Guantanamo Bay Fact Sheet
6.5 x 8 feet – approximate size of cell in Guantánamo
1805 – number of days that hundreds have been held at Guantánamo Bay without charge or trial as of December 10, 2006
430 – Approximate number of people in custody at Guantanamo Bay as of November 17, 2006
14 – number of "high value detainees" held at Guantanamo
13 – age of Mohammed Ismail Agha when taken into US custody in Afghanistan in late 2002 before later being transferred to Guantanamo
10 – number of people in Guantanamo who have been charged with any crime
Attempted Suicides
350 – incidents of self-harm in Guantanamo Bay in 2003
120 – incidents were "hanging gestures" in 2003
110 – incidents of harm/suicide were reported for 2005
34 – number of prisoners whose self-harm incidents were labeled "attempted suicide" by the US since January 2002
23 – number of prisoners that tried to hang or strangle themselves in August 2003
[21– number of the 23 prisoners whose attempts were written off as "attention-getting" gestures
2 – number of the 23 prisoners classified as attempting suicide.]
3 – number of prisoners who died in detention of apparent suicides at Guantanamo Bay
Detained without Adequate Proof
55% – percent of detainees not determined to have committed any hostile acts against the United States
40% – percent of detainees who have no definitive connection with Al Qaeda
18% – percent of detainees who have no definitive connection with Al Qaeda or Taliban
8% – percent of detainees characterized as Al Qaeda fighters
Bought Detainees
At the time when the United States offered large bounties for capture of suspected enemies:
86% – detainees were not detained on the battle field but were instead arrested by either Pakistan or the Northern Alliance and turned over to United States custody
66% – detainees were captured by Pakistani authorities
20% – detainees were captured by the Northern Alliance/Afghan authorities
8% – detainees were captured by the US authorities
3% – detainees were captured by other coalition forces
6.5 x 8 feet – approximate size of cell in Guantánamo
1805 – number of days that hundreds have been held at Guantánamo Bay without charge or trial as of December 10, 2006
430 – Approximate number of people in custody at Guantanamo Bay as of November 17, 2006
14 – number of "high value detainees" held at Guantanamo
13 – age of Mohammed Ismail Agha when taken into US custody in Afghanistan in late 2002 before later being transferred to Guantanamo
10 – number of people in Guantanamo who have been charged with any crime
Attempted Suicides
350 – incidents of self-harm in Guantanamo Bay in 2003
120 – incidents were "hanging gestures" in 2003
110 – incidents of harm/suicide were reported for 2005
34 – number of prisoners whose self-harm incidents were labeled "attempted suicide" by the US since January 2002
23 – number of prisoners that tried to hang or strangle themselves in August 2003
[21– number of the 23 prisoners whose attempts were written off as "attention-getting" gestures
2 – number of the 23 prisoners classified as attempting suicide.]
3 – number of prisoners who died in detention of apparent suicides at Guantanamo Bay
Detained without Adequate Proof
55% – percent of detainees not determined to have committed any hostile acts against the United States
40% – percent of detainees who have no definitive connection with Al Qaeda
18% – percent of detainees who have no definitive connection with Al Qaeda or Taliban
8% – percent of detainees characterized as Al Qaeda fighters
Bought Detainees
At the time when the United States offered large bounties for capture of suspected enemies:
86% – detainees were not detained on the battle field but were instead arrested by either Pakistan or the Northern Alliance and turned over to United States custody
66% – detainees were captured by Pakistani authorities
20% – detainees were captured by the Northern Alliance/Afghan authorities
8% – detainees were captured by the US authorities
3% – detainees were captured by other coalition forces
All over the world today, ordinary people, clad in orange, will gather to call attention to the plight of other human beings who had the bad luck to be in the way when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001. In this story from Amnesty International, there's already photo from today's demo in Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of peace and justice groups all over the world - as well as thousands of elected officials in Canada, the UK, Japan, Israel, Germany and other countries - are calling for an end to this horror. Meanwhile, the US continues to operate outside of international law and democratic process.
From Amnesty International:
This anniversary is not just about Guantánamo. The detentions there are only one part of the unlawful detention policies and practices that the US government has adopted since 11 September 2001 in the name of counter-terrorism and national security. These include secretly transferring detainees between countries ("renditions"), holding them in secret detention sites and subjecting detainees to interrogation techniques and conditions that amount to torture or other ill-treatment.
Please think about what you can do to add your voice to this global shout. The ACLU has lots of ideas, and it's not too late. You can find a demo and join others standing up for human rights.
Human Rights Watch articles about Guantánamo here.
Witness To Torture on what's been done.
Canadians can also use this day to call attention to Canada's own special shame, Omar Khadr. There's a powerful essay about Khadr here at Counterpunch. Canadian Robert Billyard writes:
As a government in abdication, official Ottawa - our peerless politicos and esteemed civil servants - have become acolytes to The Empire as they retreat from governance and anything that resembles moral scruples.
The disgrace is theirs and ours. Theirs for doing nothing and ours for letting them get away with it.
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