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| Sunday, 20 January 2002 |
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AI urges USA to end legal limbo of Guantanamo prisoners Amnesty International urged the United States to ensure respect for the human rights of all people who have been or may be transferred from Afghanistan to a US military base in Guantanamo bay, Cuba. "The US is placing these people in a legal limbo. They deny that they are Prisoners of War (POWs), while at the same time failing to provide them with the most basic protections of any person deprived of their liberty," Amnesty International said. "The USA has obligations under international laws to ensure respect for the human rights of all persons in their custody - including the duty to treat them humanely and ensure that they have recourse to fair proceedings, regardless of the nature of the crimes they are suspected of having committed." Amnesty International considers that those who are held in Guantanamo, who are said to have been captured during the war in Afghanistan, are presumed to be POWs. If there is any dispute about their status, the US must allow a "competent tribunal" to decide, as required by Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention. This is also the position held by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the most authoritative interpreter of the Geneva Conventions. "It is not the prerogative of the Secretary of Defence or any other US adminstration official to determine whether those held in Guantanamo are POWs", Amnesty International said. "An independent US court, following due process, is the appropriate organ to make this determination. |
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