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On Friday the 21st of May, it was reported that at least four Guantanamo detainees had to be physically restrained from committing suicide at Guantanamo. This is a very alarming development and of great concern to the families whose loved ones are still held there. As we understand, from the scant reports we have, several other detainees were involved in a scuffle with the guards. Yet the British government is refusing to act on behalf of British residents still detained at Guantanamo. The detainees have been in detention for over four years without any end in sight. The families have already expressed grave concern about the health of several of the British residents still detained at Guantanamo. Omar Deghayes’s eyesight is affected by the treatment he received during interrogations at the hands of the American interrogators at Guantanamo. Today’s events makes the families concern about the health and safety of these detainees even more urgent.
We demand, as citizens of Birmingham that the
British administration act immediately and determine the status of each
of the British residents still detained there and let the family know.
We hope that the elected representatives, including councillors and
members of Parliament, from Birmingham would do all in their power to
make the British Government keep to their obligations morally and
legally to act on behalf of the residents and their families, some of
whom are citizens of UK.
The United Nation’s report published
earlier on friday the 19th May 2006, by The UN Committee against
Torture declared that detaining people in secret prisons was a
violation of the UN convention against torture.
The same report
stated that some of the interrogation techniques used in these prisons
constitutes torture and some of these techniques had resulted in the
death of detainees during interrogation and vague US guidelines have
led to "serious abuse of detainees".
For further details on the activities of Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign visit our website:-
www.end-unlawful-imprisonment.org.uk |