As Hunger Strikes at Guantánamo Continue, Human Rights Groups Testify at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Yesterday, the Center for Constitutional Rights, along with representatives from Physicians for Human Rights, the Center for Justice and International Law, and Reprieve, testified at a hearing of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), part of the Organization of American States (OAS). It represented a rare instance where US officials were being held to account for their cruel and inhumane actions at Guantanamo.

According to a press release by CCR, staff attorney Omar Farrah said, "Today’s hearing at the IACHR came at a critical moment in Guantánamo’s troubled history."

He continued, “Our clients report that most of the men at the prison are now in the fifth week of a mass hunger strike to peacefully protest worsening prison conditions, religious provocation, and the crushing reality that after 11 years in indefinite detention, there is no end in sight to their suffering. In light of the humanitarian crisis unfolding at Guantanamo, it is indefensible that the U.S. government failed to answer the Commission’s simple questions about how it plans to close the prison camp.”

According to a March 12 article at Salon.com, over 100 of the 166 detainees still held at Guantanamo are on a hunger strike. Attorneys for the strikers maintain that Arabic interpreters at the prison are mishandling the prisoners' Korans in a fashion that amounts to desecration. Robert Durand, director of public affairs for the Joint Task Force Guantanamo, told AFP that “No JTF-Guantanamo guard touches any detainee’s Koran at any time.”

Unfortunately for Mr. Durand, and for the detainees and everyone involved, JTF-Guantanamo does not have a very good track record when it comes to reporting the truth.

According to Democracy Now!, who reported on both the hunger strike and the IACHR meeting, Obama administration officials, for instance, still maintain they are not holding anyone in indefinite detention. Michael Williams of the State Department testified at the hearing, "The United States only detains individuals when that detention is lawful and does not intend to hold any individual longer than necessary."

That the Obama administration believes its okay to hold people in isolation, in grievous circumstances, and without ever being charged for years on end and that that is "lawful" or not "any longer than necessary" speaks volumes about how corrupted this government has and its ruling parties have become by the so-called "war on terror."

Here is CCR's report on the hearing:

On March 12, 2013, the Center for Constitutional Rights provided expert testimony at a thematic hearing about the unfolding humanitarian crisis at Guantánamo before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a body of the Organization of American States (OAS). The hearing took place in response to CCR’s request to the Commission, filed on January 16, 2013 with co-petitioners at the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and Reprieve. It marked the first time since President Obama’s re-election that U.S. officials were confronted with questions about Guantánamo and its future in a formal public setting.

The hearing at the IACHR came at a critical moment in Guantánamo’s troubled history. CCR's clients report that most of the men at the prison are now in the fifth week of a mass hunger strike to peacefully protest worsening prison conditions, religious provocation, and the crushing reality that after 11 years in indefinite detention, there is no end in sight to their suffering. In light of the humanitarian crisis unfolding at Guantanamo, CCR thinks that it is indefensible that the U.S. government failed to answer the Commission’s simple questions about how it plans to close the prison camp.

At the IACHR hearing, CCR and other experts testified on issues including the grave psychological impact of indefinite detention, the deaths of men at Guantánamo, the lack of access to fair trials, and illegitimate U.S. policies that restrict the closure of the prison, including the blanket ban on repatriating Yemeni men. They also requested that the Commission:

* reiterate that the United States must close down the detention center at Guantánamo without further delay,

* issue a report on the ongoing human rights violations at Guantánamo that acknowledges the physical and psychological impact of indefinite detention without charge or trial, and

* renew its request to the United States government to allow the Commission to visit the detention center, with full access to the detained men.

To read the full submission the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-petitioners filed for this hearing, see these 6 documents listed below: The "Summary Outline," Appendix 1-3, Supplemental Appendix 1, and the document 11 Years and Counting: Profiles of Men Detained at Guantánamo. Lastly, note that CCR has also filed two separate petitions at the IACHR. One concerns two men who died while in U.S. custody at Guantánamo, about which you can learn more on CCR’s Al-Zahrani v. Rumsfeld case page. The other concerns CCR client Djamel Ameziane, an Algerian man who has been cleared for release and who urgently needs to be resettled to a new and safe home where he can rebuild his life. Learn more on CCR’s Djamel Ameziane’s case page.

Experts who testified at the hearing included:

* Omar Farah, Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
* Viviana Krsicevic, Executive Director, Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
* Kristine Huskey, Director of the Anti-Torture Program, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
* Ramzi Kassem, Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic, CUNY School of Law; attorney for men detained at Guantánamo

“Today’s hearing at the IACHR came at a critical moment in Guantánamo’s troubled history,” said Omar Farah, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Our clients report that most of the men at the prison are now in the fifth week of a mass hunger strike to peacefully protest worsening prison conditions, religious provocation, and the crushing reality that after 11 years in indefinite detention, there is no end in sight to their suffering. In light of the humanitarian crisis unfolding at Guantanamo, it is indefensible that the U.S. government failed to answer the Commission’s simple questions about how it plans to close the prison camp.”