Sitting with his hands cuffed and ankles chained to the floor, an Afghan prisoner told a US military panel that he joined the Taliban and was forced to carry a rifle but "wasn't going to fight anyone". The slightly built and thickly bearded 31-year-old was among 10 Guantanamo prisoners so far granted hearings to determine if they are enemy combatants not protected by the Geneva Conventions, or whether they should be sent home.

The hearings, which began yesterday, were the first chance in two-and-a-half years for 585 Guantanamo prisoners to challenge their indefinite detention at the US naval base in Cuba, a situation human rights groups deplore as a violation of international law.

The Pentagon set up the military review hearings after the US Supreme Court ruled in June that the prisoners had the right to contest their detention in US courts.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/06/1091732085326.html?oneclick=true


Source: Aftermath News Service
Top Stories - August 9th, 2004