Guantanamo Bay - A Hazard to Global Health

Dr Adnan Siddiqui

Confined in temperatures of over 100 F and humidity over 60% are conditions familiar to any one who has used the London Underground recently; but this is the daily reality for at least 9 months of the year for the prisoners at Camp Delta,Guantanamo Bay.

These conditions are not fit for animals, let alone human beings, yet the US administration assures the world that they are being treated humanely. Recently, this was strongly refuted in an editorial in the April edition of the British Medical Journal by Dr Derek Summerfield, who felt that torture is becoming a legitimate tool in fighting the “war on terror”.

Torture is a very emotive term and brings to mind electric shocks and beatings, but the conditions at Camp Delta reveal a more sophisticated form of torture.

As a medical professional, I can state that the treatment of the prisoners at GT Bay is a combination of medical neglect and torture. And I back this assertion by covering the areas of physical torture in transit, mental torture, neglect of general medical care, child and elder abuse. However this information is of no value if it does not translate into concerted action to address these issues and I hope to provide people with some strategies to help.

The route to GT Bay starts in any place in the world where the FBI/CIA, in concert with their allies, will kidnap suspects and interrogate them. The most notorious “transit lounge” before they depart for their “Caribbean holiday” is at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.Here prisoners are routinely locked up in underground cellars and physically tortured because the Red Cross/Crescent cannot visit, which facilitates ill-treatment and torture. This has resulted in at least 2 deaths in custody, which a US military pathologist has described as homicide. Therefore the claims of no physical torture at GT Bay sound very hollow when most of the prisoners would have had their induction before their departure. This is even alluded to by US military spokespeople who state that the conditions at GT Bay are far superior to Bagram or the certain death they would face from their ally,Abdul Rashid Dostum,the Butcher of Shiberghan.However their torture continues in the 22 hour flight to Cuba when they are provided with in-flight accessories of goggles, ear muffs,gloves,shackles and incontinence pads to soak up the urine, faeces and vomit that their “air stewards” are expecting.Dr Duncan Forrest of the Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of Torture, has stated that this treatment is a very serious infringement of their human rights and if this kind of sensory deprivation lasts longer than 20 hours it predisposes to the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

On arrival at GT Bay the slow, insidious process of mental torture starts. Since all the prisoners have been kept incommunicado and have still not been charged with any offence, this leaves them in a state of uncertainty which is detrimental to their mental health. Any prisoner in the world holds the hope that they will either be released once the sentence is served or with death, but here they are in limbo. This is also exacerbated by the majority of prisoners being kept in solitary confinement, which also adds to the strain on their mental health. The impact of this has been 28 suicide attempts by 18 individuals since detention. The shocking aspect of this statistic is that since most Muslims know suicide is forbidden in Islam, the rates of this problem amongst Muslim prisoners in the West is low, but clearly they have been degraded to the point where they feel there is no other option. One can only imagine the anguish they feel but one of the letters of Moazzam Begg expresses this well when he says “he is losing the fight against depression”. The letters from family and loved ones are their only contact and these are heavily censored and sporadic in their arrival which only adds to the feeling of isolation. Their physical confinement in 8ft by 6ft8in cages which are constantly lit, and not private, adds to the psychological pressure. The only company they have are the venomous insects and vermin that share their space. The chief medical officer at GT Bay Capt Albert Shimkus asserts that these conditions do not have any effect on mental health and that those suffering from mental illness (approximately 5%) had these problems before they came .This is disingenuous at best, since Moazzam Begg and another British prisoner, Shafiq Rasool are complaining of depression to their families, yet they had no problems with such an illness when they were in the UK.

There is clear evidence of neglect of general medical care and supervision. The clearest example is that after the first suicide attempt it took 8 months to establish Delta Unit, which is the prison’s mental health facility. This is despite assurances that the prisoners are receiving the same level of care as the soldiers at GT Bay, which either means the soldiers are also poorly treated or there is neglect of the prisoners. Additionally all prison medical staff know that people with mental health problems are at risk of suicide, so why was there no “suicide watch” for these prisoners; and if the cages are visible to the guards, how were any suicide attempts possible? One of the prisoners who attempted suicide was on life support and is now brain damaged. Just one of these incidents in the UK would prompt a full inquiry and certainly in the USA there would be claims being made for medical negligence. Chief prison inspectors in the UK are categorical that prison is not the right environment for those with mental health problems so this would leave one to conclude that either the medics are negligent in leaving vulnerable people in these conditions or that they are accessories to the torture.

There is also physical neglect in that the prisoners are incarcerated for 23.5 hours a day and are allowed to exercise for 30 mins between 3-7 times a week, depending on their behaviour. This contravenes UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, where a minimum of 1 hour daily is stated. Evidence for the impact of this on physical health comes from Shafiq Rasool’s family, who relate that he says he has constant pain in his legs and back due to prolonged standing. Most telling of all is Capt Shimkus’ statement that the traditional concept of ”care and comfort” in delivering healthcare was not possible and he could only provide care and not comfort. The reason given was understandable since he felt most of these prisoners wanted to “do away with them” ,and therefore a relationship based on trust could not be established, which is crucial in the delivery of healthcare.

The final most shocking revelation was delivered by Sec of State Collin Powell when he admitted that 4 children under the age of 16 and 2 OAPs were amongst the prisoners. This is clear evidence of child and elder abuse.The children are at least not in solitary confinement and are together in Camp Iguana, yet they are still incommunicado and have not had any contact with their parents. One is 13 years old, one is 14 and two are 15 and as one of their warders said “they often cry themselves to sleep”. In anyone’s book this is outrageous, but along with Somalia the USA has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. One of the military spokesman at GT Bay Lieut Cprl Barry Johnson states in all seriousness that “the children would be held until we ensure that they are no longer a threat to US and her allies”. If the US is so fragile it fears children and ignores their rights then it is not a superpower and is in reality a bully. The issue of elder abuse is similarly distressing. The US had the good grace to release a 105 year old man last year but still holds on to an 88 year old and a 98 year old. I presume they are also a “threat to the US” since they may possess lethal walking sticks and sharp false teeth!

What is happening at GT Bay is a disease that affects all of humanity. Like cancer if it is not dealt with and eradicated then its “poisonous effects” will affect Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Our campaign is for justice for these prisoners and is not limited to Muslims yet we find non-Muslims at the forefront of campaigns for the prisoners. We are asking Muslims, and particularly health care professionals, to “Adopt a prisoner” and become an advocate for them and their families and fulfil what the US military medics have said they cannot do, provide care and comfort. If one of these prisoners was your 13 year old son or your brother, husband or father you would do this because of the ties of blood. Currently we will compile a full list of names of all the prisoners and then we will look for people to take on this role. As ever I expect non-Muslims will be helping but it is high time for the Muslims to show courage and action in this campaign since ultimately the losers in this will not be those at GT Bay, whose reward is with Allah, but ourselves.

author: Dr Adnan Siddiqui, www.prisonerofwest.org