Call for the Closure of Guantanamo and an End to Indefinite and Arbitrary Detentions

Background Information

Approximately 460 men from roughly 35 countries are currently being held, most without charge, in detention facilities at the US Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Some were picked up on the battlefield in Afghanistan, while others were sold to US forces by Afghani warlords and Pakistani officials.  Some were picked up in places like Bosnia and Gambia, far from any battlefield.  Many of the men in Guantanamo are half way through their fifth year of detention, and only 10 have been charged with any crime.  Although the Bush administration has labeled these men as “enemy combatants,” Amnesty International has long stated that the administrative processes in place that reached this determination do no meet basic due process standards and do not offer detainees a legitimate opportunity to challenge their detention.  In addition, the Bush administration continues to argue in court that detainees have no rights under US or international law.

Since the first detainees have arrived in Guantanamo, the US government lists 41 suicide attempts by 29 detainees.  However, Amnesty International believes this number is artificially low due to a US policy of reclassifying suicide attempts as “manipulative self injurious behavior.”  In addition, there have been several hunger strikes on Guantanamo Bay by detainees protesting their indefinite detention and their conditions in custody.  Most recently, the number of detainees on a hunger strike spiked to over 89 detainees.  The US has apparently resorted to aggressive force feeding methods of detainees, including the use of restraint chairs which have caused 18 deaths in custody in the US in recent years.  A Guantanamo official stated in January that the restraint chairs were introduced to break the hunger strike. 

Recently, the United Nations Committee Against Torture, in commenting on the United States’ periodic review of its compliance with the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, called on the US to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo, concluding that this indefinite detention without charge is itself a violation of the Convention Against Torture.  The ICRC has been concerned that the prisoners' uncertainty about their fate and their inadequate legal status could affect their state of mind.

Amnesty International is calling for a fully independent investigation led by civilians into the deaths of three Guantanamo detainees after apparent suicides.  The organization is also calling on the US government to give the group of five UN experts immediate and unrestricted access to the Guantánamo detention center, and in particular allow the experts to talk privately with detainees.  The five were refused unfettered access to speak to detainees as a condition of access last November, at which time they declined to visit the facilities

In light of the apparent suicides, the Appointing Authority for the Office of Military Commissions has ordered an indefinite stay in all military commission proceedings.  The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the fairness of the military commission proceedings later this month.