- Repeated abuses allegedly suffered by three British prisoners
at the hands of US interrogators and guards in the Guant·namo Bay
detention camp in Cuba could amount to war crimes, the Red Cross said yesterday.
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- The organisation, which maintains a rigidly neutral stance
in public, took the unusual step of voicing its concerns in uncompromising
language after the former detainees, known as the Tipton Three, revealed
that they had been beaten, shackled, photographed naked and in one incident
questioned at gunpoint while in US custody.
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- Their vivid account of the harrowing conditions at the
camp, as told to their lawyers and published for the first time in yesterday's
Guardian, has reignited the debate about the treatment of prisoners and
the British government's role in their questioning and detention.
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- Last night the Red Cross was joined by the Medical Foundation
for the Care of Victims of Torture, which argued that if the allegations
were true they indicated systematic abuse, amounting to torture.
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- Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats' deputy leader,
called for the Foreign Office to mount an "searching investigation"
into what British officials had seen or been told when they visited Guant·namo
Bay.
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- The Tipton Three were captured in Afghanistan and held
at the US military base in Cuba for two years, before being released in
March without charge.
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- One man, Rhuhel Ahmed, alleged that an SAS soldier had
interrogated him for three hours in Afghanistan while an American colleague
held a gun to his head and threatened to shoot him. The trio also said
that they had repeatedly complained of abuse to British consular officials.
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- "Some of the abuses alleged by the detainees would
indeed constitute inhuman treatment," said Florian Westphal, spokesman
for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva.
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- "But we can't comment on this publicly since this
type of allegation is raised directly in discussion with the detaining
authority.
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- "Inhuman treatment constitutes a grave breach of
the third Geneva convention and these are often also described as war crimes."
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- The organisation is allowed to visit the detainees to
ensure they are treated in accordance with the Geneva conventions as long
as it does not disclose information about conditions there. It can breach
confidentiality in limited circumstances, most importantly, if going public
would be in the best interests of the prisoners.
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- Sherman Carroll, spokesman for the Medical Foundation,
said the report rang true in light of revelations about techniques of interrogation
and torture elsewhere.
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- He added: "If [the detainees] had used the word
torture, I would agree with that. This is more than 'torture-lite' [stress
and duress techniques] ... Guant·namo Bay should be closed down."
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- But Major Michael Shavers, the Pentagon spokesman on
Guant·namo Bay, said the US operated "a safe, humane and professional
detention operation".
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- He added: "All detainees are treated humanely, appropriately
and in accordance with the principles of the third Geneva convention.
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- "We have investigated all the allegations of abuse
at Guant·namo Bay and have dealt with them. They have been resolved."
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- A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the government
had always prioritised the welfare of British detainees and had given them
the opportunity to express concerns about their treatment.
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- He added: "During these welfare visits, neither
Mr Ahmed, Mr Iqbal nor Mr Rasul has ever alleged to us that they were systematically
abused.
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- "And although, since returning to the UK, none of
the three men has raised allegations of mistreatment with the British government,
we have nevertheless taken up their concerns with the American authorities.
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- "At our request, the United States is examining
the allegations in detail and intends to respond to them fully."
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,13743,1276441,00.html
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