“the worse scars are in the mind”

(Professor Sten Jacobssen, Swedish expert on torture)

On the day that the world waits to learn the details of the CIA Torture Report, we must remember that for detainees still held at Guantanamo, the torture is ongoing.

Imagine that you are imprisoned for 13 years, physically and mentally abused. You are never charged, never tried, you are in fact cleared for release but remain a prisoner, separated from your family and friends…Could there be a much worse case of psychological torture, think for a moment on what such a cruel and unjust situation does to the mind. On the one hand you are being repeatedly told that you are theoretically “free” but in reality you are confined to a cell with no forseeable date of release. This is the existence of Shaker Aamer, I hestitate to call it a life, as it is no life!

Hernan Reyes, who was Medical Coordinator for Detention Related Activities, International Committee of the Red Cross, has written a paper examining the consequences of such experiences entitled, “The worst scars are in the mind: psychological torture”. He states,

“torture during interrogation often includes methods that do not physically assault the
body or cause actual physical pain – and yet entail severe psychological pain and
suffering and profoundly disrupt the senses and personality. Solitary confinement and
prolonged sleep deprivation are just two examples of these psychological torture
methods. Even psychological methods which do not amount to ill-treatment when
considered in isolation, amount to inhuman or degrading treatment or torture, when
applied in conjunction with other techniques, cumulatively and/or over a long time.
Often they are part and parcel of the whole torture process and constitute a
‘‘background environment’’ of harassment and duress. The ‘‘cumulation over time’’
factor must thus be considered as part of a system of psychological torture”

What do we know about Shaker’s treatment and conditions in Guantanamo?

In August we heard how Shaker (cleared for release) was allegedly beaten during the process of having blood extracted and over recent times has been subjected to the inhumane and degrading process of force-feeding. In the past, according to his lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith he was physically abused and alongside the beatings was subjected to strappado (dislocating the shoulders by hanging by the wrists).

We know that Shaker has been diagnosed with severe PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after an independent medical examination (though it took 12 years to get this) and according to Reprieve human rights organization it is recommended that he “receive urgent psychiatric treatment” and “reintegration into his family.” Shaker has a son that he has never seen and three other children. He is completely isolated from his family, missing out on all their formative years and the special moments which bind a family together and without the loving comfort of his wife.

It is clear from a 2013 letter that Shaker who suffers from chronic depression and special housing unit (SHU) psychosis feels despair, persecution and hopelessness as he states,

“they’ve taken almost all my “comfort items” away again now, along with the knee brace the doctors ordered, the back brace, the medical socks for my edema, and the blanket for my rheumatism. Not that I care. Everything is meaningless, so long as I am still here, cleared, without charges, and without a trial”

One can only imagine the world Shaker inhabits which to any observer would surely seem kafkaesque, surreal, senseless, disorientating and menacing. As a qualified mental health professional, I am profoundly disturbed by the treatment of Shaker which is unethical and allegedly criminal as he is cleared for release yet held against his will.

Ellen Gerrity, assistant professor of psychiatry at Duke University and co-editor of “The Mental Health Consequences of Torture argues that,

“the psychological symptoms can often be worse in the sense that a person can never recover from that, and may in the end, be in such despair and pain that they take their own lives, especially if they don’t have treatment or support around them”

Let us not forget that there have been suicides at Guantanamo. On June 10th 2006, Yasser Al-Zahrani, Ali Al-Salami and Mani Al-Utaybi were found dead, all alleged suicides. The New York Times reported, “officials said that the three hanged themselves in their cells with nooses made of sheets and clothing and died before they could be revived by medical personnel.” They had all allegedly left suicide notes. At that time the NYT referred to 41 suicide attempts by 25 detainees in Guantanamo since the facility opened.

On September 8, 2012, Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, a Yemeni prisoner at Guantánamo, died in disputed circumstances… tragically he had been earlier cleared for release. See the writings of human rights activist Andy Worthington who has long campaigned on behalf of Guantanamo detainees,

http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/category/guantanamo-suicides/

We have a collective responsibility as members of society to fight to uphold the rights of others, not in a position to be heard. What if that were one of our family. It could be any of us. Shaker is an innocent man. He must not become the next Guantanamo suicide.

“We Stand With Shaker”

MP John McDonnal alleges that the US government are holding Shaker “out of spite”. This is because he is a man who has witnessed what many have tried to hide in relation to treatment of prisoners, who was involved and who knew what and when. Where security services and governments are involved there is an enormous abuse of power with many afraid to tackle them on their extraordinary behaviour and allegations of torture.

The anger is so great now that there are fear of reprisals, the Guardian reports,

“the CIA is bracing for what could be one of the most damaging moments in its history: a public airing of its post-9/11 embrace of torture.

The Senate intelligence committee is poised to release a landmark inquiry into torture as early as Tuesday, after the Obama Administration made a last-ditch effort to suppress a report that has plunged relations between the CIA and its Senate overseer to a historic low point.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday the administration welcomed the release of the report, but warned US interests overseas were at risk of potentially violent reactions to its contents”

Regarding the contents of the report, we are already hearing reports of how one detainee Abdel Rahman al Nashiri, was threatened with a buzzing power drill (though it was apparently not used) and another sexually threatened with a broomstick. Who knows what else is to come? (The Torture Report has just arrived as I am writing, see link section.) However as Max Abrahms, a terrorism theorist and professor at Northeastern University, US, tweeted, “Senate report says CIA used sexual threats, waterboarding and other harsh methods on terrorism suspects; all were ineffective at getting info.”

What you can do to help Shaker

There is now an active campaign called We Stand With Shaker, you can find out a number of ways you can support, see the following website link,

http://standwithshakeraamer.tumblr.com/submit/

Time is of the essence. Shaker is now physically weak and emotionally fragile and therefore at risk of self-harm. We must ensure that a man who has been cleared for release is actually released. Shaker needs to be returned to the UK and to his family that have waited for many years to see their loved one.

Link to Torture Report

The 500-page executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 6,300-page report into the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program.

Click to access sscistudy1.pdf

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. (She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”)