Bahrain Tribune – 29 June 2004
By Mazen Mahdi: An urgent appeal to the families of the six Bahrainis detained in Guantanamo to give the power of attorney to lawyers to represent them in US civil courts was issued yesterday by Bahrain Human Rights Centre (BHRC), Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), and the National Committee for the Support of the Detainees (NCSD). The appeal comes as lawyers expressed hope that many of the detainees in Guantanamo would be released and that the camp could be closed.
BHRC president and member of the International Committee for Guantanamo Detainees, Nabeel Rajab told the Tribune that they expected to have the cases presented to court as early as mid-July.
Bahrain Tribune – 29 June 2004
By Mazen Mahdi: An urgent appeal to the families of the six Bahrainis detained in Guantanamo to give the power of attorney to lawyers to represent them in US civil courts was issued yesterday by Bahrain Human Rights Centre (BHRC), Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), and the National Committee for the Support of the Detainees (NCSD). The appeal comes as lawyers expressed hope that many of the detainees in Guantanamo would be released and that the camp could be closed.
BHRC president and member of the International Committee for Guantanamo Detainees, Nabeel Rajab told the Tribune that they expected to have the cases presented to court as early as mid-July.
The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision yesterday that the “United States’ courts have jurisdiction to consider challenges to the legality of the decision of foreign nationals captured abroad in connection with hostilities and incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay.”
The case, involving about 600 detainees from 42 countries at Guantanamo, was one of two landmark decisions handed down by the court in the controversy over tactics used by US authorities since launching the ‘war on terror’ after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
“This is a victory for civil rights and the efforts undertaken by human rights groups and lawyers in the US and the Arab world to ensure that the detainees be able to have access to courts and a fair trial,” said Nabeel.
“We expect to have good news for the families of the detainees – who had suffered a lot – in the next few months”.
Nabeel added he was hopeful because the ruling represents a step forward from the position of the US administration that had disregarded the Geneva Convention Treaty concerning prisoners of war.Three families have already given power of attorney to lawyers.
NCSD secretary-general Bassam Bokhowa also called on the remaining three families to come forward and give the power of attorney to enable US lawyer Clive Stafford Smith to represent the six Bahraini detainees in court.“We hope to have their signatures in the next two days before the end of the month because the lawyer intends to file the cases in the coming weeks,” he said. “In particular we are seeking the family of detainee Juma Al Dossari who lives in Saudi Arabia. He has a married sister here in Bahrain, but we have not been able to locate her thus far”.
Al Dossari was beaten by a group of guards while he was recovering from surgery and receiving psychiatric treatment, two British former prisoners have said.
“They stamped on his neck, kicked him in the stomach even though he had metal rods there as a result of an operation, and they picked up his head and smashed his face into the floor. One female officer was ordered to go into the cell and kick him and beat him – which she did,” Britons Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal said in an open letter sent to US President George W. Bush and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Rasul and Iqbal said cameras were used and would confirm their allegations.Bassam also shared the optimism of Nabeel that the detainees could be released within months.
“Clive had represented the released British detainees and the US government released them before their cases reached the court to avoid the trials, that is why we are hopeful,” he said. “But we need the signatures of the power of attorney to enable him to represent them in court in case they go to trial”.
Both Nabeel and Bassam expressed gratitude to all of those who helped, particularly Clive who accepted to represent the Bahraini detainees free of charge.
BHRS member Isa Al Ghaeeb also called on the remaining families to come forward and sign the power of attorney to lawyer Najeeb Al Nuami who will be travelling to the US on Sunday to represent 95 detainees from Qatar, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
“We strongly urge the remaining two families to come forward and sign the power of attorney”.
Al Nuaimi -who has signatures from about 200 detainees -told the Tribune the he expected the camp to be closed down following yesterday’s court decision.
“This a blow to the US administration and I expect that the US authorities would close the camp down,” he told the Tribune from Doha.
“I also believe that the administration might decide to return most the detainees to their countries and their they would be released”.
Al Nuaimi said that even detainees like Yemani Ramsi Abo Shebah, Pakistani Sheikh Mohammed and Egyptians sons of Sheikh Omar Abdulrahman who were ‘described’ as dangerous and were not allowed to be interviewed by the Red Cross could be released.
He added that he expected the number of power of attorney signatures to jump to 500 over the next few days.
“I will meet with human rights activists in London before I travel to the US to meet the US lawyers,” he said.
“The cases will be brought forward in the next two weeks, if the detainees are not released by then”.
Al Nuaimi added that he was optimistic because the decision cancels the special military tribunals that had been set up for the detainees.
The six Bahrainis, who are between 19 and 31 are Salah Al Balooshi, Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Adel Hajji, Isa Al Murbati, Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Juma Al Dossari, have been held in Guantanamo after they were arrested in Afghanistan. Local authorities have consistently been demanding their release.