Guantanamo Human Rights Grievances

Given the recent news that Donald Rumsfeld will be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity (in Germany), this information, about the conduct of Donald Rumsfeld (Dick Cheney et al.) in the "war on terror," from harpers.org - is particulary intriguing. It shows that there is something fundamentally wrong on the systemic level with the operations of DOD under former Secretary of "Defense" Rumsfeld. What does a possible Gates confirmation portend? More of the same?

I'm Still Here

Posted on Monday, November 13, 2006. From combatant-status review tribunals held over the past two years for prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. More than 5,000 pages of transcripts were released in March by the Defense Department in response to a lawsuit brought by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. Originally from Harper's Magazine, May 2006.
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Let's look at the allegations and then you will have the opportunity to respond to each.

Okay.

The detainee was born in Pishin, Pakistan.

This is true.

The detainee joined the Taliban shortly after it took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1992.

I never joined the Taliban. I did not know any people in that group. I was just a poor person living my life in my village.

The detainee held a high-ranking position in the Taliban as military judge.

This is not true. Since my incarceration, I have been accused of holding three different positions with the Taliban. Initially, I was accused of being a deputy foreign minister. One month later I was accused of being a Taliban security guard. Now I'm being accused of being a military judge for the Taliban. I have no idea why someone would make these accusations. I can only speculate that it was someone from a rival village. However, I have no proof, because I am here in Guantánamo.

In his position with the Taliban, the detainee tortured, maimed, and murdered Afghan nationals who were being held in Taliban jails.

I never even hit my own child at home.

Pakistani authorities arrested the detainee in the fall of 2001.

I was in my home. Pakistani police told me they wanted to search my home for ancient artifacts that were looted. I had nothing to hide. However, they told me I had to go with them to the police station. I was kept in a Pakistani jail for thirty-six days. One night they tied my hands behind my back, put a hood over my face, and put me into a car. When the car stopped, I could hear airplanes. They took me from the car and put me into an aircraft. There were Americans in this aircraft.

When we landed, they asked me for my name and I told them Abdur Sayed Rahman. I was then told that I was Abdur Zahid Rahman. That was not correct. My name is Abdur Sayed Rahman. Abdur Zahid Rahman was the deputy foreign minister of the Taliban. I was taken to this camp and they began to interrogate me. An American told me I was wrongfully taken and in a couple of days I would be free. I never saw this American again. I'm still here.
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There's more: http://www.harpers.org/ImStillHere.html