Guantanamo Bay homicide accusations
Encyclopedia
Guantanamo Bay murder accusations occurred after three Guantanamo prisoners, two of whom had already been cleared for release, may have been killed there and the deaths covered up.
The story had been rejected when first shopped to several reporters, including Seymour Hersh
, CBS News
, ABC News
, and NBC News
. When asked about the decision, NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
explained, "Ultimately I just didn’t find the story credible, quite frankly." It was later picked up by Scott Horton for Harper's Magazine
. In 2011, it won the National Magazine Awards for Reporting.
, Yasser al-Zahrani
, and Ali Abdullah Ahmed
died in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, allegedly at Camp No
.
The Pentagon
informed the media that three detainees had been found dead, having "killed themselves in an apparent suicide act". U.S. President George W. Bush
expressed "serious concern" about their deaths, but Rear Admiral
Harry Harris, commander of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo
, said the men were dedicated terrorists and jihadists, and called the deaths "an act of asymmetric warfare
committed against us." The three prisoners, two Saudis and one Yemen
i, were reported to have hanged themselves with noose
s made of sheets and clothes. All three were former hunger-strikers
who had been force-fed.
reported that news of the deaths raised skepticism over whether the Saudi men really killed themselves.
According to a study led by an attorney for two Guantanamo detainees, and published by the Seton Hall University School of Law
's Center for Policy and Research
on 7 December 2009 titled "Death in Camp Delta," the government's investigation does not support that these men committed suicide by hanging themselves inside their cells.
(NCIS). Their account suggests that the three prisoners who died on June 9, 2006, had been transported to another location prior to their deaths, and indicates that the deaths were either the result of serious negligence in treatment of prisoners under "enhanced interrogation" or that they were tortured so badly that they died.
Colonel Michael Bumgarner, the commander of Camp America, said that each of the prisoners had had a ball of cloth in their mouth, either for choking or muffling their voices. The bodies of the three men who died at Guantánamo showed signs of torture, including hemorrhages, needle marks, and significant bruising. The removal of their throats prior or during the autopsy conducted by pathologists affiliated with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
made it difficult to determine whether they were already dead when their bodies were suspended by a noose.
The soldiers also say they had been ordered by their commanding officer not to speak out, and all four soldiers provided evidence that authorities initiated a cover-up within hours of the prisoners' deaths. The NCIS seized all written material possessed by the prisoners in Camp America, some 1,065 pounds of material, including privileged attorney-client correspondence.
According to its spokeswoman Laura Sweeney, the Department of Justice has disputed certain facts contained in the article about the soldiers' account, which was published by the magazine Harper's.
Patrice Mangin
, who headed the team that volunteered to examine the Al Salami's body, said that it was routine to remove some organs that decay rapidly. Some family members had expressed concerns when the bodies were missing the brain, liver, kidney heart and other organs.
Mangin however said that the US authorities had kept Al-Salami's throat, and that his team couldn't state an opinion as to whether he hanged himself until it was returned.
" started to be made public.
Like "water-boarding" dry-boarding is a technique intended to gain the cooperation of interrogation subjects through inducing the first stages of death by asphixiation. Unlike waterboarding, where a wet cloth is placed over a supine subject's airways, so breathing slowly fills their lungs with water, dryboarding induces asphixiation through stuffing the subject's airways with rags.
Ali Saleh al-Marri, apprehended at grad school and held in a Navy brig in the USA, described having rags stuffed down his throat, and then having his mouth and nose taped shut.
The story had been rejected when first shopped to several reporters, including Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
, ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, and NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
. When asked about the decision, NBC's Jim Miklaszewski
Jim Miklaszewski
James Allen Miklaszewski , better known as Jim or "Mik" Miklaszewski, is chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News. "Mik" was reporting live for the Today Show on September 11, 2001 when a plane hit the Pentagon, where his office is based....
explained, "Ultimately I just didn’t find the story credible, quite frankly." It was later picked up by Scott Horton for Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
. In 2011, it won the National Magazine Awards for Reporting.
Background
On 10 June 2006 three prisoners Mani al-UtaybiMani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi
Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi was a citizen of Saudi Arabia, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba...
, Yasser al-Zahrani
Yasser Talal Al Zahrani
Yasser Talal al Zahrani was a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 93....
, and Ali Abdullah Ahmed
Ali Abdullah Ahmed
Ali Abdullah Ahmed also known as Salah Ahmed al-Salami was a citizen of Yemen who died in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba....
died in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, allegedly at Camp No
Camp No
Camp No is an alleged secret detention and interrogation facility in the United States detainment camps located in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. On January 18, 2010, an article by Scott Horton in Harper's magazine asserted that the Guantanamo Bay detention camps included an additional camp, Camp No...
.
The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
informed the media that three detainees had been found dead, having "killed themselves in an apparent suicide act". U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
expressed "serious concern" about their deaths, but Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Harry Harris, commander of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the island. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command...
, said the men were dedicated terrorists and jihadists, and called the deaths "an act of asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly, or whose strategy or tactics differ significantly....
committed against us." The three prisoners, two Saudis and one Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i, were reported to have hanged themselves with noose
Noose
A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot slides to make the loop collapsible. Knots used for making nooses include the running bowline, the tarbuck knot, and the slip knot.-Use in hanging:...
s made of sheets and clothes. All three were former hunger-strikers
Guantánamo Bay hunger strikes
Guantánamo Bay hunger strikes began during the middle of 2005, after detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp initiated two hunger strikes...
who had been force-fed.
Suspicions emerge
The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
reported that news of the deaths raised skepticism over whether the Saudi men really killed themselves.
According to a study led by an attorney for two Guantanamo detainees, and published by the Seton Hall University School of Law
Seton Hall University School of Law
The Seton Hall University School of Law is part of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law School is the only private law school in New Jersey, and is the top-ranked of the three law schools in the state...
's Center for Policy and Research
Center for Policy and Research
The Center for Policy and Research at Seton Hall University School of Law is directed by Professor Mark Denbeaux and is located in Newark, New Jersey in the United States...
on 7 December 2009 titled "Death in Camp Delta," the government's investigation does not support that these men committed suicide by hanging themselves inside their cells.
Contradicting accounts of the deaths
Four members of the Military Intelligence unit assigned to guard Camp Delta, including a junior NCO with only one ARCOM who was on duty as the sergeant of the perimeter guard (i.e. not a member of the cellblock guard force) the night of June 9–10, 2006, have presented an account that contradicts the report published by the Naval Criminal Investigative ServiceNaval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
(NCIS). Their account suggests that the three prisoners who died on June 9, 2006, had been transported to another location prior to their deaths, and indicates that the deaths were either the result of serious negligence in treatment of prisoners under "enhanced interrogation" or that they were tortured so badly that they died.
Colonel Michael Bumgarner, the commander of Camp America, said that each of the prisoners had had a ball of cloth in their mouth, either for choking or muffling their voices. The bodies of the three men who died at Guantánamo showed signs of torture, including hemorrhages, needle marks, and significant bruising. The removal of their throats prior or during the autopsy conducted by pathologists affiliated with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology was a US government institution concerned with diagnostic consultation, education, and research in the medical specialty of pathology. It was founded in 1862 as the Army Medical Museum and was located in Washington, DC on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army...
made it difficult to determine whether they were already dead when their bodies were suspended by a noose.
The soldiers also say they had been ordered by their commanding officer not to speak out, and all four soldiers provided evidence that authorities initiated a cover-up within hours of the prisoners' deaths. The NCIS seized all written material possessed by the prisoners in Camp America, some 1,065 pounds of material, including privileged attorney-client correspondence.
According to its spokeswoman Laura Sweeney, the Department of Justice has disputed certain facts contained in the article about the soldiers' account, which was published by the magazine Harper's.
Post-mortems
All three of the families of the dead men have challenged the American post-mortems. The families all took steps to have second post-mortems after the bodies were returned to them.Patrice Mangin
Patrice Mangin
- Professor Patrice Mangin is a widely published forensic pathologist. He has graduated from the Faculty of medicine Broussais-Hôtel-Dieu, University René Descartes Paris VI . He has obtained his M.D. thesis at Faculty of medicine, University Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I and board certification in...
, who headed the team that volunteered to examine the Al Salami's body, said that it was routine to remove some organs that decay rapidly. Some family members had expressed concerns when the bodies were missing the brain, liver, kidney heart and other organs.
Mangin however said that the US authorities had kept Al-Salami's throat, and that his team couldn't state an opinion as to whether he hanged himself until it was returned.
Dryboarding and the Guantanamo deaths
In 2011 some former captives descriptions of a technique called "dry-boardingDry-boarding
Dry-boarding is a technique intended to gain the cooperation of interrogation subjects through inducing the first stages of death by asphixiation....
" started to be made public.
Like "water-boarding" dry-boarding is a technique intended to gain the cooperation of interrogation subjects through inducing the first stages of death by asphixiation. Unlike waterboarding, where a wet cloth is placed over a supine subject's airways, so breathing slowly fills their lungs with water, dryboarding induces asphixiation through stuffing the subject's airways with rags.
Ali Saleh al-Marri, apprehended at grad school and held in a Navy brig in the USA, described having rags stuffed down his throat, and then having his mouth and nose taped shut.
External links
- Relatives of Disputed Guantánamo Suicides Speak Out As Families Appeal in US Court Andy Worthington, June 14, 2011
- US Court Denies Justice to Dead Men at Guantánamo Andy Worthington, October 3, 2010
- Saudi Gitmo detainees’ death Saudi Gazette July 28, 2010
- Court Closes Door to Families of Wrongfully Detained Men Who Died at Guantánamo