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Thursday, May 26, 2005

Documented: Guantanamo Torture

Guantanamo Prisoners Told FBI of Qur'an Desecration in 2002, New Documents Reveal
ACLU - 25 May 2005

NEW YORK -- New documents released by the FBI include previously undisclosed interviews in which prisoners at Guantanamo complain that guards have mistreated the Qur'an, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. In one 2002 summary, an FBI interrogator notes a prisoner’s allegation that guards flushed a Qur'an down the toilet.

The disclosure comes on the heels of controversy over a Newsweek report saying that government investigators had corroborated an almost identical incident. Newsweek ultimately retracted its story because a confidential government source could not be confirmed.

"The United States government continues to turn a blind eye to mounting evidence of widespread abuse of detainees held in its custody," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "If we are to truly repair America's standing in the world, the Bush Administration must hold accountable high-ranking officials who allow the continuing abuse and torture of detainees."

According to the FBI documents, a detainee interviewed in August 2002 said that guards had flushed the Qur'an in the toilet. Others reported the Qur'an being kicked, withheld as punishment, and thrown on the floor, and said they were mocked during prayers.

The release of the FBI interviews follows the disclosure last week of Defense Department documents regarding other cases in which military personnel mistreated the Qur'an and used a religious symbol to taunt detainees.

In addition to complaints about treatment of the Qur'an, the latest documents include reports of:

Beatings. On August 23, 2002, a detainee told an interviewer of being "kicked in the stomach and back by several individuals" after being turned over to U.S. authorities. On one occasion during prayer time, a soldier placed his foot on [his] head and sat on his head." Another interviewer was told on August 28, 2002 of a detainee being "kicked violently in the jaw" after he tripped and fell while handcuffed.

Planned Suicides. Several detainees spoke of suicidal thoughts while in custody. In December 2002, one reported that "40-50 detainees intended to commit suicide after Ramadan ended because they were tired of being detained with no prospect of being released and they were tired of being mistreated by guards."

Hunger Strikes. An interviewer noted that the "mental condition of the detainees is to the point where the detainees are participating in a hunger strike. [They] are upset with the way they are treated by the guards." One man had not eaten in six days or changed his clothes and "insisted on being charged with a crime or released."

Sexual Assaults. In April 2003, a detainee told interviewers that a female guard fondled his genitals while male guards held him down. She told him that she was having her menstrual period and "she wiped blood from her body on his face and head." (A similar incident is described in a recently released book by former Guantanamo interrogator Erik Saar.)