[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 146 (Monday, November 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12416-S12418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON DETAINEE TREATMENT
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of Senator
Levin's amendment to create an independent commission to investigate
the policies and practices relating to the treatment of what we have
come to call detainees but what are, in fact, prisoners being held by
the Government.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of that important amendment. I urge my
colleagues to support it as well.
Let me say a word, initially, about the use of language. We sometimes
use language without focusing on the implications of that language.
Unfortunately, in the case of this discussion, we have fallen into the
practice of referring to these individuals at Guantanamo and elsewhere
as ``detainees.'' Of course, the suggestion that someone is being
detained is a lot less onerous or implies a lot less of a taking of
that person's freedom than the phrase ``being imprisoned.'' The truth
is, these individuals are being imprisoned.
The amendment that Senator Levin has offered would have an
independent commission evaluate the current practice of indefinitely
imprisoning individuals at Guantanamo without ever charging them with a
crime in either Federal court or under a competent military tribunal.
This commission would then report back to Congress and give us
recommendations on whether we should change existing law or change
policy on this set of important issues. The current practice of holding
detainees or prisoners indefinitely, without affording them basic due
process rights, has been widely criticized in this country and
throughout the world. For a country such as ours that has consistently
advocated for the rule of law, the policies of the current
administration are nothing short of a major embarrassment.
Since September 11 of 2001, the administration has asserted
extraordinary new powers with respect to the imprisoning of individuals
suspected of being involved in terrorism. The President has argued that
the Government has the authority to indefinitely imprison any person
that he, the President, determines to be an ``enemy combatant.'' They
have that authority whether or not the person is a U.S. citizen. Of
course, our Government has also forcefully opposed any judicial review
of the President's determination in that regard.
There are over 500 people who are currently being imprisoned in
Guantanamo. Many of these individuals have been held for over 3 years
without being afforded the ability to challenge the basis for their
detention. The administration has developed a new category of detainee,
the ``unlawful enemy combatant,'' and they have argued that neither the
laws of war nor traditional criminal laws apply to these individuals.
In essence, we have created a new type of prisoner who is unable to
seek the protections of the Geneva Conventions or to take advantage of
the rights afforded to individuals in this country under our criminal
justice system or
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under the criminal justice system that applies in our military. Under
the current procedures, every Guantanamo prisoner is reviewed by a
combatant status review tribunal to determine whether the Department of
Defense believes that individual is an ``enemy combatant.'' If a person
is found to be an enemy combatant, they may be held indefinitely,
although they are entitled to go before an administrative review board
once a year to prove that they are no longer a threat. Of the
approximately 500 prisoners at Guantanamo, 4 individuals have been
charged to date. The remaining 496 or so have not been charged.
Serious concerns have been raised with regard to the rights we are
affording these prisoners under the current procedures for processing
the prisoners. I have repeatedly raised concerns regarding this
approach. I believe that it challenges our historic commitment to the
rule of law. I have never advocated that the Department of Defense
release these prisoners but, rather, have said that they should be
tried in the criminal justice system or they should be tried in the
military justice system, but they should be tried somewhere and be
given an opportunity to challenge the basis for their detention. I
believe it is appropriate to ensure that they do not indefinitely
remain in a state of legal limbo and are afforded basic due process
rights that allow them to assert their innocence.
Last week, on November 1, there was an article in The Washington Post
that highlighted some of the problems that occur when people are
imprisoned indefinitely without recourse to any viable legal process.
According to the article, there have been 36 attempted suicides at
Guantanamo. Clearly, when people are desperate and have no hope, they
turn to drastic measures. I ask unanimous consent that article be
printed in the Record following my comments.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. BINGAMAN. I strongly believe that due process rights of some sort
are at the bedrock of American values and they should not be discarded
lightly, due process rights that apply even to individuals who are not
citizens of this country. It is disappointing that in the eyes of the
world, the United States has drifted from its longstanding adherence to
the rule of law. In my view, we have an obligation to the American
people to confront these difficult issues, and I believe Congress needs
to act in that regard.
Establishing this independent commission to look into these prisoner
issues is an important first step. There have been multiple abuse
scandals over the last couple of years that have hurt our image abroad
and tainted the image of a vast majority of our soldiers who serve with
honor and distinction. Now the European Union is investigating news
reports that the CIA is holding suspected terrorists in Soviet-era
detention facilities in eastern European countries. This is a
troublesome development considering the widespread reports that our own
Vice President continues to urge that bipartisan legislation passed in
this Senate that would prohibit the CIA from using interrogation
techniques that amount to cruel and inhuman treatment in these types of
facilities be deleted from legislation on its way to the President.
Our own President is in the very awkward position. During his current
trip to Latin America, I saw him on television this morning trying to
assure our allies in that region that the U.S. policy does not
contemplate torture of prisoners. That is a sad day when we are having
to publicly reassure our allies of something as basic as that.
It is time that we seriously investigated these issues and came up
with policies that the American people feel comfortable with, policies
that are consistent with our Constitution and with the values of the
American people.
I yield the floor.
Exhibit 1
Guantanamo Desperation Seen in Suicide Attempts
(By Josh White)
[From the Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2005]
Jumah Dossari had to visit the restroom, so the detainee
made a quick joke with his American lawyer before military
police guards escorted him to a nearby cell with a toilet.
The U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had taken
quite a toll on Dossari over the past four years, but his
attorney, who was there to discuss Dossari's federal court
case, noted his good spirits and thought nothing of his
bathroom break.
Minutes later, when Dossari did not return, Joshua
Colangelo-Bryan knocked on the cell door, calling out his
client's name. When he did not hear a response, Colangelo-
Bryan stepped inside and saw a three-foot pool of blood on
the floor. Numb, the lawyer looked up to see Dossari hanging
unconscious from a noose tied to the ceiling, his eyes rolled
back, his tongue and lips bulging, blood pouring from a gash
in his right arm.
Dossari's suicide attempt two weeks ago is believed to be
the first such event witnessed by an outsider at the prison,
and one of several signs that lawyers and human rights
advocates contend point to growing desperation among the more
than 500 detainees there. Lawyers believe Dossari, who has
been in solitary confinement for nearly two years, timed his
suicide attempt so that someone other than his guards would
witness it, a cry for help meant to reach beyond the base's
walls.
Two dozen Guantanamo Bay detainees are currently being
force-fed in response to a lengthy hunger strike, and the
detainees' lawyers estimate there are dozens more who have
not eaten since August. Military officials say there are 27
hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay, all of whom are clinically
stable, closely monitored by medical personnel and receiving
proper nutrition.
The hunger strikers are protesting their lengthy
confinements in the island prison, where some have been kept
for nearly four years and most have never been charged with a
crime. The most recent hunger strike came after detention
officials allegedly failed to honor promises made during a
previous hunger strike.
Military authorities do not publicly discuss individual
detainees and declined to comment on Dossari. Lt. Col. Jeremy
Martin, spokesman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, said
yesterday that there have been a total of 36 suicide attempts
by 22 different detainees, including three in the past 20
months. Martin said all detainees are treated humanely and
``any threat of injury or suicide'' is taken seriously.
He added that rapid intervention in suicide attempts has
prevented deaths. No detainee has died at the military
prison, he said.
The protests come amid rising international concern about
the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights
organizations and the United Nations have complained about
the lack of access to the detainees and voiced concern about
allegations of physical and psychological abuse, including
prolonged solitary confinement.
U.S. officials are trying to return many of the detainees
to their home countries, but the process has been fraught
with delays and diplomatic wrangling.
Three U.N. experts said yesterday that they would not
accept a U.S. government invitation to tour Guantanamo unless
they are granted private access to detainees, a concession
the U.S. has not been willing to make, citing the ongoing war
on terror and security concerns. Last week, the United States
invited the U.N. representatives on torture and arbitrary
detention to the facility, and the experts said yesterday
that they hope to visit in early December. But they described
their demand for access to the detainees as ``non-
negotiable.''
``They said they have nothing to hide,'' Manfred Nowak,
U.N. special rapporteur on torture, said yesterday at a news
conference in New York. ``If they have nothing to hide, why
should we not be able to talk to detainees in private?''
Colangelo-Bryan said he fears that many detainees would
rather die than be held indefinitely. He said he was shocked
but not surprised by Dossari's Oct. 15 suicide attempt, given
his ``horrible ordeal.''
He said he knows only that medical personnel apparently
were able to revive Dossari, he had surgery and is in stable
condition.
Detainees ``see it as the only means they have of
exercising control over their lives,'' Colangelo-Bryan said
in publicly describing the incident for the first time.
``Their only means of effective protest are to harm
themselves, either by hunger strike or doing something like
this.''
Martin said claims that hunger strikers are near death are
``absolutely false.'' He said the latest protest began on
Aug. 8 and at one point had 131 participants but is now much
smaller.
``This technique, hunger striking, is consistent with the
al Qaeda training, and reflects the detainees' attempts to
elicit media attention and bring pressure on the United
States government,'' Martin said. The military also has long
argued that terrorist groups have instructed fighters to
invent claims of abuse if incarcerated.
Dossari has told Colangelo-Bryan that he has endured abuse
and mistreatment on par with some of the worst offenses
discovered at any U.S. detention facility over the past four
years. In declassified notes recording the meetings, Dossari
describes abuse and torture that stretches back to his arrest
in Pakistan in December 2001, through the time he was turned
over to U.S. forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and ultimately
to his stay in Guantanamo Bay.
Dossari, 26, said U.S. troops have put out cigarettes on
his skin, threatened to kill him
[[Page S12418]]
and severely beat him. He told his lawyer that he saw U.S.
Marines at Kandahar ``using pages of the Koran to shine their
boots,'' and was brutalized at Guantanamo Bay by Immediate
Response Force guards who videotaped themselves attacking
him.
The military says the IRF squads are sent into cells to
quell disturbances.
Dossari told his lawyers that he had been wrapped in
Israeli and U.S. flags during interrogations--a tactic
recounted in FBI allegations of abuse at Guantanamo--and said
interrogators threatened to send him to countries where he
would be tortured.
Dossari maintains that he is not connected to terrorism and
does not hate the United States. A fellow detainee said that
he saw Dossari at an al Qaeda training camp, his lawyer said.
Colangelo-Bryan is a private New York lawyer with the
Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents some of
the detainees. The group plans a ``Fast for Justice'' rally
today in Washington to bring attention to the Guantanamo Bay
hunger strike.
Colangelo-Bryan said Dossari has tried to commit suicide
before. Prolonged solitary confinement has given him almost
no contact with others and access to only a Koran and his
legal papers.
``In March, he looked at me in the eye and said, 'How can I
keep myself from going crazy?''' Colangelo-Bryan said.
Mr. BINGAMAN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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