Letter to the Editor

Abstract

Dear Editor,We welcome the decision by the International Red Cross (ICRC) for taking astand against unfair preventive detention of 660 detainees at Guantanamao Bay.Indeed, this is a gross violation of human rights but seems to be consistent with hardline policies that have emerged as a trademark of the Bush administration. This is an indictment of the American justice system as well as a breach of the U.S. Constitution, the Geneva Convention and international legal institutions prohibiting arbitrary detention. It essentially makes the U.S. a rogue nation in international law.The inmates, many sequestered in Camp Delta for the past two years, havebeen denied their indefensible right to counsel and visiting rights by concernedfamily members. Like ICRC, many respected and independent internationalhuman rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human RightsWatch have issued numerous calls for President Bush to establish a legal and fair process to either prosecute or release the detainees unconditionally and immediately.Citizens International’s (CI) views are consistent with ICRC perception that this current indefinite process which has left the inmates in a “legal limbo” is harmful to the mental and physical health of detainees. The inmates possess “no idea about their fate and no means of legal recourse” as they are held for open-ended terms devoid of any legality. This serious analysis echoes media reports of 32 suicide attempts by detainees in the past year. We are equally disturbed by reports of extra-judicial interrogation methods relying on torture to extract forced confession from the prisoners and used as evidence against them.We therefore demand the Bush administration provide unrestricted access forprovision of humanitarian assistance by aids and rights organizations. This hasto precede an establishment of due process of law and legal mechanism. CI alsostrongly urges that the U.S. Supreme Court performs its judicial functionsaccordingly by reviewing the U.S. administration’s denial of the detainees’ legal rights and issue appropriate remedial measures.Haji S. M. Mohamed Idris, J.P.Chairman, Citizens InternationalEmail: cizs@tm.net.myWebsite: www.citizensint.org