Martin Mubanga was held at Gitmo, was found to be an enemy combatant by the first tribunal which 'evaluated' his case — not surprisingly since they wouldn't let him have access to any evidence or witnesses that might support his case. Why? The witnesses were not easily accessible in Guantanamo!
Now he's out, and he's describing a combination of torture and seriously inhumane treatment, despite having been, he says plausibly, utterly innocent.
How I entered the hellish world of Guantanamo Bay: For many months after Mubanga was seized in Zambia with the help of British intelligence and sent to Guantánamo, the American authorities maintained that he was a dangerous 'enemy combatant', an undercover al-Qaeda operative who had travelled from Afghanistan on a false passport and appeared to be on a mission to reconnoitre Jewish organisations in New York. But documents obtained by The Observer now reveal that by the end of last October the Pentagon's own legal staff had grave doubts about his status, and had overturned a ruling that he was a terrorist by Guantánamo's Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
Like the other three men who were released last month, Moazzam Begg, Feroz Abbasi and Richard Belmar, Mubanga was held for one night at Paddington Green police station on his return to Britain and questioned. He was released unconditionally, the police having concluded within just a few hours that there was no evidence to sustain charges of terrorism.
While it's true that Mubanga's allegations of mistreatment are just allegations, they are consistent with memos by FBI agents who visited Gitmo, as later released under the Freedom of Information Act. Thus, this seems like additional plausible evidence of what's been going on in Rumsfeld's and Gonzales's little playground. (Sadly, treatment may have been even worse before some prisoners were shipped to Gitmo.) The kangaroo court nature of the status hearing is consistent with the account in Judge Joyce Hens Green's recent opinion
Contrast this view of reality with that provided at Washington dinner parties.
Alberto Gonzales Charged With War Crimes
Dear Michael,
As I’m sure you are aware, Alberto Gonzales’ name has been added to the Center for Constitutional Right’s criminal complaint against Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Stephen Cambone and others. CCR is asking the world community to let the German Prosecutor know that this is a vital issue for human rights. Joining in CCR’s complaint are: Lawyers Against the War (CAN), Federation Internationale des Droits de lHomme (International Federation for Human Rights is a group of more than 100 human rights organizations), and the International Legal Resources Center (CAN).
The charges that detainee abuse, torture, and ghosting was authorized at the top level of the Bush administration will not be investigated by the DoD, DoJ, the military or the Congress. As the US is not a member of the International Criminal Court, and Iraq cannot prosecute, the criminal complaint has been brought under the German Code of Crimes against International Law (CCIL) and seeks an investigation into war crimes allegedly carried out by high ranking United States civilian and military officials, including the incidents which occurred in Iraq.
Can you help by informing all of your readers that their support is needed to bring criminal charges against Alberto Gonzales for his part in developing the strategy of torture, abuse, ghosting, and execution of prisoners in US custody?
Can you direct them please to CCR where they can read more about this case, and sign a letter of support to the German prosecutor? The letter is here: “http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/whatsnew/action/actionAlert2.asp”
Thanks very much,
Apian
What the hell was the army doing in Zambia, where he was picked up? Since when do we have troops, or spooks, or whoever, abducting people out of Zambia?