9 March 2006
GUANTANAMO BAY - AN ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The continued detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay without trial, or in most cases without even being charged, was criticised by Cardinal Renato Martino president of Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on his return from Cuba recently.
"It seems clear that human dignity is not being fully respected in that prison" he said, referring to the Guantanamo Bay camp recently described by Amnesty International as "A human rights scandal"
"Is not the trampling of man's dignity a violation of human rights? Everyone has a right to a fair trial. Wherever in the world inmates are being held in such conditions, without even knowing the charges they face, we will not fail to defend them," said Cardinal Martino.
"I would like to stress that even those who have committed crimes are still human beings and as such their dignity must be respected".
The camp was set up in 2002 to hold foreign terror suspects, many of them captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Among the detainees is David Hicks formerly of Adelaide, who has been at Guantanamo since his capture in Afghanistan in late 2001. (clicking on the link will take you to a website campaigning for fair treatment of David Hicks)
Hicks has been charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the enemy; apparently because he trained with al-Qaeda, spent some time guarding a Taliban tank at Kandahar airport and allegedly travelled to Konduz in northern Afghanistan with the intention to join the Taliban who were then engaged in combat against US-led forces. There is no allegation that Hicks killed, specifically harmed anyone or even took part in any fighting, and of course as there is still no firm date for a trial, there has been no opportunity for Hicks to defend the charges.
The deliberate denial of the legal rights of those accused in the case of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners has been widely condemned by legal authorities around the world including the Law Council of Australia the peak body representing legal practitioners in this country.
