The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on Feb. 3 said the death of a Guantánamo Bay detainee highlights problems with the detention system currently used by the US for dealing with terrorist suspects. The detainee, Awal Gul, had been at the Guantánamo detention center since October 2002, suspected of having aided the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Gul apparently died on Feb. 1 of an apparent heart attack after he had completed aerobic exercises.
Awal Gul’s death illustrates too well what Guantanamo has become—a prison where Muslim men are held indefinitely until they die because the president lacks political courage to release or charge them in any forum. President Obama must close Guantanamo lest more detainees die there, including roughly 90 men who are approved for transfer at some undetermined point in the future.
Gul’s attorney also released a statement, echoing many of the same issues raised by the CCR and taking issue with the DoD’s press release which included claims against Gul that were not raised while he was alive.
From Jurist, Feb. 4. Used with permission.
