British human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith represents Al Hajj, and was able to visit him in 2005. According to Smith Al Hajj reported:He has been beaten. Smith said he had a huge scar on his face.Al Hajj witnessed guards flushing a Koran down a toilet.Al Hajj witnessed guards defacing a Koran with swear words.He has been sexually assaulted.He has been interrogated roughly 130 times.
Smith offered the opinion:
im also going to add a part of a letter written by alhaj from prison to his lawyer:
Dear Klive,
let me tell you about a question thats bothering me. why am i being punished?
the torture continues formonths and years of undeserved torture, and that question keeps haunting my mind, why am i being punished??
i wonder, why am i being punished, did we become like sheep?following orders without questioning them? we are not even allowed to cover our heads and hands when we go to sleep. i ask myself why am i being punished, why cant i even have the simple right of sleeping with a sheet over me instead of sleeping on the hard cold floor?
one night i was sleeping and they woke me up for an investigation, they found 2 pieces of rice on the floor. i was punished for seven days, and the question came to me again, why am i being punished, it because of the rice on the floor? why?
alot of questions run through my mind over and over, where is democracy and those who claim it ?
Sami Mohi eldeen alhaj, Guantanamo bay prison, Cuba.
please share your thoughts
4 comments:
The American Committee to Free Sami Al-Haj has just launched an online petition to the U.S. Congress demanding Sami’s release and an investigation of the Bush Administration’s campaign against Al Jazeera.
http://www.petitiononline.com/freesami/petition.html
Hey Adnan,
That is an interesting case you have brought up. I think that it is interesting now with the internet etc because in the past the general populace has believed what the media has reported. Now we have the ability to find out the other side of the story.
You mentioned the prisioner kept asking why, while i am not a doctor of philosophy, i think that people have a tendency to fear that which they know nothing about. The guards at the prison are young men (late teens, early twentys). I am not trying to excuse their behaviour, but they believe what they have been told, a prisioner is a terroist, and in their eyes that is what they are. Solidiers pride themselves on unquestioning obedience, and you don't question the chain of command. If the treatment of prisioners is going to change it will have to happen from the top down.
Just as a little side note, have you seen sicko, by michael moore. It was really interesting to note that the people at guantanamo bay recieve better healthcare than some people who rushed to the aid of people in the world trade center.
Didn't know it was to that extreme there. The whole innocent american act was finally revealed. How is this any different than when Saddam was in power? The only difference is that Saddam was upfront about everything he does, and everyone knew, he didnt have to hide it like Bush did. Hypocrisy is an ugly trait.. Why don't we see anyone invading the US because of what they're doing? Rhetorical question, don't bother answering.
Post a Comment