'US plans death camp'

US Has Plans for Guantanamo \'Death Camp\'
\'US plans death camp\' (5/26/03 - The Courier-Mail [Queensland, AU])

The US commander of the Guantanamo detention camp has revealed that the US plans to build its own death row and execution chamber there. According to press reports, prisoners \"would be tried, convicted and executed without leaving [Guantanamo\'s] boundaries, without a jury and without right of appeal\" to civilian courts.

Under international law, Guantanamo is not US soil and is thus exempt from American law. However, persons held there also have no redress to the Cuban government. Meanwhile, the US has been subject to intense global protest for flouting international law concerning the prisoners. The US has also refused to designate them \"prisoners of war,\" which would afford them important rights under the Geneva Conventions.

According to the US government, Camp Delta at Guantanamo (officially under naval jurisdiction) currently holds 680 prisoners -- or \"detainees\" in the official parlance -- including \"at least three\" who are between the ages of 13 and 15. It is believed the prisoners are from as many as 43 countries, although the Pentgon refuses to confirm or deny. Most of the prisoners are said to be Taliban and alleged members of al Qaida. Some prisoners from Iraq are also expected to be transferred there.

The \"proposed\" execution facilities will be part of a permanent detention center to be built there, replacing the temporary facility first set up in January 2002. Special military tribunals -- of highly dubious legality -- are expected to begin hearing cases later this summer. Most if not all of the \"trials\" are expected to be held in secret, ostensibly to protect US national security but rather conveniently shielding the proceedings from external scrutiny. According to Jonathan Turley, a professor of constitutional law at George Washington University, the tribunal\'s rules also allow for the use of evidence that would be thrown out in a US civilian court.

Only American attorneys -- mainly from the US military -- will be permitted for the prisoners, none of whom are US citizens. All attorneys will be required to have or obtain \"secret grade\" security clearances.

Under the rules of the tribunals, each trial will be presided over by between three and seven members. A two-thirds vote is required to convict the suspect. A unanimous vote by a seven-member commission is required to obtain a death sentence.

Any subsequent review of tribunal verdicts would be done by the Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld. The ultimate power of review resides with President Bush. There will be no recourse to any civilian or international courts whatsoever.

There is no precedent for the Guantanamo tribunals, even though the Bush Admin keeps alluding to the Nuremburg Trials following WWII.

To bring any of the Guantanamo prisoners before a military tribunal, President Bush must first sign an executive order finding a \'\'reason to believe\'\' that they should be charged with crimes and tried. The Pentagon\'s Office of Military Commissions is now preparing recommendations for such trials.

According to the Boston Globe, the Pentagon is indicating that at first only a few prisoners will be tried. Such a strategy would permit the US to learn what the world response would be to such tribunals, figure out how best to respond, and also wear down any popular opposition and protest simply by outlasting it. Meanwhile, the US would retain custody of all the other prisoners without creating any mitigating circumstances by subjecting them to trials that may be challenged abroad or in international court.


The \"death camp\" story broke in the May 25 edition of the London newspaper The Mail on Sunday. That paper does not have a web site. The story was picked up by an Australian paper, the Courier-Mail, and is beginning to spread slowly.

The British government claims it was not informed of US plans for execution facilities, according to the Courier-Mail.

Major-General Geoffrey Miller (US Army) -- who revealed the plans -- is the current commander of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo, the combined missions to detain and interrogate the alleged Taliban and al Qaida prisoners.

Miller assumed the post in November 2002 and is serving a 2 year tour there. According to a military press release (archived here), his previous assignments include: Assistant Chief of Staff at the UN Command/Combined Forces in Seoul, South Korea; Deputy Commanding General of the Eighth Army United States Army, Korea; and Commanding General of XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery at Fort Bragg. According to GlobalSecurity.com, the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery unit is a rapid deployment force that played key roles in the invasions of the Dominican Republic (1965), Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), and the Gulf War (1990-91).

 

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