In a helpless appeal to end his suffering at one of the worst detainee camps ever built, Guantanamo detainee Juma Mohammed Al-Dossary warned to kill himself yet again. The detainee, who has already tried to commit suicide a number of times, said he hoped to kill himself out of despair over his confinement and conditions at the American military jail in Cuba.
According to reports released by the US military, the 33-year-old detainee, who has been held at the camp without charges since January 2002, has tried to kill himself at least 10 times at Guantanamo. For instance, in October 2005 attempt, Al-Dossary slashed his arm and tried to hang himself during a break in a meeting with his attorney, Joshua Colangelo-Bryan.
In a depressive letter he wrote on April 18 that was released last week, he asserted that he would prefer death than his open-ended detention at Guantanamo.
We are facing here the most horrible type of oppression and physical torture. I swear to God, if I have the opportunity I would end my life.
He further said that he has been subjected to unspecified “torture,” and that two other detainees have been abused by the guard force. He says he has been deprived of basic comforts, forced to sleep on the cement floor with his pants and an orange shirt to cover himself.
The US military has quite predictably denied these allegations. The US military asserts that all detainees are treated humanely and that any methods used to interrogate them are solely for the purpose of extracting valuable information from these alleged terrorists.
However, these official assertions are called into question when facts are brought into focus. Three detainees committed suicide in June 2006 by hanging themselves in their cells. Dozens have engaged in hunger strikes to protest their confinement.
With over 380 people being held at the secret camp, international pressure has repeatedly sought a speedy trial of all detainees. The chances of those held however seem very bleak with independent and fair trials a far-fetched idea for now.
via: USA Today
