The Bush administration's treatment of juvenile prisoners shipped to Guantánamo Bay defies logic as well as international law.

By Jo Becker

Jun. 24, 2008 | When Mohammed Jawad took the stand in a courtroom at the U.S. Naval base here late last week, he described a litany of abuse he has endured while detained at Guantánamo, including a sleep deprivation regime known colloquially as the "frequent flyer" program.

"Day and night, they were shifting me from one room to another room," Jawad said. "I don't remember how much time I slept, but it was only a short time before they were knocking on my door and shifting me from place to place. No one answered me why they were giving me this punishment."

Military records showed that during a 14-day period in May 2004, Jawad was moved from cell to cell 112 times, usually left in one cell for less than three hours before being shackled and moved to another. Between midnight and 2 a.m. he was moved more frequently to ensure maximum disruption of sleep.

Such tactics used against a detainee would have been severe under any circumstances -- Department of Defense guidance limits sleep deprivation to a maximum of four days -- but in the case of Jawad, they are particularly disturbing because he was a scared and suicidal teenager at the time. Jawad's military-appointed lawyer, Maj. David Frakt, described the tactics as "sadistic and pointless," and moved to dismiss the charges against his client on grounds of torture.

Jawad was arrested by Afghan police in December 2002 after allegedly throwing a grenade into a U.S. army vehicle in Afghanistan that severely injured two U.S. soldiers and their Afghan translator. Frakt argues that Jawad was drugged and forced to fight with Afghan militia. Jawad doesn't know his exact birth date, but was 16 or 17 years old at the time. In early 2003, he was brought to Guantánamo.

According to government records obtained by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, more than 20 detainees under the age of 18 have been brought to the prison camp since 2002. The treatment of underage prisoners at Guantánamo, largely in defiance of international law, is one of various ways in which the Bush administration's policies have tainted prospects for Guantánamo detainees ever to be brought to justice under U.S. law.

Although most of the 20 juvenile detainees have now been released, three remain, having spent more than a quarter of their lives at Guantánamo. The other two juvenile detainees were each only 15 years old when they were apprehended. Mohammad El Gharani was arrested at a mosque in Pakistan and brought to Guantánamo in early 2002. Omar Khadr, a Canadian, was apprehended in July 2002 after a firefight in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of a U.S. soldier. Held for several months in Afghanistan, he was barely 16 when he arrived here later that same year.

The presence of juveniles at Guantánamo first came to light in 2003, when media reports revealed the age of the youngest detainee at Guantánamo -- who was only 13 years old. Unable to explain how a 13-year-old could be classified as being among "the worst of the worst," as top Bush officials had described Guantánamo's prisoner population, the Pentagon realized it had a PR problem on its hands. It quickly created a special camp for the three detainees between ages 13 and 15. At Camp Iguana, these children received math and English classes and access to a social worker and recreational facilities. Bizarrely and perhaps without any sense of irony, they were permitted to watch movies including "Cast Away." Defense Department officials proudly gave tours of the special facility.

That year, on behalf of Human Rights Watch, I had several meetings with Pentagon representatives to discuss the fate of these children. In early 2004, they were released to UNICEF in Afghanistan for rehabilitation. But whenever I tried to raise the case of Omar Khadr (we were unaware of El Gharani and Jawad's cases at the time) I received the same response: "Khadr is off the table; we will not discuss Khadr."

Unlike with the three boys held at Camp Iguana and released for rehabilitation, the Pentagon has never acknowledged the juvenile status of Khadr, Jawad or El Gharani. Although international law provides that anyone under 18 is a child and entitled to special treatment, the Defense Department created its own standard: Anyone who was 16 would automatically be treated as an adult. When I asked Defense Department officials in 2004 about the rationale for this policy, they had no reply. One official finally admitted to me that it was completely arbitrary.

During last week's hearing, Frakt, Jawad's attorney, asked the prosecutor who authorized the charges against Jawad: "You did not believe his age was worthy of bringing to the attention of the convening authority?" Lt. Col. William Britt's answer: "No, I didn't."

The Bush administration's refusal to treat these prisoners as juveniles has had profound consequences for Khadr, Jawad and El-Gharani. They have had no access to education or recreation facilities and have been housed in the same facilities as adult detainees. After five years of imprisonment, Jawad remains functionally illiterate. None of the three have been allowed to see members of their family.

The effects of prolonged isolation have taken a severe toll. El Gharani has tried to commit suicide at least seven times. He has slit his wrist, run repeatedly into the sides of his cell and tried to hang himself. On several occasions he has been placed on suicide watch in a mental health unit.

Jawad also tried to commit suicide about 11 months after arriving in Guantánamo, by hanging himself by his shirt collar. Prison records also state that he "attempted self-harm by banging his head off of metal structures inside his cell."

On the witness stand last week Jawad referred to his suicide attempt. "Islam never permits [suicide], but when a person is in great trouble, it was beyond my control. That's why I tried that." His lawyer says that Jawad seems to have lost touch with reality and suffers from major depression.

At O'Kelley's bar, an incongruous Irish pub at the naval base here, journalists, defense lawyers and human rights observers gather to talk about the bizarre world of Guantánamo. I've heard people express disbelief repeatedly that although the United States has detained nearly 700 suspects at Guantánamo since its inception, it has singled out two juveniles to be among the first detainees prosecuted under the military commissions. Officials associated with the military commissions have suggested that the youths’ alleged direct attacks on U.S. soldiers would "capture the imagination" of the American public.

Strikingly, it was just around the time that Khadr, El Gharani and Jawad were transferred to Guantánamo that the U.S. ratified an international treaty barring the use of children under 18 in armed conflict. The treaty also obligates governments to help rehabilitate child soldiers and help them reintegrate into society.

In some respects, the U.S. has taken its new responsibilities seriously: Each branch of the armed forces adopted new policies to keep American military personnel out of combat until they reach age 18 and to delay deployment of 17-year-old volunteers. Since 2001, the U.S. has also contributed more than $34 million around the globe to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to demobilize and reintegrate child combatants. Since 2003, $4.5 million in U.S. funds has supported a demobilization program for over 5,000 former child soldiers in Afghanistan.

The commitment to rehabilitation, however, seems to be missing in action when child soldiers engaging U.S. forces are captured.

Khadr's attorneys argued at Guantánamo in February that as a former child soldier, Khadr should not be tried before a military commission. They claimed that international law obligates the U.S. to treat Khadr as a victim, not to punish him, and that Congress did not give the military tribunals jurisdiction over crimes by juveniles. The military judge rejected their motion.

As the proceedings move forward the U.S. continues to turn a blind eye to Khadr's juvenile status. Recently, his attorneys requested funding to secure a child psychologist and psychiatrist as expert witnesses at Khadr's trial. Those requests also were denied.

International law does not preclude the possibility of prosecuting former child soldiers for serious criminal offenses. But the standards are very clear: Such cases should be handled as quickly as possible through specialized juvenile justice systems. Rehabilitation must be the primary objective, and conditions of detention must include access to family, education, recreation and other special assistance.

On every count, the U.S. has failed at Guantánamo to meet these requirements.

The judge in Khadr's case announced last week that Khadr's trial would begin on October 8. Even if acquitted, however, the U.S. government has said that it may continue to detain him "in order to mitigate the threat posed by the detainee."

Jawad's hearings will resume in August.

El Gharani has not been charged, and spends his days languishing in a cell with little more than a mattress, a copy of the Quran and toilet paper.

-- By Jo Becker

http://www.wordpressmagazine.se/danmark-topp-100-popularaste-wordpress-bloggar-v12/

Jeg vil først og fremmest, som en selvfølge, takke enhver der har gjort det muligt for mig at nå så langt, på så kort tid.

 jeg vil takke Islamdk.dk for at have hjulpet mig,  på den rette vej, samt at have linket til min blog. Samt et stort tak Til Søster Helen Latifi(der er min søster i islam)der ligeledes har linket hertil, både fra hendes blog, og for at have givet mig et plads i muslim.blogbot.dk.

Og endnu engang tak til alle jer der har siddet og som stadig sidder og læser med herinde....

være på vagt, for i løbet af dette uge, vil der kommet et logo, der vil erstatte den store grønne område øverst på bloggen....

Well det kan man kort sagt ikke, Men det er hvad vesten gør i øjeblikket.

for under dækning af ytringsfriheden, har danske aviser genoptrykt en Muhammed-tegning, og har dermed fået Anti-ytringsfriheds forkæmper til at kunne finder på den bedste argument nogensinde for hvorfor man ikke skal have ytringsfrihed. Med deres retorik har de kunnet få folk til ikke at ønske den menneskeret implementeret i deres lande, grundet det lille kongerige der ligger i Nordeuropa.

Den Islamistiske fanatiker behøver nu ikke lyve for at komme frem med sin sag. Nemlig at ytringsfriheden er ikke andet end et værk fra de vantro for at håne den sidste Profet på dette Jord Profeten Muhammed (Fred være med ham)

 Inden jeg fortsætter skal det skal siges at jeg ikke støtter nogen som helst former for Vold og Fanatisme, samt vold og mord på civile.

Men med den rette retorik kan den lokale Al-qaida talsmand overbevise den lokale intetanende menneske, at ytringsfriheden er jødernes værk, der har til formål at fornærme islam. Et godt bevis på dette er vel at man ikke må sætte spørgesmåltegn omkring ofrene for holocaust, og at enhver person der gør fængsles.

for at være saglig så er fanatikernes udsagn nemlig rigtig en lille søgning på ordet Holocaust benægter ville kunne bekræfte dette!

Men der er desværre intet at gøre, Danmark er desværre nødsaget til at forsvare ytringsfriheden, ved at provokere, og trykke profettegningerne igen og igen. Et dårligt forsvarsmetode, et dårligt undskyldning, som bliver mødt med et endnu dårligere svar, Nemlig ambassade afbrændninger, og vold mod landets ambassade.

boykotten er som nævnt i et tidligere indlæg, kun gavn til danmark ifølge min mening

Virkeligheden ser desværre sådan ud, nationens sikkerhed, ligger hos et flok Journalister og chefredaktører, samt provokatører fra folketinget af, der ikke har andet at vise mellemøsten end blot deltagelse i Irakkrigen og krigen mod Afghanistan, som begge tydeligvis truede det vestlige demokrati...

på samme tid, sidder man i Danmark og kæmper for demokratiske reformer i lande i mellemøsten. Den kommende demokrati i disse lande er sikkert et demokrati efter russisk model. hvor den lederen De jura  hedder Medvedev mens lederen De Facto hedder Putin.

bh-4kl. klostervængetskolen

4-5 ibn sina friskole

5-7 Den marokkanske danske skole (privatskole)

7-9 klasse Holbergskolen.

efterfølgende tog jeg en optagelsesprøve på Vestre borgerdyd (nu Københavns Åbne Gymnasium) hvor jeg bestod prøven og gik der i 1g og 2g men grundet enkelte problemer skiftede jeg til Akademisk studenterkursus. Jeg er 2.generationsindvandrer og er derfor kriminel i DF's Øjne.

selvom jeg har valgt en studieretning som er Naturvidenskabelig så er jeg faktisk et samfundsvidenskabelig orienteret menneske, dette kan sagtens ses på mine terminskarakter hvor min snit i Matematik, biologi og Fysik er under 7, men af en eller anden grund er jeg god til Kemi jeg får 10!  jeg får 10 i mundtlig dansk, 7 i skriftlig dansk, 7 i historie, 10 i samfundsfag, og 7 i mundtlig engelsk.

Nåh men lad os glemme, alle de tørre tal vi har her! For siden jeg åbnede mine øjne for politik har jeg ønsket at komme ind i folketinget, jeg har altid drømt om at være miniorteternes forkæmper, de svages håb og de fattigesdrøm :P. Siden DF's relle start i 2001 (ja jeg ved at blev født i 1995) så har jeg set Pia K. og Co. snakke Om indvandrere og muslimer mens de sammenligner os med Nazister og andre (for provokationens skyld) godtfolk der politisk, økonomisk og mentalt set er til højre for midten. Dette gavner selvfølig ikke integrationen, ej heller Assimilisationen som Pia K. mener hver gang hun siger integration.

Jeg er troende muslim, Jeg beder Til Allah 3 gange om dagen, 5 bønner dagligt, betaler 1/5 af min overskud til de fattig, samt 2,5% hver eid, Har ikke haft en kæreste, og er ej gift. jeg tager til fredagsbøn når jeg kan og har en masse muslimske drengevenner og en danske pigeveninder. Som alle andre mennesker støtter jeg ikke terror og drab på civile mennesker, dette betyder at jeg ubetinget ikke bryder mig om George W.bush, Putin, Tony Blair og Osama B. LAden. eller andre terrororganisationer såsom EtA og AL-QAiDa.

Alle dem der kender mig ved at jeg er en person de ikke kan stole på hvad han siger. For jeg har en tendens til at blande Satire, ironi, Sarkasme og seriøsitet uden at folk ligger mærke til hvad er seriøst ment og hvad er sjovt...jeg elsker desuden også at provokere for at skabe konflikter for senere hen at retfærdiggøre det jeg sagde med at jeg ville skabe en debat omkring...Det sidste har jeg lært efter at studere Dansk Folkepartis Uofficelle partiprogram...

 ytringsfriheden er et selvfølge i ethvert demokratisk samfund, og dette ret skal der værnes om, For ytringsfriheden er det eneste vi har her i Danmark og uden den, Og det er det eneste vi alle sammen i fællesskab kan misbruge uden at blive stillet til ansvar hos en Dommer (det skal selvfølig nævnes at man alligevel ikke skal tage Pis på Hendes Majstæt Droningen)

 Jeg ved faktisk ellers ikke hvad jeg skal skrive, men jeg håber da i vil kommentere det jeg skriver, da dette er første gang jeg tager mig sammen til at lave en blog...