Insurgentjg

The article “Horror at Guantanamo” written by Andy Worthington who is the author of The Guantánamo Files, the first book to tell the stories of all the detainees in America’s illegal prison, is about a Libyan detainee Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi who is infected with AIDS. Mr. al-Ghizzawi already had tuberculosis and hepatitis B which he contracted while imprisoned at Guantanamo.

He wasn’t given any proper medication at the prison and the Chief Medical Doctor at Guantanamo claimed that Mr. al-Ghizzawi  “does not want to be treated for his life threatening illness{es}”, although Mr. al-Ghizzawi denied this claim.

Candace Gorman, lawyer for Mr. al-Ghizzawi approached the Department of Justice attorney to look into the matter who stated “We are not privy to the particulars of what your client may have been told by his doctor, if anything, but Guantanamo provides high-quality medical care to all detainees.”

Mr. al-Ghizzawi health deteriorated at the prison over the years. He was devoid of proper medical care and later was shifted to Camp 6 with severe conditions that is mental and physical isolation and “blunt and barbaric conditions”.

The irony of the situation lies in the fact that Mr. al-Ghizzawi ended up in the prison without being involved in any crime as he was innocent.

A former meteorologist Mr. al-Ghizzawi was living peacefully with his family in Afghanistan. In 2001 as the news that US authorities are paying handsome bounties to the suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban members spread some armed men came to his house and captured him who sold him to the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and he was further sold to the US military.

Mr. al-Ghizzawi was alleged of meeting al-Qaeda members in Pakistan, additional allegations included that he stayed in LIFG house in Jalalabad and was a security leader for Osama bin Laden during a trip to a guest house in Jalalabad.

Though Mr. al-Ghizzawi countered all allegations he was finally proved guilty an “enemy combatant” by the military tribunal whose legitimacy and authenticity is criticized by former officers who served on them.

After reading this article by Andy Worthington we wonder whether Mr. al-Ghizzawi is dead or alive. This is not a single incident there are many in that illegal prison known as Guantanamo suffering at the hands of powerful.

The Human Rights Watch brought forward the case of Omar Khadr, now 21, and a detainee at Guantanamo Bay since he was 15 years old who was appeared before the usual tribunal. This shows the lack of juvenile justice. “Human Rights Watch notes the United States’ failure to incorporate juvenile detention and juvenile justice in military commission proceedings standards, and urges the US to not compound these violations by prosecuting Khadr before a military tribunal that is not equipped to meet these standards as well as other fair trial requirements, and in a manner inconsistent with its legal obligations to assist in rehabilitating former child soldiers within its jurisdiction. Accordingly, if the United States is not prepared to prosecute Khadr in a judicial system that incorporates fundamental standards of juvenile justice and other fair trial rights, it should promptly release Khadr and repatriate him to Canada for appropriate rehabilitation.”

The appeals put forward by the Human Rights organizations are put down every time by US and the number of detainees is still living prolonged solitary confinements and torture.

It’s high time that these methods of countering terrorism should be changed as it will only deteriorate the situation. As Martin Luther King said “Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice.”

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This article is a rephrased version of the artcle bt Andy Warhington, “Horrors of Guantonamo”, retrieved from www.counterpunch.com. And is based on the group discussion lead by Anum Gill.