http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1270227.htm]
Last Update: Wednesday, December 22, 2004. 8:25am (AEDT)
FBI emails outline torture techniques used at Guantanamo Bay.
FBI emails reveal Guantanamo abuse claims
A series of FBI memos has been released, detailing the abuse of detainees at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
In memos over a two year period FBI agents said they witnessed the use of torture techniques, which included the use of dogs, prisoners being shackled to the floor in foetal positions for up to 24 hours, left without food and water, left to defecate upon themselves.
The memos also show that personnel at Guantanamo believed they had authority for these methods from senior pentagon officials.
It is believed the memo was referring to an order signed by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Whitehouse spokesman Scott McLellan says the President expects a full investigation.
The emails also claim that interrogators posed as FBI agents to avoid being traced.
The Adelaide-based lawyer representing David Hicks says the FBI emails reflect the claims of torture made by his client.
Stephen Kenny says the Australian Government must pressure the US to have a full inquiry, independent of the Pentagon.
"There is no other option, the amount of evidence on the torture and abuse of prisoners worldwide by the Americans is completely plain," he said.
"They so far have prosecuted a number of lower level ranks but the reality is that this has been systematic abuse that has gone on and has been known about at the highest level."
© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
David Hicks comes from SA. He was one of the first victims of the so called war on terror. From what I understand he had been working as a mercenary in Afghanistan and elsewhere ( how come I no longer know the facts??) long before terrorism became the catch cry. His father has fought long and hard to allow him justice and to keep his case in front of our government which appears to have done nothing to ensure one of its citizens reaches a fair trial. I wonder why he needs to be tried since thousands of people have worked as mercenaries and they have been neither tried nor incarcerated. I don't think we even thought about them much. As soon as Sept 11th was over David Hicks was picked up and put in Guantanamo Bay for supposedly working for the Taliban. Like Oussama bin Pimpernel? They can catch David but not the elusive Oussama. We seek him here, we seek him there. The lawyers here and in the US are doing their best to get him a fair hearing. He may have done wrong according to the decisions the US made apres Sept 11th. Doesn't alter the fact these people have been imprisoned indefinitely and suffered for no apparent reason because they might be terrorists. I believe I saw something about it on one of my visits to the Amnesty site:
This is a link to some of the details.
Since Mr. Howard is apparently friendly with Mr. Bush he might have deemed it worthwhile to negotiate on behalf of David Hicks. Or, like many other monarchs in history just let him rot in the dungeon until he deems fit to consider the matter or not. Oops, there I am forgetting again...I live in a democracy. The law is for everyone. Glad the lawyers have remembered!! This has all come up again because our government was saying he hadn't been mistreated.
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