Home > Leaked rules detail rewards and penalties at Guantánamo

Leaked rules detail rewards and penalties at Guantánamo

by Open-Publishing - Friday 16 November 2007

Prison Attack-Terrorism USA

by Ewen MacAskill

The inner workings of the Guantánamo detention camp, ranging from items allowed in cells to how many witnesses should be present for cavity searches, have been revealed in a Pentagon manual leaked on the internet.

The manual covers almost every aspect of life at the base, from arrival to burial - with a graphic showing how Muslims should be buried.

Although the manual dates from 2003, the year after the camp at the US navy base in Cuba opened and before some changes in its running were implemented, it offers a rare glimpse of life in the high-security camp. The 238 pages list the rules governing the daily life of the prisoners but also provide insights into how the US guards and interrogators view the inmates.

It details an elaborate reward system in which prisoners who show signs of cooperating, or at least responding positively, are rewarded with "comfort items" such as a larger bar of soap. It covers how to identify potential leaders, orders latex gloves to be used when handling mail in case of hazardous chemicals, and specifies the number of military police to be present when prisoners take showers.

Lieutenant Colonel Ed Bush, a Guantánamo spokesman, said the document, which was labelled Unclassified, for Official Use Only, should not have been made public, even though much of it was outdated. Many changes to operating procedures had been made since then, he said.

More than 350 prisoners are still held in Guantánamo.

The leaked manual first appeared on Wikileaks, a website that invites people to send in sensitive documents. The manual tells how prisoners should be isolated to make them more cooperative under what it calls the behaviour management plan.

On arrival, they were denied basics and access to a Qur’an. But afterwards all prisoners were given one. "Do not disrespect the Qur’an (let it touch the floor, kick it, step on it)," the manual says.

In one of the most contentious parts, the manual states that some prisoners are not guaranteed access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, in spite of repeated assertions by the organisation that it had full access. It said that level-four prisoners should have: "No access: No contact of any kind with the ICRC. This includes the delivery of ICRC mail."

Rewards for positive behaviour included being allowed to take meals to cells, access to games, and three showers a week instead of the standard two. But some practices are denied to all inmates, including "hanging towel in cell to block sun or light at night when sleeping".

Main points

Behaviour management plan to "enhance and exploit the disorientation and disorganisation felt by a newly arrived detainee"

A reward system to encourage cooperation

Access to Red Cross denied to some prisoners

Guards told line to take with media: "We are making progress in global war on terror through a concerted effort with coalition partners"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,2211960,00.html