home

London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were Kids

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Sun May 28, 2006 at 05:21:27 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

A British legal rights group asserts that 60 of the Guantanamo detainees have been children under 18.

They include at least 10 detainees still held at the US base in Cuba who were 14 or 15 when they were seized - including child soldiers who were held in solitary confinement, repeatedly interrogated and allegedly tortured.

The disclosures threaten to plunge the Bush administration into a fresh row with Britain, its closest ally in the war on terror, only days after the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, repeated his demands for the closure of the detention facility. It was, he said, a "symbol of injustice".

The U.S. says it is not holding any juveniles now. That doesn't mean it wasn't at one time.

Because the detainees have been held in Cuba for four years, all the teenagers are now thought to have reached their 18th birthdays in Guantanamo Bay and some have since been released.

After the DoD released the names of the detainees, the British group, Reprieve, says:

They were able to confirm that 17 detainees on the list were under 18 when taken to the camp, and another seven were probably juveniles.

In addition, said Mr Stafford Smith, they had credible evidence from other detainees, lawyers and the International Red Cross that another 37 inmates were under 18 when they were seized. One detainee, an al-Jazeera journalist called Sami el Hajj, has identified 36 juveniles in Guantanamo.

< Yearly Kos in the New York Times | Duke Lacrosse Case: More Details of Accuser's Changed Story >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were Kids | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#1)
    by Al on Sun May 28, 2006 at 01:04:23 AM EST
    Is there no aberration this administration is not capable of?

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun May 28, 2006 at 01:54:58 AM EST
    Ick. Apparently not. Let's just hope "ritual mass suicide" is somewhere on their list.

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#3)
    by jamesepowell on Sun May 28, 2006 at 02:15:19 AM EST
    The disclosures threaten to plunge the Bush administration into a fresh row with Britain A fresh row? You mean Blair will bark, Bush will ignore him, then Blair will lick Bush's hand.

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun May 28, 2006 at 07:10:59 AM EST
    You all realize this is satire right?

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#5)
    by jen on Sun May 28, 2006 at 07:38:58 AM EST
    horror yes, satire?

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Sun May 28, 2006 at 07:46:37 AM EST
    Muddy, What is satirical? Your comment?

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Sun May 28, 2006 at 08:07:22 AM EST
    Americans generally support giving international courts broad authority to judge compliance with treaties and seven in ten reject the idea that the United States should receive exceptional treatment under such treaties. These are some of the findings of a new nationwide poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion{dot}org and fielded by Knowledge Networks.
    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#8)
    by jondee on Sun May 28, 2006 at 01:33:37 PM EST
    This another aspect of Shrubco adopting the putting-down-the-Intifada model that the savants of West Bank fascism and expansionism have tutored the admin all-too-well in. Of course, as soon as all the torturing and killing is over, we'll introduce "them" to all the aspects of our culture that are so much nicer than theirs.

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#9)
    by Sailor on Sun May 28, 2006 at 05:06:35 PM EST
    One child prisoner, Mohamed el Gharani, is accused of involvement in a 1998 al-Qa'ida plot in London led by the alleged al-Qa'ida leader in Europe, Abu Qatada. But he was 12 years old at the time and living with his parents in Saudi Arabia.
    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun May 28, 2006 at 05:42:06 PM EST
    If true, such harsh treatment of teens is another black eye.

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#11)
    by Repack Rider on Sun May 28, 2006 at 06:11:03 PM EST
    If true, such harsh treatment of teens is another black eye. How many eyes do these guys have?

    Re: London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were K (none / 0) (#12)
    by Sailor on Mon May 29, 2006 at 05:54:40 PM EST
    My quote, is what is called a fact, the gitmo excuse is what is called a supposition ... that has since been proven wrong. Can you tell the difference? I thought you could.

    London Lawyers: 60 Guantanamo Detainees Were Kids | 12 comments (12 topical)