Some Guantanamo detainees fall into limbo

[Roon]

Shackled at the wrists and blinded by special goggles, the first captives from the U.S. war in Afghanistan were ushered to makeshift prison cells thousands of miles from the battle, at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, five years ago last week.

Gholam Ruhani was among them, the prison's third official inmate, flown in by cargo plane with the first group of 20 men. The 23-year-old Afghan shopkeeper, who spoke a little English, was seized near his hometown of Ghazni when he agreed to translate for a Taliban government official seeking a meeting with a U.S. soldier.

Ruhani is still at Guantanamo, marking the fifth anniversary of the prison and his own captivity. He remains as stunned about his fate, according to transcripts of his conversations with military officers, as he was when U.S. military police led him inside the razor wire on Jan. 11, 2002, and accused him of being America's enemy.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16641834/

[madeline_con]

1. From the article:

One is Shakhrukh Hamiduva, an 18-year-old Uzbek refugee who fled his country after the government there killed one of his uncles and jailed other relatives. He tried to cross the border from Afghanistan when U.S. bombs started falling but was captured by a tribal leader and sold to U.S. forces for a bounty. He said soldiers told him he would be released, but instead he ended up in Cuba.

The U.S. military is buying 13 y.o. children!!!? :wow:

[mmonk]

2. Yes. Actually as young as 7.

I heard Barbara Olshansky fron CCR say that people found Disney tapes and books for the children held at Camp Iguana at Guantanamo Bay (I have that speech on DVD).

[madeline_con]

3. OMG

[Jeffersons Ghost]

7. here's what else America is "buying"...

[The Stranger]

4. K&R

[mmonk]

5. Kick

I think if people in general knew all this, the tide might turn (if Americans in general even have a conscience anymore).:kick:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. K&R with MORE INFO...

Embargo Date: 11 January 2007 00:01 GMT

Worldwide protests call for Guantánamo closure on 5th anniversary

On the fifth anniversary of the Guantánamo Bay detention centre, millions of Amnesty International members and supporters are mobilizing around the world in a series of demonstrations and activities calling for the US authorities to close the prison camp once and for all.

As detentions at the US Naval Base move into their sixth year, the organization also called for all detainees to be given a fair trial without further delay or to be released. Demonstrations and other events are being held in cities across the world in more than 20 countries from Washington DC to Tokyo and from Tel Aviv to London, Tunis, Madrid and Asunción.

“No individual can be placed outside the protection of the rule of law, and no government can hold itself above the rule of law. The US government must end this travesty of justice," said Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan.

"Equally, it is not enough for world leaders to express concern about Guantánamo and carry on business as usual with the USA. The international community must actively press the USA to close Guantánamo and restore respect for international law.”
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510082007