Ait Idr: Allegations of Abuse, CSRT

The detainee requested two witnesses. Once the detainee elected not to participate in the Tribunal the Tribunal President took no further action on his witness requests. In my opinion, the Tribunal President acted within her discretion in declining to act on the witness requests for a detainee who elected not to participate in the Tribunal. The detainee also requested evidence in the form of documents he allegedly possessed when he was turned over to U.S. custody, including his passports and Bosnian court papers. His passports were located, but once the detainee elected not to participate in the Tribunal, the search for the other documents was terminated. In my opinion, the termination of the search was within the Tribunal President’s discretion once the detainee elected not to participate in the Tribunal [Cdr. James Crissfield, Legal Sufficiency Review of the CSRT] (p. 5004).

Detainee (continued): Now I would like to talk about the three days when we were being moved [from Bosnia]. During those three days we were being transferred here [to Guantanamo], animals would never have been treated the way we were. In Bosnia, the temperature was -20 degrees and there was ice and snow. It was very cold. They took off all my clothes and they gave me very thin clothes - like that tablecloth [detainee points to the white sheet covering the Tribunal table]. They placed me in a room that was very cold. As they moved me from country to country, my ears, mouth and eyes were covered. I could not even talk or breath. A mask with a metal piece was place over my mouth and nose. Why am I saying this? When I sat with the Personal Representative, I was given a letter from the American Ambassador in Bosnia that lied and said I was moved in a humane manner. When I got to Cuba, the first four or five months I could not feel my left leg. From my thigh to my back, I could not feel anything at all. It was like when you administer anesthesia to someone. Anyway, we were moved here and what happened had happened. | Detainee (continued): I am not going to get into the problems with the bad treatment from the guards in Cuba. For example, a twenty-year-old guard came into my room and was swearing toward my mother and father for no reason whatsoever. I was not even talking to this guard. I was just sitting there. I am not going to talk about these things. Outside everyone knows this is going on from the news (p. 5018).

Another interrogator told me I was bought with very large sums of money and I did not have any information, but I could not be released. I asked the interrogator why, and if there were any accusations or evidence against me. The interrogator said to me that they would find something, meaning I could not be released from Cuba without them finding some accusation against me. I could not have been held in Cuba in prison for three years, then all of a sudden be found innocent and released (p. 5019).

My life has changed completely. It has turned 360 degrees to this, where I am now. There are times when a soldier, who maybe never even went to school and barely knew how to hold a weapon, comes to you and swears at you; he says things to you that you have never ever heard of in your life. As an example, a soldier broke my finger. [Detainee holds up his left hand. The left pinky finger is distanced about 1½ inches from the four remaining fingers. The detainee is unable to bring the left pinky finger in alignment with his other fingers.] Can you see? I cannot bring this finger close to my other fingers. I cannot close this gap. On the middle finger [detainee points to the center knuckle on the middle finger of his right hand], my knuckle has been broken. You probably cannot see that. But my finger [detainee holds up his left had, the left pinky finger] you can see that clearly (pp. 5020–5021).

Tribunal President: Let me ask you a question? Are you saying a soldier in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba broke your fingers? | Detainee: Yes. Soldiers took me on the ground in the rocks outside. My hands and my feet were bound. The soldiers put my face on the ground. You can see maybe my eye – a small little hold near my eyes [detainee points to the outside corner on his right eye]. One soldier put my head on the ground, and then another soldier came and put his knee on my face. The soldier hit me on the other side of my face that was not touching the ground [detainee points to the left side of his face]. If my head was turning a little bit more [detainee turns his head to the right attempting to show the Tribunal the position of his head at the time of the alleged incident] the rocks would have gone into my eye. Next to my eye [detainee points to his right] there is a little hole. There are a lot of things regarding the soldiers, but I won’t talk about all of them (p. 5021)

Detainee: I have kidney stones and I have to go to the bathroom every few moments. Before I came in I asked the soldier and the soldier said no, he would not take me to the bathroom. I was in the room over there (p. 5022).