The lawless Bay

AFTER Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, it is the turn of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, to complain to the visiting United States President George W Bush about Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

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Published: Tue 29 Jun 2004, 10:12 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 1:30 AM

Like the other 600 plus inmates representing various nationalities at the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, Turkey is also represented by three Turks who have been in the US custody for the past three years without trial. The indefinite incarceration of these individuals - many of them from the countries that pride themselves on being Washington's friends and partners in the war on terror - flies in the face of all accepted principles of justice and international law. Such detentions not only bring bad name to America but also violate the spirit and cherished values of American democracy.

The US Supreme Court itself has pulled up the Bush administration over these extra-judicial detentions. The attempts by lawyers of some detainees - many of them Britons - to seek their release or trial have been in vain. There have also been reports of shocking prison abuse - a la Abu Ghraib - from the Bay off Cuba. The Bush administration, if it is serious about winning the hearts-and-minds battle, should heed the advice of its trusted allies like Britain and Turkey and bring the lawless Bay under the international law. All inmates must be granted access to their lawyer. No one, not even the mighty America, is above law and justice.



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