12/06/2006
US Version of Gitmo Deaths Questioned
Samir Al-Saadi, Arab News
JEDDAH, 12 June 2006 — The Interior Ministry yesterday identified the two Saudi detainees who died Saturday in Guantanamo Bay as 29-year-old Manie ibn Shaman ibn Turki Al-Habardi Al-Utaibi and 22-year-old Yasser Talal Abdullah Yahya Al-Zahrani, who was detained at the age of 17. Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said the US authorities furnished the Kingdom with the names of the two Saudis. He said efforts were under way to gain custody of the bodies of the two dead men. Al-Turki told Arab News: “Our priority now is to repatriate the bodies and to speed up our efforts in bringing back all the Saudis who are detained there.” He emphasized that the Kingdom was vigorously pursuing all channels to speedily repatriate the remaining Saudis held at the detention center in Cuba. Mofleh Al-Qahtani, vice chairman of the National Human Rights Society, demanded a neutral and independent investigation into the deaths and said his organization would hold an emergency meeting to discuss the issue. Al-Qahtani told Al-Eqtisadiah business daily: “The men could have been murdered or put under intense pressure forcing them to commit suicide.” He pointed to the fact that suicide was contrary to the teachings of Islam and also cast doubts on the US version of events. Al-Qahtani said the society was coordinating with foreign and interior ministries to uncover the truth behind the deaths. A Yemeni source named the third Gitmo detainee who committed suicide with the two Saudis as Ahmad Abdullah, a Yemeni. Kateb Fahad Al-Shammari, a lawyer representing Saudi detainees, held the US authorities responsible for the deaths of the two Saudi prisoners. “This is another violation of the Geneva Convention in relation to prisoners. The deaths are just further crimes added to the crimes and violations that happen on a daily basis against the detainees.” Al-Shammari said: “We have great doubts over the American version stating that the three detainees died as a result of suicide.” He added that they were detained under extraordinary circumstances and were under 24-hour surveillance. The lawyer also believes that this incident will give the case of the remaining detainees a different turn and possibly speed up a solution. The US military said guards at the camp found the two Saudis and the Yemeni not breathing in their cells shortly after midnight and that attempts to resuscitate them failed. It said that all three of the detainees had left suicide notes, but no details were made public. The deaths threw a fresh spotlight on the camp, which has drawn strong criticism internationally and undermined support for the US war on terrorism that was launched after the Sept. 11 attacks. Guantanamo holds about 460 foreigners captured mainly in Afghanistan where the US has been fighting the Taleban and Al-Qaeda. Amnesty International has renewed calls for the closure of the camp, joining a chorus of criticism from human rights groups. Facing indefinite detention, with none of the rights afforded to formal prisoners of war or criminal suspects in the US justice system, dozens of the detainees have undertaken hunger strikes and attempted suicide. The military said 25 inmates had attempted suicide a total of 41 times since the camp opened in January 2002. “Sadly, suicides like these are entirely predictable when people are held outside the law with no end in sight,” said Ken Roth, head of Human Rights Watch in New York. — Additional input from agencies
SOURCE: Arab News |
