Posted November 10, 2006 by John Menick
I’m elated that the Dems won back the Congress, but I’m skeptical whether it will help close or even reform places like Guantánamo. As the Miami Herald writes, perhaps Rumsfeld’s departure will help even more. Then again, can it get any worse than US officials denying access to their clients? From AP:
“If attorneys were kept from visiting Guantanamo, the only information regarding conditions there would be provided by the government,” said Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, a New York lawyer whose Bahraini client tried to commit suicide at Guantánamo last year as Colangelo-Bryan was visiting him.
(Also see Amnesty’s page on the detention center, and their new project, Make Some Noise.)
Posted July 30, 2006 by John Menick
The Independent on Camp 6:
Camp 6, a state-of-the-art maximum-security jail built by a Halliburton subsidiary, will be able to hold 200 prisoners. Commander Robert Durand, a spokesman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, said the $30m, two-storey block was due to open at the end of September. He added: “Camp 6 is designed to improve the quality of life for the detainees and provide greater protection for the people working in the facility.”
This development will refuel the controversy about the jail, which still holds 450 prisoners from President George Bush’s “war on terror”. Campaigners pointed to Mr Bush’s claim earlier this summer that he would “like to close” Guantanamo. Just weeks after he made his comments in June, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration’s system for trying prisoners using military tribunals breached United States and international law.
At the time, some campaigners predicted the decision marked the beginning of the end of Guantanamo Bay. Since then, however, the Bush administration has signalled its intention to introduce new legislation that would circumvent the court’s ruling. The revelation that Camp 6 is poised to open is proof that it intends to keep using the prison.
Amnesty International’s UK campaigns director, Tim Hancock, said: “This appears to make a mockery of President Bush’s statements about the need to close down Guantanamo Bay. In addition to strongly urging the President to step in to prevent any extension to this already notorious prison camp, we call on him to speed up the process of closing Guantanamo and of ensuring that all detainees are allowed fair trials or released to safe countries.”
…
The new facility is reported to be modelled on a jail in Lenawee County, Michigan. Commander Durand said Camp 6 will have better recreation and exercise amenities for detainees and integrated medical care. Other facilities at the US naval base on Cuba include Camps 1, 2, 3 and 5, which are maximum-security, single-cell blocks; Camp 4, which is a medium-security, communal living prison; and Camp Iguana, also medium security, which houses detainees cleared for release and awaiting transfer.
