A year after Al-Qa'eda suspects were whisked off to a US naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, the world seems to have forgotten about their continued detention without charge, writes Anayat Durrani Hundreds of suspected Al-Qa'eda and Taliban prisoners remain in United States custody in detention facilities at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one year after their arrival. On the first anniversary of their transfer to the base, human rights groups such as Amnesty International are calling on the US to put an end to "the legal black hole" it has placed on detainees. "This legal limbo is a continuing violation of human rights standards which the international community must not ignore," an Amnesty International representative said. The first group of prisoners arrived from Afghanistan on 11 January 2002 as part of the US led "war on terrorism". Today more than 600 prisoners from 40 nations are being held at a high-security compound on the base called "Camp Delta". "No access to the courts, lawyers or relatives; the prospect of indefinite detention in small cells for up to 24 hours a day; the possibility of trials by executive military commissions with the power to hand down death sentences and no right of appeal: is this how the USA defends human rights and the rule of law?" asked the representative. Amnesty International has called on the US to either voluntary release all prisoners detained during the war in Afghanistan, in accordance with the Geneva Convention, or charge prisoners with criminal offences, in order that they be tried within a reasonable time frame. "The importance of allowing these detainees to challenge the lawfulness of their detention in a court of law cannot be overstated," the group said. "That is a fundamental human right, and one that protects against arbitrary arrest and detention." International human rights and civil liberties groups have demanded the detainees be given prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Convention. The US claims the prisoners do not qualify as prisoners of war, rather they are "unlawful combatants". The US has maintained it reserves the right to continue to hold prisoners for purposes of interrogation and intelligence. Since the arrival of the first group of prisoners to the US naval base a year ago, none of the detainees has been charged or tried. Five men were released from detention after US officials determined they were not terrorists. Legal efforts to free additional prisoners have not been successful. The legal status and conditions of the prisoners has long raised controversy worldwide. Concerns were initially heightened after the release of photographs by the Defence Department that showed detainees in shackles and chains, blackened goggles, face masks and earmuffs. Another series of photos, this time unauthorised by the Pentagon, were recently released to the press showing Al-Qa'eda and Taliban prisoners handcuffed, hooded and chained to the floor of a US military aeroplane. The four photographs of prisoners were featured on the Web site of American radio talk show host Art Bell, sent anonymously. The photographs provided an inside glimpse at how prisoners were transported within Afghanistan, as well as to the base at Guantanamo Bay. In the photographs, prisoners were shown seated on the floor of a C-130 aircraft secured with white straps and guarded by US military personnel. A large US flag can be seen hanging from the ceiling of the aircraft above shackled prisoners wearing black hoods. Despite efforts by human rights groups to have detainees either charged or released from detention at Guantanomo Bay, the fate of the approximately 625 prisoners currently being held remains unchanged. In an interview with ABC News on 8 January, Army Major General Geoffrey D Miller, who controls the detention facility, said the detainment of hundreds of suspected Al-Qa'eda and Taliban men provides "enormous value" in terms of intelligence gathering. "It links with the intelligence that is being developed in other areas of the global war on terrorism. It provides enormous value to the nation," he said. Miller added that the detainees were being treated humanely and that they will be detained by the US government as long as necessary. "We will detain them as long as we are directed to while the global war on terrorism is ongoing," he said. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Faysal Galab, a Yemeni-American, admitted attending an Al- Qa'eda training camp before the 11 September terrorist attacks. His guilty plea on Friday comes three months after he and five other Yemeni-Americans, all in their 20s and from suburban Lackawanna near Buffalo, New York, were indicted on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. The men are suspected of being part of an Al-Qa'eda sleeper cell. Though none of the men are accused of taking part in the 11 September terrorist attack, prosecutors believe they were waiting for orders from Al-Qa'eda to commit another attack against the US. The government alleges the six received weapons training, instruction on suicide bombings, and were present when Osama Bin Laden visited the camp and outlined a future attack against America. Galab can receive up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In his agreement, Galab pleaded guilty to a charge of contributing funds and services to terrorists and agreed to cooperate with the government's ongoing investigation in exchange for a lesser sentence. Sentencing for Galab is scheduled for 30 April. The alleged leader of the Lackawanna cell, Yemeni-American Kamal Derwish, is believed to have been killed in a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) air-strike on 3 November in Yemen, US officials have said. "The guilty plea obtained by this office is the result of an intensive investigation by agents of the FBI in coordination with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies," US Attorney- General John Ashcroft said in a statement. "Those who see fit to provide their money or services to support America's enemies, even if they are American citizens themselves, will face the full force of America's justice."
