Outcry Over Suicides at Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba —  U.S. military pathologists on Monday examined and tested clinical data obtained from autopsies of three prisoners who were found hanged here Saturday, while human rights advocates warned of the potential for more suicides by prisoners with little hope of release or legal recourse.

Officials of the military prison and interrogation network were reviewing detention procedures to determine what changes might be necessary to avert further suicide attempts and to modify guard routines to prevent prisoners from knowing when they might be observed, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand, spokesman for the prison and interrogation compound.

Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris’ characterization of the suicides as acts of “asymmetrical warfare” and a State Department official’s assertion that the first deaths among Guantanamo inmates were “a good PR move” brought renewed outrage in the Muslim world as well as among U.S. allies in Europe.

But Durand said the admiral in command of the detention operations here stood by his view that the deaths “were not acts of despair but coordinated efforts by three committed combatants.”

A medical examiner from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology completed the clinical portion of the autopsies Sunday afternoon but analytical work continued, Durand said. He did not know when results of the autopsies would be made public or the cause of death officially established and said those announcements would be made by the Pentagon once the pathology institute in Washington concluded its analysis.

The bodies remained at the naval hospital morgue pending negotiations between the State Department and the home countries of the dead, two of whom were Saudi citizens and the third from Yemen. A U.S. Navy Muslim chaplain was preparing the bodies for prayer rituals and eventual burial. Saudi officials have already expressed their desire to have the remains of Yassar Talal al Zahrani Yassar, 21, and Mani Shaman Turki al Habardi al Utaybi, 30, returned to their homeland.

“The decision for ultimate disposition of the remains is to be determined at a level above us. Our hope is that we have resolution on that soon. We’re ready to carry out whatever decision is made,” including burial at the Cuzco Wells Cemetery on the naval base if that is what is decided, Durand said.

The deaths and the official commentary on the dead men’s motives inspired broad criticism. The fatalities also brought appeals for independent investigation of the detention process here as well as insistence that the prison be closed.

“The shroud of secrecy surrounding Guantanamo must be lifted, with independent access to and monitoring of the facilities on an ongoing basis,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “This monitoring should include the medical treatment of detainees, especially those who have chosen to engage in hunger striking as a way to draw attention to their conditions of confinement.”

He called the military commissions set up by President Bush to try those prisoners charged with war crimes “a sham from the inception,” saying they are illegal, unfair and out of step with the American system of justice.

Ten of the 460 prisoners have been charged with criminal acts, and the fate of those trials awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the tribunal’s legitimacy that is expected by the end of June.

“The core underlying injustices of the Guantanamo Bay facility need to be remedied before other lives are lost,” Romero said. “The conditions are the antithesis of the America we hold in our hearts and our minds.”

In Washington, lawyers representing dozens of detainees here denounced U.S. government claims that the suicides were a public relations ploy or a holy-war tactic, contending they were the direct result of inhumane conditions.

“To characterize their suicides as acts of war is offensive and shows a disrespect for human life and humanity that is rampant at Guantanamo,” said Gitanjali Gutierrez, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has sought to get U.S. court jurisdiction over prisoner challenges of their incarceration. “It’s very simple and very clear what happened: We are detaining people indefinitely in conditions that are oppressive.”

The rebukes were aimed at Harris’ comments and those by Colleen P. Graffy, a senior official in the State Department’s office for public diplomacy that is charged with improving the U.S. image in the world. Graffy told the BBC the suicides were “a good PR move to draw attention.”

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack seemed to step back from those statements. “We would not say that it was a PR stunt,” he said. “We have serious concern any time anybody takes their own life.”

Gutierrez said the suicides were predictable given the high number of attempts in the past.

“The amount of psychological stress placed on detainees cannot be underestimated; they are numb, depressed, desperate,” she said. “The deaths were entirely predictable and the U.S. bears complete and utter responsibility for these deaths.”

A request has been made by The Times to interview the military prison’s staff psychologist but no response has been received from Durand’s office, which was informed Monday by superiors at the U.S. Southern Command that all further contact and information will come out of that Miami headquarters or the Pentagon.

Army Col. Bill Costello, Southcom public affairs director, said that while a Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe is underway, it is “inappropriate” for officials here to address certain questions and issues.

Amnesty International called for access to the prison for a United Nations panel seeking to independently evaluate the state of the prisoners. It also urged a civilian-led investigation into the Guantanamo deaths.

Graffy’s remarks showed “a chilling disregard for human life” and Harris’ characterizations showed that U.S. government authorities are “oblivious” to the suffering Guantanamo has inflicted, Amnesty said.

“It is unconscionable that in the face of three deaths of detainees in U.S. custody, the government’s response is to go on the offensive,” said Jumana Musa, Amnesty’s U.S. advocacy director for human rights and international justice.

The National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers also used the occasion of the men’s deaths to condemn the indefinite detention of the terrorism suspects.

“To continue to hold over 400 men and boys -- some now for over four years -- without filing charges makes a mockery of justice,” said Nancy Hollander, one of the association members representing Guantanamo detainees pro bono.

“As defense lawyers, we try to give our clients hope, but we cannot even give them a hearing date.”

European allies seized on the incidents to heap fresh scorn on Guantanamo for what they see as violations of detainees’ basic rights and a counterproductive force in the U.S.-led global war on terrorism.

“Guantanamo should be closed. This is an occasion to reiterate that statement,” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Union commissioner for external relations, as she arrived for a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Guantanamo weakens the fight against terrorism.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper compared Harris’ portrayal of the deaths as “the demented logic of Dr. Strangelove.” Syria’s Tishrin newspaper likened Guantanamo to a Nazi detention camp, and an editorial in the Saudi Arab News urged U.S. officials to try the suspects or free them.