Ghost detainee
Ghost detainee is a term used in the
Secret CIA prisons
According to then-
One example is
In a 2007 report,
At least 39 detainees who were once held by the CIA in secret detention remain "disappeared," according to Off the Record, a report jointly published June 7, 2007 by six leading human rights groups, including Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, and Human Rights Watch.[5][6] Spokesmen say that their report:
reveals the extent to which the United States has illegally used "proxy detention" to empty its secret sites and demonstrates that far from targeting the "worst of the worst," the system sweeps up low-level detainees and even involves the detention of the wives and children of the "disappeared," in violation of their human rights. 'Off the Record' also documents allegations concerning the treatment of detainees while in secret detention, including torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatmentor punishment.
Abu Ghraib's ghost detainees
The practice of ghosting first achieved widespread attention in 2005 when
The Post cited as evidence the 2004
in a report describing abuses of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, [he] blamed the 800th Military Police Brigade, which guarded the prison, for allowing 'other government agencies' — a euphemism that includes the CIA — to hide 'ghost' detainees at Abu Ghraib. The practice, he wrote, 'was deceptive, contrary to Army doctrine, and in violation of international law'.
When news of a detainee known only as
On September 9, 2004, General
Criticism
The practice has been criticized by
In May 2005, Irene Khan of Amnesty International addressed the issue in a speech:
According to U.S. official sources there could be over one hundred ghost detainees held by the U.S. In 2004, thousands of people were held by the U.S. in Iraq, hundreds in Afghanistan, and undisclosed numbers in undisclosed locations. AI (Amnesty International) is calling on the U.S. government to "close Guantanamo and disclose the rest." What we mean by this is: either release the prisoners or charge and prosecute them with due process.[10]
See also
- Black jails (China)
- Nacht und Nebel (Nazi Germany)
- Black sites
- Command responsibility
- "prisoners of war and civilians
- Forced disappearance
- Extraordinary rendition
References
- ^ Findlaw
- ^ "CIA Chief Defends Detention of Suspects" Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, New York Sun, September 7, 2007
- ^ "German Spy Agency Admits Mishandling Abduction Case", The New York Times, June 2, 2006
- ^ Ghost Prisoner: Two Years in Secret CIA Detention, Human Rights Watch Archived 2007-09-16 at the Wayback Machine, February 2007
- ^ "Off the Record List" Archived 2007-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "US holding at least 39 detainees in secret prisons" Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Jurist, June 7, 2007
- ^ Washington Post, March 10, 2005
- ^ Pound, Edward T. "Hiding a Bad Guy Named Triple X" Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine, U.S. News & World Report, June 21, 2004
- ^ The Jurist. Archived from the originalon 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
- ^ a b Amnesty International Report 2005 Archived 2005-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, Irene Khan, Speech at Foreign Press Association, Amnesty International, 25 May 2005
External links
- UN Secret Detention Report Asks, “Where Are The CIA Ghost Prisoners?” Andy Worthington, January 29, 2010
- Behind the Wire: An Update to Ending Secret Detentions (2005) Archived 2010-06-21 at the Wayback Machine, Human Rights First
Declassified documents
- US Department of State FOIA-declassified document collections
This collection consists of documents concerning individuals apprehended after September 11, 2001 and held by the U.S. at military bases or detention facilities outside the U.S. and the rendition of detainees and other individuals to foreign powers.
Links courtesy of Internet Archive's Wayback Machine