Gulf News -10 October 2005
From Hemu Gorde
MANAMA — A senior US lawyer representing six Bahraini detainees in Guantanamo Bay has praised the government of Bahrain for taking a keen interest in the case, while adding that without the assistance of the kingdom’s ministry of foreign affairs his firm would not be able to get the required information about the physical condition of some of the clients.
Noted rights lawyer Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, whose New York-based firm Dorsey and Whitney is representing Bahraini detainees for the past two and half years on behalf of the now-defunct Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), said in a statement that his firm was “pleased to learn that the ministry of foreign affairs will inquire about the health of our clients at Guantanamo Bay who may be participating in a very serious hunger strike. In fact, it has become clear that authorities at Guantanamo Bay will do everything in their power to prevent us from learning about the condition of our clients.”
Gulf News -10 October 2005
From Hemu GordeMANAMA — A senior US lawyer representing six Bahraini detainees in Guantanamo Bay has praised the government of Bahrain for taking a keen interest in the case, while adding that without the assistance of the kingdom’s ministry of foreign affairs his firm would not be able to get the required information about the physical condition of some of the clients.
Noted rights lawyer Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, whose New York-based firm Dorsey and Whitney is representing Bahraini detainees for the past two and half years on behalf of the now-defunct Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), said in a statement that his firm was “pleased to learn that the ministry of foreign affairs will inquire about the health of our clients at Guantanamo Bay who may be participating in a very serious hunger strike. In fact, it has become clear that authorities at Guantanamo Bay will do everything in their power to prevent us from learning about the condition of our clients.”
The statement forwarded to media by the former BCHR chairman, Nabeel Rajab, noted that the firm has recently sought permission to conduct meetings at the detainee hospital with any client who may be hospitalised during our upcoming visit to Guantanamo. We made this request because during our last visit we were prevented from meeting with Isa Al Murbati (one of the six Bahrain detainees) when he was hospitalised due to participating in a hunger strike.
“The government told us that we would not be permitted to meet any client in the hospital even if the client is hospitalised during our entire visit. In this way, the government could prevent us from seeing our clients at all during a very critical period, he said.
“This is a tremendous concern because we have no reliable way to communicate with our clients and learn about their condition other than through visits,” the statement said.
“In light of these obstacles, we need and are very thankful for all help that the Bahraini government can provide,” the lawyer said.
The six Bahraini detainees are: Salah Al-Balooshi, Abdulla Al Nuaimi, Adel Hajji, Isa Al-Murbati, Shaikh Sulman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, and Juma Al Dossari, and are all reportedly aged between 20 and 32.