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16 December 2009
By Stephen Lendman
Under the direction of Professor Mark Denbeaux, Seton
Hall University School of Law's Center for Policy &
Research (CP&R) published 15 "GTMO Reports," including
profiles of detainees held, allegations against them,
and discrepancies in government accounts explaining
reasons for reported deaths.
An earlier report analyzed unclassified government
data (obtained through Freedom of Information Act
requests) based on evidentiary summaries of 2004
military hearings on whether 517 detainees held at the
time were "enemy combatants." Most were
non-belligerents. In fact, a shocking 95% were seized
randomly by bounty hunters, then sold to US forces for
$5,000 per claimed Taliban and $25,000 for supposed Al
Qaeda members. At least 20 were children, some as
young as 13.
The latest report titled, "Death in Camp Delta,"
covers three simultaneous detainee deaths on June 9,
2006 in the maximum security Alpha Block. Yassar Talal
Al Zahrani, Mani Shaman Turki Al Habardi Al Tabi, and
Ali Abdullah Ahmed were found dead shortly after
midnight on June 10.
At first, the Pentagon's said they were found hanging
in their cells as part of an anti-American
"asymmetrical warfare conspiracy" based on medical
personnel saying a short written note on each body
indicated a coordinated effort to rebel against
confinement as martyrs as well as longer confirming
statements in their cells. At the same time, the media
was shut out and lawyers prevented from visiting
clients to minimize the incident and suppress truths.
CP&R's report found "dramatic flaws in the
government's investigation (and) raise(s) serious
questions about the security of the Camp (and)
derelictions of duty by officials of multiple defense
and intelligence agencies" who let them die, more
likely killed them, then whitewashed the investigation
to suppress it.
According to official autopsies, the men were hanging
unobserved for at least two hours, despite constant
surveillance by five guards responsible for 28 inmates
in a lit cell block monitored by video cameras.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) require each
detainee be observed at least once every 10 minutes.
They weren't, yet no guards were disciplined in spite
of evidence of "a camp in total disarray."
In August 2008, over two years later, investigators
from the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS)
released "a heavily redacted report (concluding) that
the detainees had hanged themselves in their cells and
that (another) detainee, while walking the corridors
that night had announced, 'tonight's the night.' "
Still key questions are unanswered, including:
-- the time and exact means of death;
-- how the dead men braided a noose using torn up
sheets and/or clothing unobserved and made mannequins
of themselves to look like asleep bodies in bed;
-- hung sheets to obstruct viewing into their cells;
-- stuffed rags down their throats to choke;
-- tied their hands and feet together;
-- hung the noose from the metal mesh of the cell wall
or ceiling;
-- climbed on a sink, placed the noose around their
necks, released their weight, and were strangled; and
-- did all this unobserved for two or more hours.
In addition, one man was scheduled for release in 19
days. Now he's dead so for sure he was murdered
because dead men tell no tales, and maybe he had
plenty to say.
CP&R's report "examines the investigation, not to
determine what happened that night, but rather to
assess why an investigation into three deaths could
have failed to address significant issues."
It also covers suspicions that something very sinister
was involved. Consider the following:
-- the Pentagon initially suppressed the fact that the
men were dead for two or more hours before discovery;
-- how they could have hung in their cells unobserved;
-- why wasn't required constant supervision done - by
guards and video camera monitoring;
-- how did all three follow precisely the same
procedure, even more surprising as they were on the
same cell block less than 72 hours with occupied and
unoccupied cells between them - under constant
supervision so they couldn't have cooperatively
planned anything, let alone identical suicides;
-- why weren't guards ordered to make sworn statements
about the incident;
-- why didn't the government determine which guards
were on duty that night;
-- why was no explanation given why guards, who
brought the bodies to medics, didn't tell them what
happened, and why didn't medics ask;
-- why was no one disciplined;
-- why weren't cell block guards, tower guards, and
medics "systematically interviewed" about the
incident; and
-- why wasn't relevant, easily accessible information
reviewed and reported, including from:
-- audio and video recordings;
-- "Pass-On" books in which each shift provides
information to the next one;
-- the Detainee Information Management System (DIMS)
records of all occurrences; and
-- Serious Incident Reports that include suicide
attempts.
Why was an alleged conspiracy to commit simultaneous
suicides not fully investigated? Why not after another
detainee allegedly said "tonight's the night" wasn't
security tighter than usual? Why weren't all material
witnesses questioned? Why so much secrecy and cover up
unless to suppress disturbing truths?
At issue is that three men died with "little to no
explanation of how this could have occurred in a
maximum security facility." Investigators didn't
clarify what happened or answer basic questions as to
"who, what, where, when, why, and how Al Zahrani, Al
Tabi, and Ahmed died."
Many questions remain. No detainee cries were heard
nor unusual activity to indicate a suicide attempt. On
duty guards, other military personnel, and various
detainee statements revealed inconsistencies and
unanswered questions. CP&R drew no conclusions. It
evaluated known facts and reported critical omissions
to let others make their own assessments.
Various investigative files were analyzed - from the
DOD, NCIS, the Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF),
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), the Staff Judge
Advocate (SJA), Armed Forces Medical Examiner
autopsies, and FOIA obtained documents, in spite of
names, dates, and other relevant facts on most pages
completely redacted.
"The report provides an in-depth look at the SOPs of
Camp Delta....It then scrutinizes the (detainee)
deaths and the subsequent autopsies. Next the report
analyzes the (investigative) findings....Finally, it
points out the defects in the investigation" that
smack of cover up to suppress the truth.
NCIS is the "primary law enforcement and
counterintelligence arm of the United States
Department of the Navy" with three objectives -
prevent terrorism, protect secrets, and reduce crime.
It evaluated autopsy reports, and conducted interviews
with guards, officers on duty, escort control, guards
from other cell blocks, medical personnel, and 16
Alpha Block detainees. Its findings concluded that the
three detainees committed suicide by hanging.
CITF Report
Established in 2002, it includes members from all US
armed services branches to investigate detainees
captured in the "war on terrorism" and build criminal
cases against them. It's a Joint Task Force that
includes members from the Army Criminal Investigation
Division (CID), NCIS, and Air Force Office of Special
Investigations (OSI). About half of its findings were
redacted, and its documents revealed no final
conclusions.
SOUTHCOM
It's one of DOD's global commands and the umbrella
unit for JTF-GITMO. Its material supplements NCIS and
CITF files, specifically documents found in detainees'
cells, including purported suicide notes and
"uncertified translations." It drew no conclusions
regarding the information collected and examined
during its investigative involvement.
The SJA Report Its "informal investigation" focused on whether specific SOP violations occurred on June 9 and 10, and if so, whether they contributed to aiding the detainee deaths. It found six violations, redacted as "not insignificant" that may or may not have contributed to the detainees' deaths.
Camp Delta
Operating as one of three Guantanamo detention
facilities, it's governed by SOPs that extensively
monitor detainees from the moment they arrive with
guard instructions to maintain a "continuous presence
on the blocks" by conducting frequent headcounts, cell
searches, and various other security measures.
Containing four camps, numbered 1 through 4, each with
10 cell blocks, Alpha Block is in Camp 1 with 48
cells, all clearly visible, aligned in two rows facing
each other along a corridor called a tier. It's a
maximum security facility for detainees separated for
either behavioral or intelligence purposes, each in a
separate cell measuring six feet, eight inches by
eight feet with a sink, toilet, and cot. On each cell
door is a "bean hole" or small window-like opening
through which guards deliver meals and perform
shackling and medical checks. A small rear window lets
in some natural light.
Camp 1 is under constant surveillance by cell block
guards and others in towers able to look directly into
cells to monitor all movement throughout the facility.
Sally Ports control access to all persons entering and
exiting the camp. The Detention Operations Center
(DOC) headquarters oversees all detention and security
operations for complete control.
Chain of Command
SOPs define chain of command responsibilities, headed
by the Commander of Joint Detention Operations Group (CJDOG)
in charge of camp operations. The on-duty Commanding
Officer (CO) is in charge of Camp Delta and reports to
the CJDOG.
All movement is tightly secured, so when detainees are
removed from cells, SOPs require they be escorted by
guards following strict procedures, including the use
of three-piece restraints to prevent escape.
Surveillance is constant and detainees are subjected
to an "intense intelligence-gathering operation" that
involves horrific torture and abuse for extended
periods. It wasn't part of CP&R's report, but it's
relevant to what happened.
An Immediate Response Force (IRF) five-member team is
also used for forced cell extractions and in cases of
"self-harm incidents." Video monitoring documents
everything.
Compliance with SOPs is central to maintaining camp
security. Guard violations may lead to disciplinary
action.
Estimated Time of Death
Medical examiners said the detainees were dead and
hanging in their cells for an extended time without
being noticed - "at least a couple of hours prior to
the discovery." However body descriptions showed they
were deceased longer.
The government's SJA Report includes Dr. Dean Hawley's
evaluation, an Indiana University Pathology Professor,
expert in the field of strangulation and asphyxiation
deaths. Ligature abrasions (rope burns) on the bodies
indicate they were hanging post-mortem for several
hours. Their advanced rigor mortis proved they were
dead much longer than two hours, "under continuous
guard presence." Their bodies were also "cold to the
touch" indicating they were hanging a long time,
likely several hours.
The investigations were whitewashed with the NCIS,
CITF, and SJA unanimously pronouncing the three deaths
suicides. Yet until the bodies were discovered,
nothing unusual was observed by guards or other
detainees although in past self-harm incidents:
"other detainees (made) it urgently and loudly known
that (an inmate) was carrying out some type of
self-harm. Despite their ability to see into other
cells, no detainee alerted the guards to any
(incidents) that night, nor did the guards, who were
on high alert, notice anything unusual...."
Colonel Bumgarner and Admiral Harris
Statements
Blame the victims was part of the coverup. In a June 9
Fox News interview, Colonel Bumgarner (Camp Delta
Joint Detention Group commander) told host Bill
O'Reilly than he believed an Al Qaeda cell was
operating in the camp, and said:
"Make no mistake....they will cut your throat in a
heartbeat. Make no mistake about it...."
In an 11-page statement, he added that the detainees
were becoming more violent, yet how could they alone
in cells, and when outside painfully shackled hands
and feet.
In another media statement, camp commander Admiral
Harris called the suicides an act of coordinated
"asymmetric warfare" against America, "not an act of
desperation." He added that they were:
"tied to a mystical belief at Guantanamo that three
detainees must die at the camp for all the detainees
to be released....They are smart. They are creative.
They are committed. They have no regard for human
life, neither ours nor their own....I believe this was
not an act of desperation, but rather an act of
asymmetrical warfare waged against us."
According to Colleen Graffy, Assistant Secretary of
State for Public Diplomacy, the incident was a "good
PR move to draw attention."
Evidence Without Findings, Findings
Without Evidence
"The investigations contain many pieces of evidence
that are never explained or explored further,"
suggesting coverup. In addition:
"The government reported that the detainees committed
suicide as part of a conspiracy," yet "fail(s) to
present any (supporting) evidence," suggesting there's
none. "In fact, all (known) evidence is inconsistent
with the conclusion that the detainees conspired."
Reported suicide notes on detainees' bodies and in
their cells had similar, ambiguous wording with
investigators saying "there is not explicit discussion
of suicide in the handwritten portion" of the longer
note in one cell.
No evidence corroborates the claim that another
detainee walked through the cell block on June 9
saying "tonight's the night." In fact, detainees are
prohibited from walking through the corridors of a
maximum security facility or communicating with each
other.
Yet NCIS' Statement of Findings said "there was a
growing concern that someone within the Camp Delta
population was directing detainees to commit suicide."
But investigative files omit mentioning who did it,
and no evidence shows steps taken to identify the
supposed offender or enhance security to stop him.
"There are no documents, statements, video
surveillances, log-book notes, DIMS reports, or other
records that suggest a coordinated act. No guard was
questioned about how the detainees could have
communicated to conspire or coordinate their elaborate
acts while under constant surveillance....The
investigation fails to mention that Al Tabi was
cleared for transfer to his native Saudi Arabia and
scheduled to leave Guantanamo before the end of the
month."
Also, he'd only been in Alpha Block 72 hours, hardly
enough time to conspire or for any reason, given his
impending release. In addition, the three men were on
the same cell block side, separated by vacant and
occupied cells supervised by five guards every 10
minutes and constant video monitoring.
"The investigative file contains no evidence of either
oral or written communications between the three
detainees or any others or any evidence to show how
the three would be able to coordinate all the
necessary preparations for committing suicide
simultaneously."
In addition, guard interviews were "superficial,"
containing little information on what each saw and did
before discovering the bodies. Other interviews were
just as faulty, sketchy, and delayed until days after
the incident. "There was no systematic attempt" to
obtain detained accounts of what everyone knew and
could relate. Questions weren't asked, specifically:
-- if detainees were hanging in their cells for over
two hours, why didn't guards see and report it;
-- if sheets and blankets were hung in cells to
obscure vision inside, why weren't they immediately
removed;
-- if guards saw detainees braiding noses, why didn't
they stop them;
-- how could materials have been gotten to make
mannequins asleep in their beds look life-life enough
to fool guards; and
-- if guards saw notes passed between detainees or
heard them communicate, why didn't they immediately
halt them.
Six days after the incident, four guards were told
that they were suspected of making false statements
and/or not obeying direct orders, yet no disciplinary
action was taken. In addition, evidence was missing,
including:
-- "Sworn statements on required forms
-- Serious Incident Reports
-- Surveillance video
-- Audio recordings
-- Duty roster
-- Detainee transfer book
-- Pass-on book
-- DIMS system information
-- Statements from additional witnesses, including
tower guards," able to view inside all cells easily;
and
-- interviews with other Detainee Operations Center
personnel.
In addition:
"The way in which the investigative files are
presented makes it difficult to understand how the
investigation was conducted. It produced more than
1,700 pages of interviews and information regarding
the events of June 9 and 10, but the evidence obtained
as presented is virtually impenetrable. Pages are
missing, paragraphs are redacted, and documents with
information are disorganized, making it difficult to
review any of the evidence obtained...."
The investigation took three months, but wasn't
released until April 28, 2009, 18 months later.
CP&R concluded that the men "died under questionable
circumstances," with the investigation producing "more
questions than answers." Without proper investigation,
it's impossible to determine the deaths' true cause,
suggesting they were by means other than reported to
suppress the truth. It wouldn't be the first time.
Known Murders in US Torture-Prisons
In his 2007 book, "The Guantanamo Files: The Stories
of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison,"
British historian Andy Worthington reviewed them all,
who they are, the majority being non-belligerents, and
the use of torture, in some cases harsh enough to
kill.
Chapter 14 of his book recounted "Murders in Bagram,"
America's notorious Afghanistan torture-prison, now
undergoing a $60 million expansion to hold 1,100 more
prisoners besides the 600 or more now there.
Besides the most unspeakable tortures, he detailed at
least 10 known murders, naming names and explaining
that their treatment, in fact, killed them.
Mullah Habibullah for one, called "uncooperative,"
placed in isolation, shackled by his wrists to the
wire ceiling, then beaten until after four days he was
coughing and complaining of chest pains. The violence
still continued and killed him.
Dilawar was a taxi driver, randomly seized and
imprisoned. Also called non-compliant, he apparently
spat on one soldier who beat him brutally for two days
and killed him.
Former UK prisoner, Moazzam Begg (now freed) reported
witnessing one death in late 2002, and with two other
detainees another in July, never investigated. They
said a young Afghan man was fine on arrival, "and the
next thing they were carrying him out on a stretcher."
Begg spent 10 months at Bagram, wrote a book titled
"Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo,
Bagram, and Kandahar," in which he explained that a
Kandahar guard he knew told him about a murder caused
by "hitting (a) detainee so hard that he felt he had
fractured something," and that another guard used
"Thai-style elbow-and-knee techniques." Still another
one confirmed the murder, then later denied it.
A UK Bargram detainee now released, Omar Deghayes,
confirmed witnessing two murders while there,
including "a prisoner shot dead after he had gone to
the aid of an inmate who was being beaten and kicked
by the guards," and another prisoner beaten to death.
These and others at Bargram, Guantanamo, and other US
torture-prisons are unreported or called suicides or
naturally occurring deaths. Strong evidence confirms
otherwise and suggests the three Guantanamo detainees
didn't commit suicide. They were murdered in cold
blood. Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to the Lendman News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday - Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national issues. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://republicbroadcasting.org/Lendman
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