Prisoner mistreatment?

Scott Burgess is looking at the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Firstly, have they been railroaded? Have they had a chance to contest the charges against them?

In fact, yesterday's Independent provides a starting point which leads to some interesting first hand information concerning conditions at the camp. Regarding the Guantanamo hearing transcripts just released by the government (the very existence of which, incidentally, disproves claims that detainees are being held without any chance to hear charges against them, or to present their cases), the Indy asserts that:

Even this limited glimpse into the closed world of Camp Delta shows the arbitrary nature of the arrests which led to hundreds being incarcerated without charge.

The documents (which, unfortunately, are not machine searchable) are available here. I've gone through about 10% of the cases so far and charges are specified in the vast majority, if not every single one that I've seen.

As for charges of torture, there are some. However, there are some statements that probably won't find their way into the Independent:

one Abdul Hakim Bukhary (set 3, page 60). Perhaps it doesn't fit the picture of Guantanamo that the likes of Mr. Sutcliffe and his employers (whether at the BBC or the Indy) wish to convey:

"Prisoners here are in paradise. American people are very good. Really. They give us three meals, juice, fruit and everything! My God! Here they [i.e. the Arab detainees] bother me everyday, every time. Now about 30 months to this day, they bother me. They call me a hypocrite. They call me a spy. You have to say, 'thank God!' I thank you for America! If you are in a Taliban prison, they do not treat you well. Here we are in paradise. It is 100% paradise. Yes, really. Thank you!"

Mohammed Yacob, shares Mr. Bukhary's positive feelings towards his captors (set 2, page 55):

"I'm very happy with the Americans. I don't blame the Americans for capturing me. I blame someone who reported me; I got captured because of him."

However, for the sake of balance, there are descriptions of truly horrifying tortures inflicted on prisoners:

[One] can only breathe a sigh of relief that he was not subject to what Mr. Abbasi was forced to endure when he:

· had his peanut butter eaten by a guard "right in front of him".

What next? The comfy-chair?