http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/t ... ation.html
I have not read the full report myself. The lawyers in a lawsuit on behalf of 2 of the men argue:You may recall the somewhat bizarre response of the Pentagon to the news in June 2006 that three prisoners at Gitmo had somehow managed to hang themselves simultaneously in one of the most watched, patrolled and monitored prison sites in the world. The facts were bizarre: prisoners somehow had been hanging for two hours with rigor mortis when they were discovered; and their bodies were found to have a rag stuffed deep down their throats. But the strangeness and pathos of this event was only matched by the virulent anger of the Pentagon which immediately accused these defenseless and dead prisoners of "asymmetrical warfare" against the US.
Seton Hall University School of Law has now completed an exhaustive study of the entire affair. Much more disturbing than the actual deaths was the response of the authorities. Something is very awry here:The original military press releases did not report that the detainees had been dead for more than two hours when they were discovered, nor that rigor mortis had set in by the time of discovery.
There is no explanation of how three bodies could have hung in cells for at least two hours while the cells were under constant supervision, both by video camera and by guards continually walking the corridors guarding only 28 detainees.
There is no explanation of how each of the detainees, much less all three, could have done the following: braided a noose by tearing up his sheets and/or clothing, made a mannequin of himself so it would appear to the guards he was asleep in his cell, hung sheets to block vision into the cell—a violation of Standard Operating Procedures, tied his feet together, tied his hands together, hung the noose from the metal mesh of ii the cell wall and/or ceiling, climbed up on to the sink, put the noose around his neck and released his weight to result in death by strangulation, hanged until dead and hung for at least two hours completely unnoticed by guards.
There is no indication that the medics observed anything unusual on the cell block at the time that the detainees were hanging dead in their cells.
The initial military press releases did not report that, when the detainees‘ bodies arrived at the clinic, it was determined that each had a rag obstructing his throat.
There is no explanation of how the supposed acts of ―asymmetrical warfare‖ could have been coordinated by the three detainees, who had been on the same cell block fewer than 72 hours with occupied and unoccupied cells between them and under constant supervision.
There is no explanation of why the Alpha Block guards were advised that they were suspected of making false statements or failing to obey direct orders.
There is no explanation of why the guards were ordered not to provide sworn statements about what happened that night.
There is no explanation of why the government seemed to be unable to determine which guards were on duty that night in Alpha Block.
There is no explanation of why the guards who brought the bodies to the medics did not tell the medics what had happened to cause the deaths and why the medics never asked how the deaths had occurred.
There is no explanation of why no one was disciplined for acts or failures to act that night.
There is no explanation of why the guards on duty in the cell block were not systematically interviewed about the events of the night; why the medics who visited the cell block before the hangings were not interviewed; or why the tower guards, who had the responsibility and ability to observe all activity in the camp, were not interviewed.
One might assume when a government decides the right to indefinitely detain prisoners for the rest of their lives, they have the responsibility to take care of them and prevent things like suicide. And if such an unfortunate event occurs......perhaps the NCIS report shouldn't leave such glaring holes in the official record? I fail to see, if the points listed above in the report are true, not to suspect a coverup of murder until a more complete investigation is made.it was clear that the prisoners’ mental health was deteriorating. In August 2003, nearly two dozen prisoners tried to hang themselves in their cells. And according to the complaint filed in this case, a military official acknowledged that shortly before the deaths of Al-Zahrani and Al-Salami, there was a high risk of mass suicide in the prison.
It would help if Barack Obama didn't hire such douchey lawyers:
But the Justice Department goes further than that. Under President Obama, the government is arguing not only that it wasn’t clear what rights detainees were entitled to back in 2006, but that even today the prisoners have no right to such basic constitutional protections as due process of law or the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The “Fifth and Eighth Amendments do not extend to Guantánamo Bay detainees,” writes the Justice Department in its brief.
And, the government argues, the courts should not imply a right to sue under the Constitution, in part because that could lead to “embarrassment of our government abroad.”
Ultimately, the Obama administration is arguing, victims of torture at a U.S.-run detention center abroad have no right to redress from the federal government. Only the military can take action in such cases, by disciplining military officers for abuse of prisoners. Yet during the Bush administration, military officials were rarely held accountable for abuse, even when it resulted in the deaths of detainees, as Human Rights First documented in a 2005 report. Senior officials in particular were exempt from accountability, and as retired Rear Admiral John Hutson, dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, noted at the time, “the highest punishment for anyone handed down in the case of a torture-related death has been five months in jail.”
Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know, the piper's calling you to join him