th; the group states the u.s. has detained over 84 thousand people in four years of this 'war on terrorism' ("25 travel to guantanamo," dec. 7, 2005, e-mail disarmnow@jonahhouse.org; "press release," dec. 6, 2005, witness against torture; contact mike mcguire 347-683-4928, press@witnesstorture.org; http://www.witnesstorture.org); update: by dec. 17, 2005, the witness against torture 25 safely returned to the states ("guantanamo 25 return home," [access: dec. 31, 2005, http://www.witnesstorture.org/taxonomy/term/7])

 

december 30, 2005: on christmas day there were 38 prisoners on hunger strike; on december 29 there were 84; the base reports 32 of these are being fed through their nose or intravenously ("more guantanamo prisoners on hunger strike," associated press, dec. 29, 2005, newsday.com); men who are destroying their own health and trying to die, requiring force feeding to keep them alive, and are doing this in such large numbers, are giving evidence of a psychological / physical regimen driving them to suicide.

 

from urgent dec. 31, 2005: as of december 29th, 84 detainees are on hunger strike and 32 are being force fed (ibid. source below).

 

january 12, 2006: illegally arrested and held in maximum security detention at guantanamo from october 2002 to the present, omar khadr [archive] requests a canadian lawyer as well as a military lawyer with more experience than a novice; current photographs of the man held are not being allowed (“khadr demands canadian lawyer,” alberts, jan 12, 2006, ottawa citizen); a military tribunal with the authority of u.s. president bush’s illegal use of force, is trying khadr for alleged acts of violence against the u.s. invasion of afghanistan.

 

january 26, 2006: on jan. 23rd, a federal judge ordered the defense department to make public the names of all guantanamo prisoners ("u.s. must reveal guantanamo bay prisoners' ids: judge," jan. 23, 2006 23; cbc news); it is also against geneva conventions not to.

 

february 13, 2006: a u.n.report has requested guantanamo be shut down and the politicians and officers responsible be tried for torture (see bulletin board archive of this day, and lawyers against the war [archive]).

       the forced feeding of prisoners trying to die by starvation, has involved strapping the victim in a chair for hours and painful intubation; there are now only four detainees refusing food, of 84 toward the end of last year ("guantanamo steps up force feeding," upi, feb. 9, 2006, world peace herald).

       declassified pentagon reports show over half of those detained at guantanamo are not accused of "hostile acts against the u.s." (report says most detainees not accused of hostile acts," ap, feb. 8, 2006, l.a.times).

       7 of the 24 christians from the states who marched in cuba to the gates of the camp have received notice of impending trouble with the office of federal assets control of the treasury department; they could face charges resulting in fines up to $250 thousand and ten years in prison apiece ("witness against torture," feb. 7,2006, access: http://www.witnesstorture.org/node).

 

from urgent feb. 25, 2006: night's lantern's guantanamo updates posting of feb. 13th notesforced feeding of prisoners by methods regarded as torture leaves four detainees of 84 refusing food ("guantanamo steps up force feeding," upi, feb. 9, 2006, world peace herald); a report by human rights first (noted at is-it-fascism, feb. 24, 2006), finds the u.s. command responsible for extreme crimes against prisoners in iraq and afghanistan; with increased nazification of u.s.war policies and administration, the wellbeing of north american political prisoners should become the concern of all governments upholding international human rights treaties.

 

march 4, 2006: the vatican's cardinal renato martino, has found procedures at guantanamo lacking in respect for human dignity and has pledged to defend victims held voiceless and without any rights; meanwhile, according to a u.s. defense department statement, "in feeding detainees against their will, the guantanamo camp was adhering to guidelines developed by federal prisons in the united states" (u.s. defends treatment of guanatnamo detainees," march 4, 2006, the news international pakistan).

        from the bulletin board march 3, 2006:

        washington, d.c.: to a noticeable lack of media coverage, on march first, catholic workers and allies in witness against torture (some of the same people who protested torture at the gates of guantanamo cuba) marched from the supreme court to the white house where art laffin, matt and amanda daloisio, tania theriault, susan crane, matt vogel, mark colville, brian kavanaugh, carmen trotta, jacqueline allen-doucot, alice gerard, bill frankel-streit, tom feagley, edith tetaz, jordan manuel, were arrested (no subject email, jonah house, march 2, 2006, disarmnow@jonahhouse; "15 arrested at white house protesting u.s. torture practices," mike ferner, march 2, 2006, electronic iraq); ferner's article includes this quote from one of the detainee's lawyers just back from guantanamo, christine husby: "soldiers would strap a prisoner to one of several specially-purchased metal chairs with six-point restraints, insert an oversized tube through his nose and purposely overfeed him, causing him to vomit, defecate and urinate all over himself, and then leave him strapped in the chair for hours like that;" (ibid.); that is a war crime.

in federal court and by filings, on march 2nd u.s. justice department lawyers have refused any protection to a tortured detainee, either under mccain 's anti-torture legislation or the detainee treatment act of 2005 ("u.s. cites exception in torture ban: mccain law may not apply to cuba prison," josh white & carol d. leonnig, march 3, 2006, washington post); affirming the use of torture against anyone is a crime against humanity; if torture continues the military enforcers, the justice department and judge will be responsible / complicitous.

       mohammed al-qahtani , a detainee and alleged terrorist has repudiated statements extracted from him by torture ("brutal torture negates 9/11 confession,"march 4, 2006, herald sun).

        a u.s. military "judge" in the trials of detainees will admit evidenceobtained by torture ("war on terror trials could allow evidence obtained by torture," march 2, 2006, yahoo news); this legal thinking encourages the military'suse of torture; torture is a war crime, and the encouragement to use torture is a war crime.

european "resistance" to war crimes, washington d.c.:
"guantanamo is an embarrassment..." french envoy;
"it is clearly an anomaly..." british ambassador;
"the sooner it is closed the better it will be for the image of the united states..." german ambassador;
(from: "european diplomats call for guantanamo closure," dw staff /afp (jen), feb. 20, 2006 deutsche welle).

 

march 15, 2006: a listing of individual guantanamo prisoners is kept updated at cageprisoners.com, url address: http://www.cageprisoners.com/page.php?id=10 ; see below.

 

april 6, 2006: the canadian, omar khadr [archive], refused to appear in court because he was placed in solitary before trial during time necessary to meet with defence counsel ("canada protests solitary confinement," april 6, 2006, herald sun australia).

 

may 11, 2006: calling the prison camp at guantanamo "unacceptable," the u.k.'s attorney general lord goldsmith has asked for it to be closed immediately; the u.s. has refused, saying the people there are "dangerous" ("guantanamo is symbol of injustice, says goldsmith," richard norton taylor, may 11, 2006.guardian unlimited; "attorney general calls for guantanamo to close," gerry peev, may 11, 2006, the scotsman; "u.s. dismisses call to close guantanamo camp," may 11, 2006, evening news [access: news.scotsman.com]); the u.s. has appeared before the u.n.'s committee against torture which has heard the state department's top legal advisor, john b. bellinger III, say: "at the outset I want to reiterate the united states government’s absolute commitment to upholding our national and international obligations to eradicate torture and to prevent cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment worldwide" ("u.s. meeting with u.n. committee against torture," press release, may 5, 2006, u.s. mission to the united nations in geneva; "united states presents report to u.n. anti-torture committee," vince crawley, may 5, 2006, usinfo); for an alternative view, read lance tapley's article on maine's supermax ("torture in maine's prison," nov. 11, 2005, the boston phoenix), or amy goodman's interview concerning 20 years of police torture in "area 2" of chicago jails ("chicago's abu ghraib: un committee against torture hears report on how police tortured over 135 african-american men inside chicago jails," goodman, bates, taylor, conroy, may 9, 2006, democracy now!).

 

from urgent may 12, 2006, unknown locations: cageprisoners notes five canadians from ottawa, canadian citizens and canadian residents, taken in syria as "ghost detainees," a term used for prisoners held in secret locations without protection of the geneva conventions; their names are listed as "fnu lnu 10" through "15" ([may 13, 2006, access: http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=1470]); a canadian citizen, jabarah mohamed mansour, residing in oman, was reported moved to the states ([may 13, 2006, access: http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=1786]) as a "ghost detainee;" his name and facts of his case have appeared on the night's lantern political prisoners page, "detained, abducted, or disappeared"; his location remains unsure [see also abdullah khadr] [see also maher arar].

 

may 19, 2006: at guantanamo detainees attacked guards who tried to stop a suicide; it was the fourth suicide attempt this day; the united nations committee against torture report has called on the u.s. to 1. close guantanamo bay prison and either free the prisoners or try them; 2. reveal ghost detainee locations, conditions, and stop the practice; 3. stop torturing ("shut down guantanamo prison: u.n. to u..s., may 19, 2006, cbc news; "gitmo inmates attack guards stopping a suicide," ap, may 19, 2006, cnn.com).

 

may 30, 2006: the u.s. military reports 75 detainees on hunger strike ("guantanamo hunger strikers now number 75," ap, may 29, 2006, abc news).

 

june 15, 2006: [on june first] according to the military there were 89 detainees on hunger strike ("more guantanamo bay detainees join hunger strike: u.s. military," june 1, 2006, cbc news); the rapid expansion of the hunger strike was followed by the reported deaths of three detainees (two saudis, one yemeni), listed as "suicides" by the military; amnesty international has called for independent investigation ("usa: independent investigation must be held into deaths of three guanatanamo detainees," june 12, 2006, news amnesty); the amnesty report notes a u.s. administration spokesperson's statement finding the suicides a "pr move," and the commander of joint task force guantanamo's labeling of the suicides as an act of of warfare; military commission proceedings have been temporarily stayed (see also: "u.s. steps back from gitmo suicide comments," ap, june 12, 2006, san francisco chronicle).

 

june 29, 2006, united states: affirming the geneva conventions, the supreme court has ruled the guantanamo prison camp military trials illegal under both military and civilian law; this overturns a lower court decision by new bush appointee to the supreme court, judge roberts ("supreme court blocks war crimes trials for guantanamo detainees," ap, june 29, 2006, 13 abc.com , toledo; "u.s. supreme court quashes 'illegal' guantanamo trials," june 29, 2006, cbc news); applicability of geneva conventions to guantanamo places the bush administration and the chain of command for the prison camp at risk of eventual criminal prosecutions.

        new york city: on monday 60 activists against torture marched to the u.s. mission to the united nations and called for the closing of guantanamo; 25 were arrested following a decision to stay at the mission until the prison camp is closed; three of the arrested took the names of men who recently died at the prison camp, their deaths reported as suicides by the pentagon; the press conference was called by witness against torture and sponsored by riverside church, rabbis for human rights and the center for constitutional rights; june 26th is united nations international day in support of victims of torture; among elders arrested was poet, fr. dan berrigan ("twenty-five arrested at the u.s. mission to the united nations saying no to torture, shut down guantanamo," press release, june 26, 2006 [access: www.witnesstorture.org/node]; "25 arrested at anti-gitmo protest," june 27, 2006, democracy now!).

 

august 1, 2006, a thirty million dollar prison at guantanamo, "camp 6", built by a subdivision of haliburton, opens in september suggesting that the guantanamo prison camp complex will continue ("new maxiumum-security jail to open at guantanamo bay," andrew buncombe, july 30, 2006, the independent); globally people understand that guantanamo's placement, purpose, secrecy, and entire operation were to evade the geneva conventions, human rights law, and american constitutional law.

 

september 27, 2006, u.s.: clive stafford smith (new), attorney for several detainees at guantanamo, has reported to associated press that naval criminal investigative services is trying to blame him for the sucides of several detainees, considered an act of war by rear admiral harry harris, camp commander ("lawyer for detainees speaks on suicides," andrew selsky, sept. 25, 2006, ap; thestate.com).

 

september 30, 2006, u.s.: on the 28th the senate followed the house of representatives in passing a bill to create military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, to let the president determine law, to deny habeas corpus to non u.s. citizens anywhere, and to let the bush administration hide what will eventually be considered crimes ("senate passes terror detainee bill," sept. 28, 2006, cbs news; "senate passes terror detainee bill," tom brune, sept. 29, 2006, newsday; “'a total rollback of everything this country has stood for': sen. patrick leahy blasts congressional approval of detainee bill," interview, sen. patrick leahy, michael ratner, amy goodman, sept. 29, 2006, democracy now).

 

october 13, 2006: the international red cross was able to meet 14 new detainees; 16 innocent and falsely accused people were returned to afghanistan after being held 4 years without their human rights;a military source estimates the camp to currently hold 440 detainees ("red cross meets with detainees," ap, oct. 12, 2006, the new york times).

        u.s.: lt.cmdr. charles swift, who successfully represented ayemeni detainee (hamdan) before the supreme court by nullifying the legality the military tribunal, was denied promotion and forced from the service ("guantánamo defense lawyer forced out of navy," by carol rosenberg, oct. 8, 2006, mcclatchy newspapers - the seattle times).

 

october 20, 2006,u.s.: on oct. 17th the right of habeas corpus was officially suspended for all non citizens in the united states when they are accused of being "unlawful enemy combattants" (this could include those materially supporting opponents of the u.s. and its coalitions); the bill extends its dominion globally and immediately affects suits of guantanamo detainees requesting habeas corpus ("law's reach extends to jails in the u.s.," david. g. savage, oct. 18, 2006, los angeles times; "military commissions act of 2006," wikipedia [oct. 20, 2006, access: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/military_commissions_act_of_2006]).

 

november 10, 2006, u.s.: the government is attempting to classify information of its crimes against detainees in secret and black operations torture camps; in a move enforceable under the new military commissions act, suspects are not to be allowed to report the crimes against them by torturers; associated press notes that guantanamo detainees may be denied access to their lawyers ("u.s. seeks silence on cia prisons," carol d. leonnig and eric rich, nov.4, 2006, washington post ; "ap: detainees may lose access to lawyers," andrew o. selsky, ap, nov. 9, 2006, san francisco chronicle).

 

november 22, 2006, u.s.: a review of guantanamo transcripts by a group of lawyers including a professor from seton hall law school, finds hearings without witnesses against a detainee, no detainee right to see the evidence, denials to requests for witness by detainees, detainees unable to present evidence ("report: gitmo detainees denied witnesses: lawyer calls legal proceedings 'shams'," ap, nov. 17, 2006, msnbc news; "report: gitmo detainees denied witnesses," ben fox, nov. 16, 2006, my way) demonstrating an unacceptable limitation of the rights of human beings who must be considered innocent until they are proven guilty.

 

december 11, 2006: an associated press report states on december 7th a group of about 40 prisoners was transferred to the new 178 cell 37 million dollar maximum security facility at guantanamo; the new facility is intended to lessen the prisoners' ability to communicate with eachother ("guantanamo detainees going to new prison," michael melia, dec. 7, 2006, ap ~ forbes.com); the article gives the number of detainees as about 430 and a hundred of these awaiting release/transfer (ibid).

 

december 16, 2006: though charges against guantanamo detainee salim ahmed hamden, were dropped when the u.s.supreme court found the military tribunals against the law, on dec. 13th his plea for release was thrown out by a federal judge relying onthe military comissions act passed and signed this fall; neither the new york times nor reuters notes that the law was passed specifically to punish detainees after alleged comission of supposed crimes and is spurious ("guantanamo prisoner loses legal case," reuters dec. 14, 2006, herald sun ~ news.com.au; "judge sets back guantanamo detainees," neil a. lewis, dec. 14, 2006, new york times).

 

january 3, 2007: u.s. federal bureau of investigation agents stationed at guantanamo provide record from 2004 of torture by u.s. military forces and practices in the detention camp (these include abusing the prisoners, abusing the koran, and intended degradation of wrapping detainees in an israeli flag, etc.) which objective international courts might decide are violations of the geneva conventions; the report becomes public as charges are brought against former secretary rumsfeld and others in germany, under german law's ability to claim universal jurisdiction, by a number of groups concerned with international law ; the u.s. military states it is not concerned with the report, although it is a crime under u.s. military law to break geneva conventions ("tortured detainees want rumsfeld tried for war crimes," nov. 11, 2006, alaskareport.com; "fbi report details war crimes at guantanamo," jan. 3, 2007, alaskareport.com; "pentagon plans no action in response to fbi detainee abuse report," jan 3, 2007, foxnews.com; "fbi details possible guantanamo bay abuse," associated press, jan. 3, 2007, msnbc.com).

 

january 9, 2007: guantanamo bay prison camp opened about five years ago, and is known before the world for its disregard of geneva conventions; gerald and maas endorses the international calls for closing guantanamo bay camp and returning to all people the right of habeas corpus.

        lawyers for david hicks an australian detainee who has pled not guilty to various charges through five years of incarceration in a prison camp noted internationally for its lack of fundamental human decencies (ie. geneva accords), are very worried about his deteriorating mental health ("david hicks enters his sixth year of detention at guantanamo bay,"richard phillips, jan 8, 2009, world socialist web site); the intention of torture and long periods of solitary without hope of alleviation seems to be soul murder if not forcing the detainee to suicide; while the bush administration forfeits validity before international law, the australian government does nothing; the detainee's mental state presents additional evidence of a u.s. program of intentional psychological torture, a war crime.

 

january 10, 2007: of eleven detainees on hunger strike five are force fed; the fact that no demands are made ("more gitmo detainees join hunger strike," michael melia ap, jan. 8, 2007, san francisco chronicle ~ sfgate news) suggests that the hunger strike is a means of attempted suicide; if psychological conditions continue to force these prisoners to attempt suicide, the command of the detention center should understand its liability for war crimes.

 

january 13, 2007: attorney brent mickum has warned that enforced isolation, temperature extremes, sleep deprivation are driving his client bisher al-rawi into madness ("guantanamo inmates ‘driven insane’,"guy dinmore, jan. 10, 2007, financial times);the treatment is a war crime and violation of the geneva conventions.

 

january 14, 2007: there were small brave protests in the u.s. attempting to affirm the right of habeas corpus and asking for the close of guantanamo bay prison camp: 1 arrest in columbia missouri, a vigil of 50 in boise, vigils in more than a hundred cities internationally, a 500 person vigil in d.c. with 89 arrests for disorderly conduct released that evening (sources: "report on january 11th 2007 - international day to shut down guantanamo," matthew w. daloisio, jan. 14, 2007, email distribution and witness for torture [access: http://www.witnesstorture.org/]).

 

january 19, 2007, u.s.: a u.s. under secretary of defense has attacked lawyers defending guantanamo bay detainees, but under pressure from the american bar association and a number of law school deans has apologized; initial mention of this appears under genocide warnings and updates (january 14th and 19th): these attempts to deprive a specific group of any legal rights coincides with the ongoing destruction of the groups' national and religious bases. -ed..

       a 238 page document outlining procedure and rules for military trials at guantanamo has been released by the pentagon; hearsay and statements obtained by torture are to be allowed as evidence in some instances, which could result in convictions and deaths ("u.s. to allow hearsay, coerced statements in guantanamo trials," ap, jan.18, 2007, cbc news).

       h. candace gorman, lawyer for abdul al-ghizzawi, once a libyan shopkeeping in afghanistan and now a detainee and possibly victim of high u.s. bounties, states that the prisoner is diagnosed with "tuberculosis and hepatitis b" and is being refused treatment; his medical records are not being released ("diary of a guantanamo attorney, " h. candace gorman, jan. 16, 2007, in these times); treatment and medical isolation is required for the safety of detainees and u.s. personnel.

 

january 20, 2007: night's lantern is re-posting "omar khadr, illegal detention and torture by u.s. forces in guantanamo bay," by gail davidson [archive] (to be updated); see also below; in summary: omar khadr grew up in ottawa [davidson]and was taken prisoner in afghanistan, wounded, by u.s. forces when he was fifteen; he has been held at guantanamo bay camp since 2002; court papers filed in june 2005 include 2 assessments by psychiatrists suggesting the detainee is at high risk of suicide; "in february, his u.s. lawyer told reporters the teenager had been used as a human mop to clean urine on the floor and had been beaten, threatened with rape and tied up for hours in painful positions at guantanamo bay" ("u.s. doctors linked to pow torture," tanya talaga and karen palmer, june 23, 2005, toronto star).

 

january 28, 2007, u.s.: lt. commander matthew diaz is - according to wikipedia [access, jan. 10, 2007: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Diaz], a navy judge advocate corps lawyer charged in august 2006, with providing an unauthorized person classified data on detainees; he worked for "the office for the administrative review of the detention of enemy combattants" at guantanamo bay ("navy lawyer once posted at cuba base is charged," kate wiltrout, aug. 29, 2006, virginian-pilot; "disclosure of classified Information—lt. cmdr. matthew diaz," aug. 30, 2006, nation security crimes blog mcnabb associates; "headlines," amy goodman, jan. 9, 2007, democracy now!); this case seems to be on hold and may be problematic: geneva conventions require certain kinds of disclosure; u.s. military law requires compliance with the geneva conventions. -ed. [transferred from bulletins jan. 24, 2007 & updates jan 28, 2007].

 

february 3, 2007: usaf col. morris davis, the current chief prosecutor at the camp plans to bring additional charges against omar khadr (canada), david hicks (australia), salim ahmed hamden (yemen); the three men, at the disposal of army psywar torture operations for over five years are described by this particular colonel davis as "ready to go" ("canadian detainee faces new u.s. terror charges," michael melia ap, feb.2, 2007, toronto star); the trials found illegal and stopped by the u.s. supreme court, are permitted by u.s. president bush's military commissions act and approved by his congress; according to the nytimes a marine sergeant paralegal, heather cerveny, who turned in guards for boasting of beating the detainees, has been accused of false statement ("new charges for 3 guantanamo detainees," associated press, feb. 2, 2007, new york times).

        the newly constructed wing at guantanamo, "camp six" is now in operation as an "interrogation center"; zachary katznelson states that the centre's extremes are forcing his clients into depression and madness; "they want to do whatever is possible to break them mentally in the hope that somehow they will reveal some kernel of information they have been withholding for five years" ("guantanamo inmates facing worse conditions - lawyer," suleiman al-khalidi, jan. 26, 2007, alertnet.org reuters); see also january 13, 2007, etc..

 

february 20, 2007: a federal appeals court has ruled in favour of the military commissions act depriving guantanamo detainees of their right to challenge their detentions in civilian court; the ruling dismissed 63 cases, many pre-dating the military commissions act, and it will be appealed to the supreme court("court rules against guantanamo detainees," associated press feb. 20. 2006, msnbc; "no federal court for guantanamo detainees," warren richey and linda feldman, feb. 20, 2007, christian science monitor); the ruling favours unjust state power and fascism.

 

march 5, 2007: the u.n. high commissioner for human rights, louise arbour, has faulted a u.s. federal court of appeals decision supporting the military commissions act, and denying hundreds of detainees habeas corpus requests or consideration at federal court ("u.n. rights chief criticizes u.s. ruling on mca habeas-stripping provisions," jeannie shawl, march 1, 2007, jurist , univ. pittsburgh).

        lack of cooperation from u.s. authorities has made determining the cause of death difficult, in the case of three men found dead at guantanamo june 10, 2006; the u.s. found the cases suicide and "a good pr move"; a second opinion was requested; second opinions by a swiss and two saudi doctors have resulted in amnesty international's urgent call for an investigation ; the names of the dead are maniy bin shaman al-otaibi, yasser talal al-zahrani, ahmed ali abdullah("guantanamo inmate death was likely suicide: swiss forensic expert," afp, march 2, 2007, yahoo! news).

        an al-jazeera journalist cameraman, sami al-hajj, arrested by u.s. forces december 2001, was not acknowledged as one of the detainees at guantanamo until april 2006 (result of an associated press foia request); al-hajj is from sudan; the ap article quotes paul rester, as the director of the prison's intelligence group - "I consider the information that we obtained from him to be useful"; ifex reports that the journalist's lawyer reports he has been tortured and needs medical treatment for throat cancer ("al-jazeera cameraman still at guantanamo," ben fox & alfred de montesquiou ap, yahoo! news; "rsp documents plight of journalists detained at u.s. bases," june 20, 2006, ifex communique issue 24 ).

        david hicks the australian detainee reports threat, torture and abuse in his treatment during five years of an imprisonment ("australia's hicks alleges u.s. abuse at guantanamo," march 1, 2007, reuters) without benefit of the geneva conventions; he is one of the first coming to trial for being on the other side of a military action initiated by the united states.

 

march 8, 2007: col. morris d. davis, chief prosecutor of the u.s. at guantanamo has threatened to prosecute david hicks' military attorney maj. michael mori, for publicly speaking about his client in australia; a charge might be brought under article 88 of the uniform code of military justice which considers the verbalization of contempt for officials, a crime ("terror case prosecutor assails defense lawyer," raymond bonner, march 4, 2007, new york times).

 

march 21, 2007: detainee waleed mohammed bin-attash has confessed to planning bombings of the u.s.s. cole, the u.s. embassy in kenya, the u.s. embassy in tanzania; guantanamo methods including "mysterious injections" as described by australian detainee david hicks ("detainee says he was abused while in u.s. custody," raymond bonner, march 19, 2007, new york times) may assure the bush administration many of the confessions it needs ("pentagon: guantanamo detainee has confessed to bombing uss cole," ap, march 19, 2007, canadian press ~ canada.com); detainee khalid sheikh mohammed has confessed to masterminding the 9/11 attacks and more than thirty others ("guantanamo detainee says 9/11 his plan 'from a to z'," adam liptak, march 15, 2007, houston chronicle ~ chron.com).

        a george washington university law professor john turley suggests that administration secrecy concerning guantanamo detainees is pathologicial and may indicate the president ordered the torture ("legal expert: president bush may have ordered torture of terror suspects," david edwards & andrew bielak, march 10, 2007, the raw story).

        the independent of london reports that proceedings against the first 14 guantanamo suspects begin march 9th with secret trials called combattant status review tribunals; this is a step in assigning these detainees the status of "enemy combattant" to allow trials under bush military machinery; the accused are not permitted to have lawyers present, either; some say the secrecy is required to contain classified information; others say detainees might speak out about being tortured; the media ban is making several u.s. champions of freedom of expression... forgetful ("press barred from guantanamo hearings," naomi spencer, march 9, 2007, world socialist web site; "trial of guantanamo suspects begin without a lawyer or reporter in sight," andrew buncombe, march 8, 2007, the independent; "legal experts rap media ban at gitmo," pete yost ap, march 7, 2007, washington post).

        omar khadr may have to face trial without a canadian lawyer; while cooperating with the u.s. fully in security and corporate programs, the canadian government has not assured khadr's human rights at the u.s. prison camp; most notably it allowed the incarceration and torture of a minor child, without his rights under geneva conventions; khadr has objected to his u.s. military appointed lawyer ("u.s. lawyer for khadr says he shares teenagers frustrations," beth gorham, march 8, 2007, the canadian press).

 

march 26, 2007: while the canadian government has said as little as possible, according to canadian media, amnesty international believes the u.s. to be breaking international law if it carries out its plan to bring omar khadr before a military commission; subjected to conditions of life the world considers torture since his capture at 15 by u.s. troops, among other violations of law he was denied prompt access to a lawyer, contravening article 37 of the un convention on the rights of a child; amnesty considers the u.s. to be holding 17 who were taken to guantanamo as minors ("trial of canadian at guantanamo breaks international law, amnesty asserts," sheldom alberts canwest, march 22, 2007, canada.com; also at national post); i've posted here two of the relevant conditions of article 37, united nations convention on the rights of the child, (ohchr) - ed.:

(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;

(d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.

        celikgogus v rumsfeld was filed at u.s. district court, in d.c., brought by new york center for constitutional rightsagainst the chain of command and active participants at guantanamo, for five former detainees who were never charged;yuksel celikgogus (turkey), ibrahim sen (turkey) are the original plaintiffs; on march 21, 2007 three were added: nuri mert (turkey), zakirjan hasam (uzbequistan), abu muhammad (algeria); hasam and muhammad were held 2 years after military review decided they weren't "enemy combattants"; most of these men detained though innocent, have families and children - muhammad is medical doctor ( celikgogus v rumsfeld, center for constitutional rights [access march 26, 2007: http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/legal/september_11th/sept11Article.asp?ObjID=bObH2iThbh&Content=974]).

 

march 28, 2007: david hicks appeared march 26th before a military tribunal at guantanamo; democracy now! coveragestates that hicks first "deferred" from entering a plea; his two civilian lawyers were not allowed to enter court; then by plea bargain after 5 years imprisonment he pled guilty to "providing material support to terrorism" (a mild charge compared to what he was threatened with) and will probably serve in australia; the new york times quotes hicks's father saying “it’s a way to get home;" the australian detainee has stated that in u.s. military custody he was sexually abused, beaten, given injections ("david hicks becomes first guantanamo prisoner to plead guilty," amy goodman w. michael ratner, march 27, 2007, democracy now!; "result of military trial is familiar to civilians," william glaberson, march 28, 2007, new york times); according to bloomberg.com the military is asking for an under 20 year sentence, and despite its reluctance to assure hicks his human rights under torture, the australian government claims to have funded his legal defense to the amount of us$ 242,000 ("u.s. to seek hicks jail term of less than 20 years (update 1)," gemma daley, march 28, 2007, bloomberg.com).

historical note: concerning u.s. military use of torture
        on march 1, 2005, arkan mohammed ali et al v. donald h. rumsfeld, a "complaint for declaratory relief and damages" was filed in first federal court, northern district illinois; three other cases were filed against u.s. officers colonel thomas pappas, brigadier general janis karpinski, lt. general ricardo sanchez, in various states; these were consolidated to be heard in washington d.c. ("lawsuit against rumsfeld to be heard in federal court in the district of columbia," press release, june 22, 2005, aclu); the san francisco chronicle reports that with the ruling of d.c. judge thomas a. hogan, all the cases are dismissed; all were for afghan and iraqi detainees of the u.s., tortured, then eventually released; in his ruling march 27th, 2007, judge hogan notes that the freed detainees who were abroad and not citizens, "couldn't," in the wording of the aclu press statement, "invoke rights under the constitution or international law against former secretary rumsfeld and other military officers;" the san francisco chronicle stresses the immunity of public officials; this immunity doesn't surely exist at international law; the d.c. court ruling evades the geneva conventions, amendments 5, 6, and 8 of the u.s. bill of rights, the declaration of human rights, the international covenant on civil and political rights, the convention against torture (see office of the united nations high commissioner for human rights at "genocide warnings and updates"), various anti-torture u.s. domestic acts notable for their absence from public consciousness, the lieber code, many regional conventions, all as clearly put forward in an amicus brief of legal experts, j. herman burgers and theo van boven, filed in u.s. district court, d.c., may 30, 2006, which concludes that the acts the former detainees suffered are clearly torture; judge hogan made no attempt to deny "appalling" acts which are documented accepted evidence of crimes ("aclu and human rights first sue defense secretary rumsfeld over u.s. torture policies," march 1, 2005, aclu.org; "aclu and human rights first express disappointment at dismissal of rumsfeld torture case, march 27, 2007, aclu.org; "judge dismisses lawsuit against rumsfeld," matt apuzzo, march 27, 2007, san francisco chronicle); crimes without statute of limitations allow eventual prosecution and reparations; the evidence is established in a u.s. court.

 

april 5, 2007: a new report by amnesty international, "cruel and inhuman: conditions of isolation for detainees at guantanamo bay" (amr 51/051/2007 , april 5, 2007), finds about 385 at guantanamo currently detained without trial; though amnesty is polite, the report suggests that the psychological conditioning of detainees at guantanamo is attempting to drive detainees mad, to win compliance against reason; there were "over 350 acts of self-harm in 2003 alone, individual and mass suicide attempts and widespread, prolonged hunger strikes"(ibid., report of u.n. experts); "excessive isolation " as noted by the international committee of the red cross becomes a current signature of military prison controls, with extension to its over-use for political prisoners on the u..s. mainland, and rustification of volatile american intellectuals in the rural areas; 80% of the detainees are thought held in isolation throughout camp 5, camp 6, camp echo; the amnesty report makes clear that u.s. treatment of the detainees, whether "enemy combattants" as it calls them, or not, is in direct and criminal violation of international laws, signed covenants, principles, and standards (ibid.) [ british seamen recently released after capture by iran in iranian waters, were apparently well treated] ; amnesty's recommendationscan be summarized as suggesting a return to norms of international law, geneva accords, legal behaviour, and reparations to those detained and released. (ibid.)

        brig. thomas hemingway managed to impose a one year gag order on david hicks as part of the plea bargain which frees him from guantanamo to serve the final 9 months of his sentence in australia; hicks isn't allowed to speak of his treatment; hemingway at first attempted to impose the ban on hicks's family as well; it is a measure which in no way defends the constitution of the united states; of the court proceedings the los angeles times finds them "devised to provide an illusion of legal process;" ben wizner says, hicks "once deemed among the worst of the worst — will be home and free, an unwitting symbol of our shameful abandonment of the rule of law" ("the real crime in the david hicks case," ben wizner, april 5, 2007, los angeles times`~ latimes.com; "hicks gag my idea," says u.s. general," mark coultan and penelope debelle, april 5, 2007, theage.com au ~ asia media , ucla asia institute).

 

april 13, 2007: the new york times reports that 12 or 13 guantanamo detainees from the new super-max camps are engaged in hunger strikes against the conditions; this despite army methods of force feeding which broke the previous hunger strike; under cruel and unusual treatment and exacting surveillance the strikers are struggling to starve themselves as the army continues to call their efforts "propaganda"("hunger strike breaks out at guantanamo," tim golden, april 8, 2007, the new york times).

 

april 27, 2007: omar khadr is about to undergo trial for murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, etc.; he is 20; he is canadian; he faces life imprisonment; he is alleged to have killed a u.s. medic during the u.s. invasion of afghanistan but it is a peculiar charge; khadr was 14 or 15, a minor in a country attacked by foreign forces; he is known to have been present in the battle zone because he was severely wounded before being taken prisoner of war; a concern: though the wounded child's capture may have saved his life the evidence of military actions against a child may have been problematic for the u.s. military; khadr has not received geneva convention protections as a minor, or as a prisoner of war, or as a human being; nor was he allowed communications within a context of brain washing and forced cooperation; it is also against geneva conventions to kill medical personnel; this is undercut if the medic is acting as a combattant; khadr's lawyer in what are under international law essentially illegal trials, is u.s. marine lt. colonel colby vokey who says: "now is the time for canada and the u.s. to negotiate a political resolution because the (military) commissions system is incapable of justice" (toronto star); international consensus seems to be that bush's military tribunals at guantanamo are a kangeroo court; while australia was able to negotiate leniency for citizen hicks, the canadian government has not effectively protested the holding of a minor child under conditions of physical and psychological torture, and in general the neo-conservative government is showing poor resistance to fascism ("guantanamo war court charges canadian with murder," jane sutton, april 24, 2007, reuters: "canadian detainee to stand trial for murder," michelle shephard, april 26, 2007, the toronto star; "u.s. to make history trying alleged child war criminal," mark tran, april 25, 2007, guardian unlimited); see also, previous notes; see also gail davidson's "omar khadr, illegal detention and torture by u.s.forces in guantanamo bay" [archive].

 

may 11, 2007: on may 8th, hr 2212 was introduced by rep. jane harman (d-california); it calls on the president to close guantanamo and to release the detainees or subject them to trial on the u.s. mainland or by an authorized international body ("u.s. lawmakers introduce legislation to close guantanamo prison," leslie schulman, may 10, 2007, jurist; "statement of congresswoman jane harman (d-venice) ("it is time to close the guantanamo bay detention facility," press release, may 8, 2007, the virtual office of congresswoman jane harman); agence france presse lists neil abercrombie (d-hawaii) as a co-sponsor; senator dianne feinstein introduced a similar bill, s.1249, on april 30, 2007, recently co-sponsored by senators dodd of connecticut and whitehouse of rhode island ( libary of congress - thomas ; "u.s. lawmakers in guantanamo closure bid," afp, may 9, 2007, yahoo! news).

        omar khadr's military lawyer has visited toronto and requested canadian lawyers on the defense team; two lawyers in canada are having to work pro-bono on this case; their work should be funded by the canadian government which i think has the legal duty to protect its citizens, and through reparations for denial of any legal rights to its citizen, be reimbursed by the u.s.; the prosecution has after five years laid charges of murder against khadr possibly as a bargaining point to counter apparent guilt in detaining a child, for depriving a child of human rights, for torturing a child, for using the child's future as a bargaining point to cover its guilt; the prosecution's assertion that khadr acted "in violation of the laws of war" requires explanation within context of a u.s. led war crime of aggression, in an occupied country ravaged by other nations' interests, where the detainee was nearly killed as a child identified with the opposing forces; the u.s. supreme court by a vote of 4 to 3 refuses to review khadr's case as subject to military trials, allowing a military court that in any context other than overriding u.s. military power, would lack legal standing; the supreme court decision is partly the result of packing the court with right wing appointments, and partly of loss of moral compass; amnesty international asks for the release of "anyone who is not to be tried in full accordance with international standards," and says:

"the treatment of omar khadr over the past five years exemplifies
the u.s.a.'s disregard for international law in the 'war on terror.'" (sources: "khadr's military lawyer pushing for canadian help," april 20, 2007, cbc news ; "pentagon charges cdn. omar khadr with murder," news staff, april 24, 2007, ctv.ca ; "usa / guantanamo: omar khadr to face trial by military commission," press release "amr 51/078/2007", april 25, 2007, amnesty international ; "u.s. supreme court refuses to hear appeal by canadian terrorism suspect," sheldon alberts canwest news service, april 30, 2007, canada.com).

 

may 18, 2007: a navy lawyer, lt. cmdr. matthew m. diaz formerly connected with the guantanamo judge advocates' staff, was found guilty of revealing classified information - the names of detainees.; for more, see night's lantern's lawyers threatened for defending their clients; for a previous note see jan. 28th, 2007.

 

may 20, 2007: lt. cmdr. matthew m. diaz was sentenced to six months and dismissal.

 

may 26, 2007: the amnesty international report 2007 [access may 24, 2007: "http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Homepage"] notes witting violation of "common article 3" of the geneva conventions, "a continued failure to hold senior government officials accountable for torture and other illtreatment of war on terror detainees," and the suicide of 3 detainees in june 2006, including a man arrested at 17.

 

june 1, 2007: the o.h.c.h.r. (u.n.) special rapporteur was denied access to guantanamo camp; his preliminary report finds principles of these detentions and treatment of the detainees violations of international law; see genocide warnings & updates for a summary and link to official press release.

        "inspector general documents role of survival, evasion, resistance and escape (sere) techniques," stephen soldz, may 30, 2007, zmag.org ~ cageprisoners.com, shows the deep involvement of u.s. psychologists in bush's 'war on terror,' development of illegal programs useable as torture, and the psychologists' participatory role in the torture of detainees at guantanamo; although the american pychological association has condemned torture in a broad sense, and provided a task force to approve its ethics and the practices involved, it has to rely on the 2006 military commissions act grant of immunity; apa has not satisfactorily separated itself from a criminal ethic; for parallels to the medical community at guantanamo and their predecessors of the third reich see dr. robert lifton's warning, oct. 19, 2005 (guantanamo archives).

        by u.s. account, on may 30th a saudi arabian detainee successfully committed suicide at guantanamo, the fourth suicide within a year; the detainee has a name but it isn't yet released ("guantanamo captive commits suicide in cell," carol rosenberg, may 31, 2007, miami herald).

        placed by the u.s. in solitary confinement at guantanamo as a minor child, wounded, and with claims of being tortured over the course of five years without rights due him under law by canada and the united states, omar khadr has fired his u.s. military counsel and u.s. civilian attorneys; his case is scheduled for military tribunal june 4, 2007 ("canadian guantanamo detainee fires american attorneys,"international herald tribune, may 31, 2007, cageprisoners.com).

        democracy now! reports that sami al-hajj, a member of the press (al-jazeera), detained without charge for over 5 years at guantanamo has asked for the release of a bbc reporter kidnapped in iraq, asking that muslims not do what the u.s. does ("gitmo-imprisoned cameraman calls for the release of kidnapped bbc journalist," amy goodman, may 30, 2007, democracy now!).

 

june 4, 2007: two u.s. military judges have affirmed some remainder of law in a u.s. tradition of military justice; charges against omar khadr were thrown out by a military court in guantanamo presided over by judge peter brownback; though khadr was to be charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, etc.. almost no reports noted that he wasn't represented by his own lawyer; it was reported last week ("omar khadr fires his u.s. lawyer," ap, may 30, 2007, thestar.com) that he fired his military and civilian counsel; the judge found khadr was not designated as an "unlawful enemy combattant," a status supposed by the bush administrations and required for hearing by this court; no guantanamo detainees have been formally ruled "unlawful enemy combattants"; the ruling suggests the entire judicial process is out of order; no mechanism is in place for appeal within the time limit; in a subsequent trial this same day judge keith allred dismissed charges against salim ahmed hamdan ("u.s. military judges dismiss terror charges against khadr and yemeni," beth gorham canadian press, june 4, 2007, canada.com;"u.s. case against khadr collapses," paul koring, june 4, 2007, globe and mail; "judge's ruling on khadr may halt all guantanamo trials," jane sutton, june 4, 2007, reuters;"judge dismisses charges against detainee," andrew o. selsky, june 4, 2007, houston chronicle); liberal and conservative canadian governments have remained silent while this citizen as a minor child was incarcerated and tortured without protections of the geneva conventions; -ed..

        the saudi government has identified the victim/suicide of may 30th as rahman maadha al-amry; he was a veteran of the saudi military, received training with u.s. forces, was never allowed to see a lawyer, was never charged with a crime; he was held in a portion of the prison camp for the "least compliant" ("guantanamo 'suicide' was in maximum-security cell," rupert cornwell, june 1, 2007, independent;"dead gitmo detainee a saudi vet," josh white, june 1, 2007, the washington post ~ the seattle times); the prisoner previously attempted suicide at guantanamo through starvation; responsibility for war crimes should extend to the psychological engineers of his program and those who allowed and implemented it.june 13, 2007: believing that canada has a legal obligation to protect omar khadr's rights and bring him home to canada, lawyers against the war ("a canada-based committee of jurists and others who oppose war and promote enforcement of international humanitarian law") has put out a call to action; law's letter to the government [archive] ; if you or your organization can help in your own way or add your name to a list of supporters, email - lawyers against the war, law@portal.ca .

 

july 1, 2007: on june 29, 2007, military judge peter e. brownback iii, reaffirmed his ruling of june 4 in not renewing charges against omar khadr; at this point the canadian government should press for the detainee's return to canada; see law's letter of june 12 to the harper government with additional signatures; the u.s. supreme court has reversed its decision of april 2007, in order to hear detainee appeals for habeas corpus ("guantanamo judge rejects charges for canadian, "reuters, june 30, 2007, msnbc; "guantanamo military judge refuses to reinstate case against khadr," june 29, 2007, jurist; "omar ahmed khadr," trial watch; "high court to hear guantanamo detainee case," ap, june 29, 2007, msnbc).

 

july 7, 2007: the judge's affirmed dismissal of charges against omar khadr is being appealedby the pentagon at the court of military commission review ("pentagon appeals gitmo detainee's case," pete yost ap. july 6, 2007, washington post.com).

        a search of government files reveals that abdul rahman al-amri whose death is being treated as a suicide, was a, frequently on hunger strike with weight as low as 88.5 pounds, and b, under high security, supervision, control; a and b may suggest intention in the death of this prisoner of war ("pentagon files offer details on detainee in suicide," william glaberson & margot williams, june 1, 2007, new york times); mark h. buzby, current "commander of joint task force" at guantanamo states plans to offer 'low-risk' detainees more recreation (u.s. military improving detention conditions at guantanamo bay," michael sung, july 5, 2007, jurist).

 

july 19, 2007: the latest u.s. military brief against omar khadr reveals that as a 15 year old with no protections to torture, khadr 'confessed' that he wanted to kill americans for bounty; the u.s. military uses financial incentives heavily in recruitment and retention, and may be 'projecting' for propaganda purposes; khadr comes from a background that values charity not greed; the campaign against this person continues; at fifteen he was shot three times in the rubble of an afghan resistance post destroyed by a u.s. action; charges against him in the hand grenade death of a u.s. medic in an assault team have been dismissed by the u.s. army judge at guantanamo; prosecution appeals allow the army to hold khadr illegally and without his rights under geneva conventions(new info: "u.s. says khadr sought $1,500 bounty," colin freeze, july 12, 2007, globe and mail ~ cageprisoners.com); law's letter of june 12 requesting canadian intervention [archive].

 

july 27, 2007: on july 20 a u.s. appeals court in washington ruled the pentagon had to let lawyers for the guantanamo detainees see the government's evidence ("u.s. court grants evidence to guantanamo lawyers," reuters, july 21, 2007, reuters alertnet.org); meanwhile at the camp, two hunger strikers maintain their strike and are being force fed twice a day; the ap reports that detaines abdul rahman shalabi and zaid salim zuhair ahmed have maintained a hunger strike for two years; 21 others are also currently on tube feeding as of july 20th ("guantanamo hunger strikers stay defiant," ben fox, ap, july 20, 2007, msnbc.com).

 

august 13, 2007: the canadian bar association has finally supported efforts (ie. lawyers against the war "letter of june 12" [archive]) to repatriate omar khadr, the canadian taken as a minor-child to guantanamo; a c.b.a. letter to harper follows a statement to the bar by khadr's new u.s. military counsel showing surprise at canada's omissions of law; the globe and mail carried news from another of khadr's lawyers, dennis edney, who said he had met with khadr and his condition was 'mentally debilitated',"ill and going blind;" mr. edney reports being terrified, threatened with imprisonment by u.s. military personnel, and an illegal search of his information ("canadian bar association moves to support rights of khadr," kirk makin, aug. 11, 2007, globe and mail; "canadian lawyers call for guantanamo suspect's repatriation," afp, aug. 12, 2007, yahoo news; "canada lawyers urge pm to work for omar khadr release from guantanamo bay," michael sung, aug. 13, 2007, jurist).

 

august 26, 2007: while the u.s. military attempts to continue prosecutions at guantanamo despite the sure rulings which dismissed charges against omar khadr, the toronto star notes that "30 current and former canadian parliamentarians and 61 law professors," have filed a brief affirming rights of detainees at guantanamo, with the supreme court of the u.s. ("khadr case goes to new u.s. review commission," michelle shephard, aug. 25, 2007, the toronto star; "ottawa played down khadr concerns," michelle shephard, aug. 20, 2007, the toronto star appreciation justice for mohamed harkat); a toronto star examination of documentation concludes that the canadian government has supported khadr's detention even as a minor child; lawyers against the war requested canadian government intervention for khadr (see law's letter of June 12, 2007 [archive] ) and received no direct response from the harper government until law's letter was accompanied by an offer of legal advice; both the prime minister and attorney general have responded by referring the issue to the minister of foreign affairs ("omar khadr letter; reply," august 22, 2007, lawyers against the war); canada was previously warned by a canadian court - against continuing interrogation of khadr while held under conditions of torture at guantanamo; see night's lantern's guantanamo archives of 2005 : a canadian federal judge orders canada's intelligence community to stop interrogating omar khadr, now 18, held at guantanamo by the u.s.; the ruling subjects canada's intelligence people abroad to its law and charter of rights ("judge orders canada to stop quizzing teen in guantanamo," aug. 10, 2005, globeandmail.com).

gerald and maas says canada should intervene immediately for omar khadr - it is the government's legal duty to protect the rights of its citizens; khadr's physical and mental health remain under attack; he is in danger of being destroyed; canada's is the only government cooperating with violations of geneva conventions against its own in guantanamo; see also the kidnapping of maher arar .

 

september 14, 2007: risking their employment nearly a quarter of the u.s. justice department attorneys dealing with guantanamo appeals cases, have refused to accept their assignments ("d.o.j. lawyers refusing to work on guantanamo detainee appeals: report," jaime jansen, aug. 31, 2007, jurist).

       sami al-haj  the cameraman for al-jazeera is said to be close to death after his current 250 day hunger strike; forced feeding tubes have several times been misplaced into his lungs; u.s psychiatrist dr. dan creson, is noted by the independent of the u.k., to compare his possible condition of "passive suicide" to the condition of women suffering in sudan [ to note what may be mechanisms of propaganda, the suffering of women in darfur does not justify conditions of psychological torture which have led an untried, legally innocent working journalist arrested nearly six years ago, to attempt suicide, and the u.s. psychiatrist also thinks it reasonable to compare this husband and father, near death, to a woman... ]; official figures suggest four other men have already taken their own lives at guantanamo ("al-jazeera man 'close to death' at guantanamo bay," robert verkaik, sept. 13, 2007, the independent); see march 5, 2007.

 

september 22, 2007: omar khadr's military lawyer. lt.-cmdr. william kueble, continues to publicly express puzzlement at canada's omission of legal concern for khadr when a minor; the toronto star quotes the u.s. officer, who is apparently standing with truth: "omar khadr is facing a show trial in front of a kangaroo court" ("khadr facing 'kangaroo court,' says lawyer," bruce cheadle cp,sept. 20, 2007, the star.com); faced with the bush administration's disregard for the geneva conventions the canadian government has not been strong enough to protect khadr's human rights; the likeable liberal leader stephane dion has declared that khadr should at least be tried in a legitimate court in the u.s. if not canada ("dion takes up khadr's cause," campbell clark and colin freeze, sept. 20, 2007, globeandmail.com); law's "letter of june 12" [archive]

        the u.s. senate has squashed a measure to assure habeas corpus to non-citizen suspects ("senate bars bill to restore detainee rights," susan cornwell, sept. 19, 2007, reuters.com).

 

september 25, 2007: the u.s. military is insisting that omar khadr be tried at guantanamo; shown the way for eventual return to the geneva conventions by the june 4th decision by judge peter brownback, the military chain of command has appealed to a newly created "u.s. court of military commission review," which reversed the judge's confirmed decision and allows trials to continue which are considered illegal under international law; i consider this bush administration operation part of a continuing war crime...ed. (khadr military commission charges reinstated," mike rosen-molina, sept. 24, 2007, jurist; "court reinstates terrorism charges," ap, sept. 24, 2007, yahoo! news; "terrorism charges reinstated against khadr," sept. 24, 2007, cbc news).

 

october 4, 2007: the u.s. supreme court has refused to hear a challenge to current military tribunals as brought by lawyers for salim ahmed hamdan ("court refuse osama driver detainee case," ap, oct. 1, 2007, washington post; "supreme court declines challenge to military commission system," oct. 1, 2007, jurist).

        acccording to a pakistan newspaper ("freed gitmo prisoner was tortured,", oct. 4, 2007, the news, ramzan pakistan) mohamed lemine ould sidi mohamed, a mauritanian arrested by u.s. forces in pakistan in 2002 and recently released from guantanamo after acquittal by a u.s. tribunal, reports a soldier urinating on the koran in front of prisoners, and "physical and moral torture."

 

october 6, 2007: on consideration requested by the attorneys, judge ricardo urbina bravely reversed his decision which had dismissed the cases of 16 detainees appealing for habeas corpus; background: the government had argued that because bush and congress had stripped detainees of their rights, these men had no right of habeas corpus; after the dismissal justice department lawyers had denied the detainees their right to communicate with counsel ("judge reverses guantanamo ruling," ap, oct. 5, 2007, msnbc; "u.s. restricts lawyers' access to gitmo prisoners," ap, sept. 22, 2007, msnbc).

        a second military officer who participated in "combatant status review tribunals" has filed an affadavit against the trial procedures, while col. morris davis, the chief military prosecutor at guantanamo has requested reassignment ("second army officer faults gitmo panels," ap, oct. 6, 2007, new york times online).

 

october 14, 2007: mohammed jawad has been charged with throwing a hand grenade at a jeep in kabul on dec. 17, 2002, injuring two u.s. soldiers and their translator; he confessed to the attack under torture ; the times quotes him saying "i told them anything they wanted me to say" ("guantanamo detainee is charged in ;'02 attack," william glaberson, oct. 12, 2007, the new york times); justice is not likely within any context that violates the geneva conventions.

        sami al haj: doctors hiu richard (u.k.) and d.l.krison (u.s.) have stated that sami al haj's continued incarceration places his life in danger; al haj's lawyer, clive stafford smith, on return from a visit says al haj remains on hunger strike, fed intravenously and through a tube in his nose; new evidence held against al haj is his training as a journalist cameraman for al-jazeera; this compounds a direct threat to freedom of expression in the arrest and imprisonerment of a journalist for five years without explanation ("lawyer: al-jazeera cameraman's health deteriorates at guantanamo,"news alert 2007 oct. 10, 2007, committee to protect journalists; "sami al haj suffers health deterioration / say doctors," sept. 12, 2007, sudanese media center); see urgent.

 

october 21, 2007: the cbc notes that although omar khadr's case is being appealed by his lawyers to a u.s. federal court, the military commissions judge has scheduled the trial for november 8th ("omar khadr terror trial to proceed despite appeal," oct. 15, 2007, cbc; "canadian in guantanamo prison appeals to u.s. federal court," afp, oct. 9, 2007, yahoo! news canada).

 

october 26, 2007: a complaint brought today against donald rumsfeld during his visit to paris, relies in part on testimony from guantanamo detainees; the complaint charges torture; see genocide warnings and updates.

 

october 27, 2007: on october 25th the supreme court of canada decided to consider an aspect of omar khadr's case, as requested by the crown; khadr's lawyers had won an appeal to see documents compiled by canada, including those while khadr was first held in guantanamo; the crown appealed to the supreme court to withhold access from khadr's lawyers ("canada supreme court to hear khadr appeal on government documents access," benjamin klein, oct. 25, 2007, jurist; "scc to hear crown appeal in omar khadr case, canadian press, oct. 25, 2007, ctv.ca);canadian intelligence participated in interrogations of khadr at guantanamo until a canadian judge ruled them subject to the charter of rights; see above, aug. 26th.

 

november 10, 2007: according to reuters the 4000 people at guantanamo base produce 1500 +/- gallons of cooking oil each month, placed in landfill; the military is currently testing with expectation of conversion to biodiesel fuel for military vehicles; guantanamo's water comes from desalinization; most waste is shipped to florida ("french fry oil to be tested on guantanamo fleet," jane sutton, nov. 9, 2007, reuters alertnet).

 

november 11, 2007: military lawyers for omar khadr have not been allowed to interview key witnesses for the defense; khadr's u.s. military lawyer cmdr. william kuebler reveals evidence just released by the military of a witness with testimony that might exonerate the detainee ("lawyers for canadian detainee complain of obstructions at guantanamo," michael melia, nov. 8, 2007 ap, msnbc); a case at the d.c. u.s. court of appeals to overturn the military review court's decision reinstating charges, failed; the civilian court (the 3 judges were appointed by reagan, bush and bush) set aside its authority; khadr's status is referred to a military court ("federal court rejects khadr's appeal," caitlin price, nov. 7, 2007, jurist; "judges reject effort to halt u.s. military commission case against guantanamo prisoner," associated press, nov. 6, 2007, international herald tribune); according to his canadian lawyer, dennis edney, khadr has stated he wants to represent himself with advice from canadian counsel, but khadr's military lawyers won't permit contact ("canadian lawyer says access to khadr cut off before guantanamo hearing," joshua pantesco, nov. 1, 2007, jurist).

 

 

see quantanamo camp 2008

 

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appendix 1
an assessment of guantanamo camp as of june 21, 2008 (public sources), by j.b.gerald
guantanamo2004.pdf [archive]

 

---

 

appendix 2

note:

u.s. military personnel at guantanamo accused of security breaches
col. jack farr, accused of failing to obey an order, unauthorized transport of classified material, false report; reserve status revoked, returned to active duty, returned to guantanamo; update: all charges have been dropped ("army drops charges against guantanamo colonel," boston globe, september 17, 2004).

 

capt. james j. yee, muslim chaplain, charged with security breaches with classified materials, false statement and other charges which seem specifically intended to alienate islamic support; update: arrested on september 10th, on march 20th the associated press reports charges against him dropped; entirely clean slate by the military ( the seattle post-intelligencer, april 15, 2004).

 

senior airman ahmad al-halabi, a translator, under investigation, 17 of 30 charges remain, including espionage (more extreme charge of aiding the enemy dropped); held at travis afb california; update 2005: on sept. 23 2004, he pled guilty to minor infractions and all espionage charges were dropped; on sept. 24, 2004 he was sentenced to time served in detention and given a bad-conduct discharge (airman halabi justice committe, http://www.civilrightsfund.org/halabijustice/case/timeline.php); facts of the case as revealed at sentencing don't suggest any crime commensurate with this airman's arrest or initial charge carrying the death sentence.

 

ahmad fathy mehalba, u.s. civilian contractor, accused of carrying classified materials, held in boston; update: 2005 release may be possible on plea bargain ("translator to plead guilty to taking u.s. documents," l.a. times, jan.10,2005); update march 15, 2006: u.s. citizen and a father, out March 10, 2005 after 18 months in ("prisoner: u.s.: ahmed fathy mehalba {released}" [march 15, 2006, access: cageprisoners.com]).

 

the information on these pages is incomplete and the listing doesn't account for the missing, "ghost detainees," and
others in secret facilities internationally - contact gandm@nightslantern.ca to suggest additions or corrections.

guantanamo camp 2008
north american political prisoners

gerald and maas night's lantern
with appreciation to all sources, ed. and commentary by j.b.gerald, images j.maas
january 1, 2004 through november 11, 2007
not for sale or commercial reproduction
2004 - 2007 entries placed sequentially on this page for easier access may 8, 2008