From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Jul 15 2008 - 08:21:49 EDT
First Guantanamo video released
Tuesday, 15 July 2008 12:31 UK
The video was filmed secretly through an air duct:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7507216.stm
A videotape of a detainee being questioned at the US prison camp in
Guantanamo Bay has been released for the first time.
It shows 16-year-old Omar Khadr being asked by Canadian officials in
2003 about events leading up to his capture by US forces, Canadian media
have said.
The Canadian citizen is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US
soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
He is seen in a distressed state and complaining that he has been
tortured.
The footage was made public by Mr Khadr's lawyers following a Supreme
Court ruling in May that the Canadian authorities had to hand over key
evidence against him to allow a full defence of the charges he is
facing.
'Help me'
During the 10-minute video - filmed secretly through a ventilation shaft
- Mr Khadr can be seen crying, his face buried in his hands, and pulling
at his hair. He can be heard repeatedly chanting: "Help me."
At one point he tells the foreign ministry official and agents from the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that he was tortured while
being held at the US military detention centre at Bagram air base in
Afghanistan.
He raises his orange shirt to show wounds and tells them: "You don't
care about me."
Later, one of the officials tells Mr Khadr: "You know I'm not a doctor,
but I think you're getting good medical care."
Mr Khadr, the only Westerner still held at the jail, was 15 when he was
captured by US forces during a gun battle at a suspected al-Qaeda camp
in Afghanistan.
One of Mr Khadr's lawyers, Dennis Edney, said they hoped the video would
cause an outcry in Canada and pressure Prime Minister Stephen Harper to
demand the US not prosecute their client.
"I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful
treatment of a Canadian youth," Mr Edney told the Toronto Star.
"Canadians should demand to know why they've been lied to."
Mr Harper reiterated last week that he would not interfere in Mr Khadr's
military tribunal, due to begin at Guantanamo on 8 October.
Mr Khadr, now 21, faces multiple terrorism-related charges, the most
serious of which is murder. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
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