Women’s association implements campaign against Guantanamo injustices

The Taiz Branch of the Yemeni Women Association (YWA) has initiated an advocacy campaign for detainees in Guantanamo to raise awareness of the conditions and struggles facing imprisoned Yemenis. The campaign aims to pressure the Yemeni government to abide by their commitments to their citizens and do all they can to expedite their release, as well as expose the conditions in Guantanamo and other secret American detention centers.

As part of the campaign, the YWA hosted a debate regarding their organization’s tactics as well as the latest developments in America. Detainees’ relatives and interested activists attended, however, the absence of officials was noticeable, despite having been extended an official invitation by committee organizers.

Dr. Mohammed al-Dorah, Dean of the Economics Faculty at Taiz University, presented a paper entitled “Legal status of Guantanamo detainees, from the legal-national viewpoint.”  He described the USA as a multicultural country that remains intact by maintaining a luxury life for its citizens. He asserted that this luxury depends on the third world’s resources, explaining that if this luxury ceased, the USA would disintegrate.

Al-Dorah went on to say that the USA has used the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City as a justification for its “War on Terror”, though it refrained from signing international terror fighting treaties. He explained that this war has been used as a cover for interfering in other countries’ internal affairs. 

Al-Dorah added that despite the US’ calls for others to abstain from violence, it continues to violate international laws, especially regarding torture and human rights in the Guantanamo prison, in Iraq, in Somalia and other places. Al-Dorah outlined the terror suspects’ legal guarantees before the law and how these are being ignored in these places. In addition to standing up to those who violate these laws, he asserted the necessity of fair compensation for those who have been violated.

In his paper “Guantanamo detention camp and international law”, Dr. Ahmed al-Hamidi said that the Guantanamo prison is considered to be a crime according to international laws regarding the rights of prisoners, the rules of war and human rights treaties.

As a part of their campaign, detainees’ relatives staged a sit-in on the perimeter of Taiz Governorates’ official buildings. They raised posters and pictures of some detainees who were victims of abduction and torture.

A statement was issued during the sit-in demanding backing from the government for efforts to release the Guantanamo detainees and for the formation of a national group including representatives from all civil societies, to follow the detainees’ cases until they are all freed. Relatives also called upon the Security Council and OPEC to impose economic sanctions against the USA for violating international laws and for a tent to be set up in front of the UN premises in Sana’a, in support of the detainees. Finally, protestors demanded the closure of the Guantanamo camp and the other secret American detention camps, and for the trial of all those found to be involved in crimes against humanity.

Detainee Mohammed Nasser Ahmed Abdullah’s sister invoked a call to the Yemeni government saying, “My brother went to Afghanistan to study, before the events of September 11. We knew of his detention only when he was shown on TV. The Red Cross later confirmed his detention. He has now been detained for six years, and all our efforts to release him are in vain. The American lawyers advised us to seek the help of our government for his release.”
 
The tragedy also involves the children of those detained. Awab called for the release of 27-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Salam, his father, who is a victim of an American five thousand dollars reward. He fell into the hands of Afghanis who sold him to American intelligence officials.

Guantanamo is the detention camp established following the 9-11 events. It is a place isolated from the entire world. America carefully chose it for its unique geographical site, which is inaccessible to American federal courts or any other legal system. There used to be 320 iron cells, but more were constructed to receive another thousand detainees. It has become a place for unbelievable torture of the prisoners. It is a place for human rights abuses, and the detainees reach the camp in a miserable condition due to the treatment they receive from the moment they are captured.
 
Detainees are taken with their eyes blind-folded in a cargo aircraft, without windows, with their hands tied to their legs. The cuffs used to restrain them are not allowed by American law, even to cuff even the fiercest American criminals. The American soldiers tie detainees to their seats on the plane carrying them to Guantanamo with their heads covered during the trip. The Guantanamo camp is almost strictly a detention camp for Yemenis - the total number of Yemeni detainees has risen to 330. Fifty of these detainees are from Taiz.

In July 2007, Yemen successfully secured the release of four of its detainees in Guantanamo. They are Fawaz Noman, Ali Mushin Saleh Nasser, Sadiq Mohammed Saeed Ismail and Hani Abdo Musleh Shamlan.

Many of the released detainees refused to go back to their country, and demanded guarantees.

Legal Yemeni sources confirmed that detainees who return from Guantanamo face flagrant abuse from the government authorities, and that some political prisoners remain in political prisons for years following their return.

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