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Demand Justice for Kuwaiti Nationals Illegally Detained at Guantanamo

Of the four Kuwaitis incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than 7 years, three remain there. One, Khaled Al Mutairi, was returned to Kuwait on October 8, 2009, more than 2 months after a judge ruled there was no basis for his detention. The other three wish to return to Kuwait, and their families, as well as the government of Kuwait, have long been pressing the U.S. government for their return. The government of Kuwait has long been pressing the U.S. government for the prisoners' return. Each of these cases was assigned to an Amnesty group in the United States, and those groups have been urging the U.S. government to either release the men or charge them with a crime and try them in Federal civilian court.

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Message Recipients

Alan Liotta - Principal Director, Office of Detainee Affairs

Matthew Olsen - Task Force on Review of Guantanamo Bay Detainees

Tony West - Assistant Attorney General

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Subject:*

Dear (recipient name),

I am writing, as a concerned citizen, to inquire about the cases of four Kuwaiti nationals detained for more than 7 years at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I welcomed President Obama's declared intention to close the detention facility at Guantanamo. I also appreciate the fact that one of the Kuwaitis incarcerated there, Khaled Al Mutairi, was finally repatriated on October 8, 2009. I hope that another detainee, Fouad Al Rabiah, will also have returned to Kuwait by the time you receive this letter.

However, two other Kuwaitis remain at Guantanamo – Fawzi Al Odah and Fayiz Al Kandari. I urge that you make every effort to ensure that they are returned to Kuwait expeditiously. Seven years in prison without being charged with a crime is too long. It is incompatible with our own laws and ideals and undermines the aspirations of the US to be a leader on human rights. Indeed, the United Nations Committee Against Torture has held that indefinite detention without charges is, per se, a violation of the Convention Against Torture, to which the United States is a party.

I am aware of no practical obstacles to the repatriation of these men. I understand that they want to return to their country, their families want them back, and the government of Kuwait has established a rehabilitation program to facilitate their reintegration into society. Moreover, the US government appears unable or unwilling to present any evidence in court of criminal activity by these men. Given all of these circumstances, the tardiness of the US in returning them to Kuwait is hard to fathom.

Even in the case of Fawzi Al Odah, who, unlike Khaled Al Mutairi and Fouad Al Rabiah, did not receive a favorable ruling from Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on his petition for habeas corpus, I would urge that he be returned to Kuwait for the reasons stated above. Unlike some of the detainees who have been repatriated, Fawzi Al Odah has spent more than 7 years in detention without being charged with a crime, and the US apparently has no intention of ever bringing charges against him. This fact – coupled with Fawzi Al Odah's thus far uninvestigated allegations that he was subjected to treatment during his detention that may constitute torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment – makes his return to Kuwait a moral imperative.

Indeed, it is difficult for me to understand how the Administration reconciles its reluctance thus far to end the Kuwaitis' incarceration with President Obama's statements about his intention to close Guantanamo and to restore US compliance with the rule of law. In particular, I would appreciate an explanation of why the Justice Department argued very recently before Judge Kollar-Kotelly for the right to continue to detain Fouad Al Rabiah, based solely on his own coerced "confessions", which Al Rabiah's interrogators themselves did not find credible.

These "confessions" were elicited using tactics that President Obama himself has publicly repudiated as inconsistent with American values. How are we to trust that anything truly has changed under the Obama Administration when the Justice Department continues to take such indefensible positions in pending litigation? The Al Rabiah case is one of many that illustrate the need for an independent commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive, impartial investigation of US counterterrorism detention and interrogation policies and practices.

The Convention Against Torture requires the US to investigate allegations of torture and to make restitution to victims. A thorough investigation is also needed to restore the trust of the American people and the international community that the US government has truly turned the page on the unlawful policies and practices of the past.

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