World History: 1500 - 2001

Caro

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Detainees’ Mental Health Is Latest Legal Battle

Next month, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who was once a driver for Osama bin Laden, could become the first detainee to be tried for war crimes in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. By now, he should be busily working on his defense.

But his lawyers say he cannot. They say Mr. Hamdan has essentially been driven crazy by solitary confinement in an 8-foot-by-12-foot cell where he spends at least 22 hours a day, goes to the bathroom and eats all his meals. His defense team says he is suicidal, hears voices, has flashbacks, talks to himself and says the restrictions of Guantánamo “boil his mind.”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd go crazy to if I was locked in a room like that. You still have to feel sorry for him. At this point I think the US needs to step up a little and at least supply people with liveable conditions. Give the man books, crosswords or something (of course it's probably to late now...)

Kamiiya Kens said...

This is terrible. No freedom. Who wouldn't be suicidal?