zasto strajkuje? muzu joj je po zvanicnima americkim podacima divno. jes, kad bi se tramvajima gadjali
"We’re making a drastic mistake here. What I saw as a whole was inconsistent with who we are and the values we represent as a nation."
US army sergeant Eric Saar, who was on duty in Guantánamo in late 2002
Mohammed Necle
Algerian national
Detained in Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 19 October 2004, CSRT confirmed him as an "enemy combatant"
We were surprised that we were handed over to the American forces that are present in Bosnia. We were bound by our hands and our feet, and we were treated the worst treatment. For 36 hours without food, sleep, water or anything and we were treated the worst treatment. We came to this place so they could interrogate us. Now I have been here for three years… I thought the case was about an [alleged plan to bomb the] American embassy and until now no one has directed one question to me regarding this case.
Believe me, I came to this place as a mistake and I think that I was wronged. It was unfair to me… I have a clear conscience that I am not part of these terrorist organizations. I am not afraid of anything because I am not a terrorist. If you interrogated me for 20 years you would find that I am Mohammed Nechle.
I used to think that America had respect for human rights when it came to prison.
In the beginning [in Guantánamo] they didn’t [medically] treat me. I asked them to treat me and they left me for a long time without treatment. I had a haemorrhage, that’s what I had and talked to them about that. I used to tell them there was blood; I was bleeding. I used to tell them about it time after time and [they] just left it.
In the end the way that this happened, the way I was brought here and the accusations that brought against me, I feel that my future has been destroyed. A person does not even know what to say to their kids now. That’s a really big thing.
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Boudella Al Haji
Algerian national
Seized in Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 18 October 2004, CSRT confirmed him as an "enemy combatant"
I’ve never heard of [al-Qa’ida] until the 9/11 incident. I heard about it through the media. How can you associate me with an organization I’ve never heard of? As I said before, I’m against terrorist attacks…
I’m asking you. You are just people, if I did a crime in the United States, would you take me to the courts in the United States? Of course. You are not going to deliver me to another country. If you find me innocent you’d let me go free, if not, you’d take me to jail. If I was innocent, it is impossible that you would give me to another nation. Even though we were innocent, we were delivered to another nation and we don’t even know why…
The only thing I know is we were taken by the Bosnians, delivered to the Americans and the next thing we knew, we were here. We spent four days with our eyes closed, with bandages on our eyes, tape on our mouths, with shackled hands and feet. Tuesday through Sunday…
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Mustafa Ait Idir
Algerian national
Seized in Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 20 October 2004, CSRT confirmed him as an "enemy combatant"
Now I would like to talk about the three days when we were being moved. During those three days we were being transferred here, animals would never have been treated the way we were. In Bosnia, the temperature was -20 degrees and there was ice and snow. It was very cold. They took off all my clothes and they gave me very thin clothes - like that tablecloth [detainee points to the white sheet covering the Tribunal table]. They placed me in a room that was very cold. As they moved me from country to country, my ears, mouth and eyes were covered. I could not even talk or breathe. A mask with a metal piece was place over my mouth and nose. Why am I saying this? …I was given a letter from the American Ambassador in Bosnia that lied and said I was moved in a humane manner, when I got to Cuba, the first four or five months I could not feel my left leg. From my thigh to my back, I could not feel anything at all…
Regarding my treatment here in prison, I am a person that lived very good life. I never had any problems with people whatsoever. Within my family itself, I had no problems. I never had any problems with my neighbours. The team I trained with consisted of Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox; many different people. My neighbours, were the same way. I made very good wages from my jobs. I never had any problems with money, people, anything. My life has changed completely. It has turned 360 degrees to this, where I am now. There are times when a soldier, who maybe never even went to school and barely knew how to hold a weapon, comes to you and swears at you; he says things to you that you have never ever heard of in your life. As an example, a soldier broke my finger. Can you see? I cannot bring this finger close to my other fingers. I cannot close this gap. On the middle finger, my knuckle has been broken. You probably cannot see that. But my finger, you can see that clearly.
Q: Let me ask you a question? Are you saying a soldier in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, broke your fingers?
A: Yes. Soldiers took me and placed me on the ground in the rocks outside. My hands and my feet were bound. The soldiers put my face on the ground. You can see maybe my eye - a small little hole near my eyes. One soldier put my head on the ground, and then another soldier came and put his knee on my face. The soldier hit me on the other side of my face that was not touching the ground. If my head was turned a little bit more, the rocks would have gone into my eye. Next to my eye there is a little hole. There are a lot of things regarding the soldiers, but I won’t talk about all of them.
I just want to say a small thing. I hope that this is real. I am not berating you with these words, but this is something I don’t want to keep inside. I hope this Tribunal is really real. I hope that a person who has made a mistake would admit to making a mistake. No matter who this person is. Even if he is the closest person to you. What I mean by this is, if America made a mistake by bringing me here to Cuba, not just because it is hard for them to admit a mistake was made, but to prevent me from leaving here, then bring all these accusations against me. I will tell you something else, if you have evidence, big or small, that I have any relationship with terrorism or if I helped any terrorists, I am prepared for any kind of punishment in any country. I am saying this to you now, and if you wish for me to, I will sign a piece of paper saying these same words.
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Saber Lahmar
Algerian national
Seized in Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 8 October 2004, CSRT confirmed him as an "enemy combatant"
I hope this hearing looks at the truth and represents true justice. This country has been a symbol of justice for more than two hundred years. I hope these hearings are not just one movie from many movies that have passed by us. I also hope I will be judged by the law and not by politics…
I would like to point out something important. My detention from Sarajevo to Cuba was not legal. There is no current law in the world that allows for my detention from my country to another country. If I am accused of something in a country I was in, I should have been detained in that country. That country is recognized worldwide and therefore it has laws and courts. The court from the country should have tried me.
Let’s assume I was guilty of something and received punishment for it. The punishment should have been in that country. I have nothing to do with Cuba. The intimidation from the Americans is what caused my illegal detention from one country to another country.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunal states I am an enemy combatant. Those words in my view are ridiculous and have no meaning. A sane person or a small child would never say anything like. The words ’enemy combatant’ means a prisoner that has been arrested on the frontlines of the battlefield holding a weapon. In my case, I was kidnapped from my home by Americans. Therefore, the words enemy combatant doesn’t apply to me.
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The US administration prefaces this information with the following:
"Since the Initial Report, with the attacks against the United States of September 11, 2001, global terrorism has fundamentally altered our world. In fighting terrorism, the US remains committed to respecting the rule of law, including the US Constitution, federal statutes, and international treaty obligations, including the Torture Convention."(17)
The USA’s report makes the welcome assertion, using the words of Article 2 of the CAT, that the "United States is unequivocally opposed to the use and practice of torture. No circumstance whatsoever, including war, the threat of war, internal political instability, public emergency, or an order from a superior officer or public authority, may be invoked as a justification for or defense to committing torture. This is a longstanding commitment of the United States, repeatedly reaffirmed at the highest levels of the US Government". This latter sentence serves as a reminder that words alone can never be enough and that torture must be condemned in deed as well as in word. For, at least between August 2002 and June 2004, a Justice Department memorandum to the White House narrowing the definition of torture, arguing that the President could authorize torture, suggesting defences for those accused of torture, and promoting acts that amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, represented the position of the US administration, albeit in secret.
eto tako glasi rat protiv terorizma. ne zelim demokratiju koja se ovako uspostavlja.