Shame on America

Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel has been a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay since 2002.  He told this story, through an Arabic interpreter, to his lawyers at the legal charity Reprieve in an unclassified telephone call:

I’ve been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity. 

I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial. 

I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. But they don’t seem to care how long I sit here, either...

I am still being force-fed. Two times a day they tie me to a chair in my cell. My arms, legs and head are strapped down. I never know when they will come. Sometimes they come during the night, as late as 11 p.m., when I’m sleeping. 

There are so many of us on hunger strike now that there aren’t enough qualified medical staff members to carry out the force-feedings; nothing is happening at regular intervals. They are feeding people around the clock just to keep up. 

The rest of his statement is published in the New York Times.

I know there are readers of this blog who feel that America has an intrinsic right to treat perceived enemies in this fashion.  I don't think anyone should be imprisoned for eleven years without a trial.  I will continue to speak out here; there's nothing else I can do.