On Friday the 9th June, it was reported by the US military that 3 men had allegedly committed suicide in Camp 1 at the notorious Guantanamo Bay.  The men, two Saudis and a Yemni were identified as, 30 year old Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi al-Utaybi, 21 year old Yassar Talal al-Zahrani and 28 year old Ali Abdullah Ahmed.

The US military and the government have been quick to label these deaths as, ‘suicides’ however former Guantanamo detainees including 9 British citizens claim that they are almost certainly accidental killings caused by excessive force used by US guards there.

The US army described this act of desperation as “an act of asymmetrical warfare” and a “PR stunt” by Al-Qaeda operatives being held at Guantanamo. This is possibly the most offensive thing the military has said to date. 

After four years of illegal detention and torture, no evidence has been presented to substantiate that any of the detainees had links with Al-Qaeda.  Less than 10 of the 450+ men held there have been charged and none have been put on trial since the camp opened in 2002.

The US claim the men died by strangulation with their bed-sheets.  However, a lawyer who has seen the conditions at the camp has stated that the mesh is far too thin to fit a sheet through.  Tarek Dergoul a former detainee who knew two of the deceased has said that they were frequently beaten by guards because of a lack of cooperation.  He states that it was camp policy to systematically beat incompliant prisoners.  He further notes that in Camp One, where he was also held, it would have been physically impossible for them to have committed suicide successfully.

This means that the US administrations claim that these deaths were suicides, does not stand up to close scrutiny. This raises the question as the how these men died.  The Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign and the National Coalition Against Guantanamo call on the British government to urge the US government and the military to launch an independent inquiry into the cause of the deaths of these men.

These men were illegally detained and tortured for over four years with limited access to the outside world.  They had little, if any, communication with their families through censored letters and did not have access to legal representation.

Talal Al Zahrani the father of one of the deceased said, "I want Yassar to be the last person to die in Guantanamo."

Following the deaths of these three men the families of 8 British residents still detained at Guantanamo are increasingly concerned for their loved ones. The news of these deaths was clearly disturbing for relatives of all the detainees and did nothing to assuage fears about their mental and physical health in Guantanamo.

They too have had no direct access to their family members for over four years and two of the residents have never seen their youngest children.   We urge the British government to call for the immediate closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and to release all those held without charge or trial to countries where they will not face further abuses of their human rights. Guantanamo must be closed immediately to prevent any further tragedies.

One of the British residents detained at Guantanamo wrote a letter to his family, in which he said,

“It is the Brits who have the ability to stop the injustice that is going on here – to me and many others.”

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Attend the international day of demonstrations on the 15 July 2006 in London - speakers included so far are:

    1. Babar Ahmad's campaign
    2. Victims of Forest gate raids
    3. Families of those arrested in the recent raids in the North
    4. Families of British Residents still held at Guantanamo
    5. Ex-Guantanamo detainees

Coaches will be leaving from Birmingham, Brigton, Manchester - times and places to be confirmed.  Please email us at the address below for more information and to book your seat:

bhamguantanamocampaign@yahoo.co.uk

Sign the petition at:

http://www.gopetition.com/online/8909.html

The more signatures we can get the better and forward the petition to all your mates.

Please write to your MP and ask the British government to take action to close down Guantanamo and ask for an independent investigation into the deaths of these men. 

Please also send a copy of the letter (a draft can be found on our website) to the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary.

Details can be found at: www.guantanamo.org.uk - (Go to action page of the site)

Submitted by a member of the public via Contribute.

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