The memos also document for the first time the precise nature of a number of long-standing concerns issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross over the treatment of suspected al-Qaeda members and Taliban fighters held at the base.
Among them: US interrogators were holding detainees in isolation for a month at a time for refusing to furnish information. Extraordinarily long interrogation sessions were having a cumulative effect on the mental health of the captives. And the use of open-air cages instead of enclosed cells constituted inhumane treatment under the international laws of war.
<snip>
During the October, 2003, inspection the memos record sharp Red Cross criticisms of the US Government for continuing use of the cages, keeping detainees in excessive isolation, and failing to establish due process or a stepped-up release schedule. "There was no improvement in any of the four major areas of concern," an October 9, 2003, memo states.
The memos also contain tantalising clues about several high-value detainees who were off-limits to Red Cross inspectors during their periodic visits to Guantanamo, which typically lasted from four to six weeks. A source familiar with captives at the base said one of the detainees, No. 760, is Abdallah Tabarak, a Moroccan citizen who was Osama bin Laden's personal bodyguard. He took part in the Tora Bora battles in Afghanistan at the end of 2001 and sacrificed himself to secure bin Laden's escape by making calls on the al-Qaeda leader's personal satellite telephone. Red Cross officials were not permitted to interview No. 760 as recently as February 4, a memo from that day says.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/13/1087065033844.html?from=storylhs
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