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Solitary not solitary any longer. Now it’s “single-occupancy”

June 21st, 2008
By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor


If you missed my co-blogger The Talking Dog’s interview with attorney Rebecca Dick of the Washington, D.C. office of Dechert, LLP, who is representing a number of Afghan nationals currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, I urge you to go back and read it.

Among the passages that struck me… We now know well how the Bush administration sought to redefine torture. Well it turns out that it has redefined solitary confinement, too:

The Talking Dog You have been quoted recently observing that the current regime of near total isolation in which most of the Guantanamo detainees are now being held has contributed to a deterioration in their mental health. To what extent have you observed this with your own clients, and what, if anything, has the government said in response when you have raised these issues?

Rebecca Dick: All clients have become more depressed in solitary. One told me, “I look alive, but actually I’m dead.” Some also become somewhat paranoid and at the same time, intellectually paralyzed, unable to make even small decisions. I meet with them every 3-4 months, and each time I see further deterioration.

The government has not responded directly to complaints about solitary confinement. Its public tone has shifted, however, from defending solitary as the only way to handle “the worst of the worst,” to suggesting that the prisoners aren’t really in solitary after all. One official actually said the prisoners are just in “single-occupancy cells.” He neglected to mention that the prisoners don’t get out of these cells very much, and, when they do, don’t always see anyone else who speaks their language.

Emphasis mine.



This entry was posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2008 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Torture, GWOT, US Constitution, Justice, Human Rights, Civil Liberties, Afghanistan, War On Terror, Guantanamo Bay, Law & Legal Matters. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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    I think it's pretty easy for people here (in the USA) to look at this in a passing way and assume these detainees all had it coming, in some vague sort of terrorism related way, and therefore don't warrant humanitarian treatment or even concerns in that regard - never even understanding why it should matter. Why be bothered with uncomfortable questions about events far away from home? Easier to just go out for ice-cream, rent a movie, or grab a cold beer.
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    JSpencer is right- I know a lot of people (and in reading comments on internet posts too) who think we should just throw away the key.

    What these Americans don't understand is that many of the enemy combatants are innocent (some being turned over to US authorities by people more interested in receiving the bounty money). One of our cherished values of this country is that people would have the right to a speedy and fair trial. Well, we see how Bush has trashed that part of the US Constitution.

    The worst part is that some of these enemy combatants ARE truly evil and should be locked up, but because the Bushies just chucked them away in these places, I don't think a whole lot of basic police investigation went on to support their case (remember in America, you're innocent until proven guilty- but the Bushies have gotten around this by sticking the enemy combatants offshore and not giving them any legal rights). So while many may be guilty, the government doesn't have much of a case against them so they'll probably go free. Oh and by the way good luck introducing into evidence any statements or confessions the enemy combatants gave... under torture.

    That's why we need to get back to being a country which believes and follows the rule of law. And I purposely say that in a broad context because many ordinary citizens just don't care what happens to the innocents which were caught up in this dragnet. Someday it might be them who are caught up as an innocent and thrown behind bars for good and without recourse....

    I'm all for locking up terrorists so they can't harm us, but who is out there speaking for the innocent folks who have been locked up for years? Not many people...

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