Four detainees accused of links to the fallen Taliban
regime of Afghanistan or al-Qaeda terrorist network tried to kill
themselves in their cells at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, a
military official said today.
Many detainees are depressed about their indefinite detentions without
charge, and many have expressed the desire to commit suicide, officials
said.
One man tried to slash his wrists with a plastic razor while three
others tried to hang themselves with "comfort items" at Camp Delta, the
prison in eastern Cuba where 598 men are being held, said Army
Lieutenant Colonel Joe Hoey, a detention mission spokesman.
The suicide attempts occurred in July and August, but military
spokesmen gave no details on exactly what the men used or if they had
been treated before for psychological disorders.
Comfort items include a towel and sheet.
All of the men were reportedly back in the cells and unhurt.
"All of these men are monitored very closely and their attempts were not successful," Hoey told The Associated Press.
"It's not unusual that the longer detainees are incarcerated the more
likely it is that you see suicide attempts and this type of behaviour."
Since the first detainees arrived in January, none have been charged by
the US government, which says it may try them in military tribunals,
send them home or hold them indefinitely.
Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib are among those being detained at the naval base.
The detainees are being interrogated and are not allowed lawyers.
The legal limbo has outraged human rights activists and psychologists
who say the uncertainty the men face is unbearable and
counterproductive to interrogators seeking information.
"Once you're in that condition, you're not rational," said psychiatrist
Stuart Grassian of Harvard University in Boston, an expert on the
affects of long-term confinement in maximum-security conditions.
"Leaving people in confinement, or pushing them to the breaking point,
won't necessarily improve the ability to get information," Grassian
said. "When people break, a lot of times it isn't in a way that's
particularly useful to anyone."
Dozens of detainees, who come from 38 countries, have staged hunger
strikes to protest their indefinite detentions. Others are being
treated for psychological disorders and several are being medicated
with antidepressants or anti-psychotic drugs.
Many of the men have made statements that they wanted to die or kill
themselves, Hoey said, and several others have tried to harm
themselves, but the actions were not considered suicide attempts.
"There are gestures and statements that are considered self-harm
incidents but we don't view them as serious attempts at suicide."
