The Guantanamo Camp: A Site of Unparalleled Notoriety
The Guantanamo camp in Cuba, opened after 9/11, has housed about 780 prisoners seized during the ensuing wars and operations.
UN Experts Call for Pardon and Release
GENEVA: UN experts called Wednesday on outgoing US President Joe Biden to issue a pardon for Abu Zbubaydah, who has been held at Guantanamo for nearly 20 years without charge. "We are exceptionally requesting a presidential pardon for Mr Abu Zubaydah, owing to his treatment while in detention and the lack of due process since he was first detained," a dozen independent UN experts said in a statement. "His immediate release and relocation to a third safe country are long overdue."
Abu Zubaydah’s Treatment
Abu Zubaydah was the first of a number of prisoners to be subjected to CIA "enhanced interrogation" techniques following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the US. The Saudi-born Palestinian, whose full name is Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and has been held without trial at the US Guantanamo camp in Cuba since 2006. He was waterboarded 83 times and suffered other physical abuse, according to a US Senate report, which said that the CIA conceded he was never a member of Al-Qaeda and not involved in planning the 9/11 attacks.
Health Concerns and Legal Impediments
The UN experts, including the special rapporteurs on torture and on promoting human rights while countering terrorism, warned in Wednesday’s statement that Zubaydah "suffers serious health conditions." Those included "injuries sustained during torture that are allegedly exacerbated by the denial of medical attention," they said. The experts also lamented that his "lawyer-client communication has been seriously impeded."
Call for Compensations and Reparations
Zubaydah had endured "profound psychological and physical trauma of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearance," they charged, demanding he be granted compensations and reparations.
The Controversial American Base
He is among 15 people still being held at the controversial American base, after the US defence department on Monday said it had resettled 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo to Oman. Biden pledged before his election in 2020 to try to shut down Guantanamo, but it remains open with just weeks left in his term. The facility was opened in the wake of 9/11 and has been used to indefinitely hold detainees seized during the wars and other operations that followed. Some 780 prisoners have spent time there. The conditions there and the denial of basic legal principles have prompted consistent outcry from rights groups, and UN experts have condemned it as a site of "unparalleled notoriety."
Conclusion
The treatment of Abu Zubaydah and the ongoing detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay raise serious concerns about the human rights violations committed by the US government. The UN experts’ call for a pardon and release is a necessary step towards acknowledging the harm caused and providing justice to those affected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is Abu Zubaydah?
A: Abu Zubaydah is a Saudi-born Palestinian who was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and has been held without trial at the US Guantanamo camp in Cuba since 2006.
Q: What is the Guantanamo camp?
A: The Guantanamo camp is a US military prison located in Cuba, opened after 9/11 to hold detainees seized during the ensuing wars and operations.
Q: Why is Abu Zubaydah being held without charge?
A: Abu Zubaydah was subjected to CIA "enhanced interrogation" techniques and has been held without trial for nearly 20 years, despite the CIA conceding he was never a member of Al-Qaeda and not involved in planning the 9/11 attacks.
Q: What is the current situation at Guantanamo Bay?
A: The US defence department has resettled 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo to Oman, leaving 15 people still being held at the controversial American base.