USA must investigate allegations of torture at Guantanamo Bay

4.54.03pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th Oct 2004

Moazzam Begg's father with a detainee of Guantanamo Bay who was released without charge.

The next US administration's first job should be to set up an impartial and independent investigation in to allegations of torture and mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, according to European Parliament Human Rights Committee member Liz Lynne.

The West Midlands Liberal Democrat MEP was speaking in favour of a Joint Resolution on Guantanamo Bay in the European Parliament today.

The resolution was in response to allegations made by former detainees of the base in Cuba and an article in the New York Times earlier this month which allege that the prisoners were regularly subjected to harsh and coercive treatment.

One of Liz's constituents Moazzam Begg is still being held there and faces a military tribunal in the near future.

Speaking during the debate she said:

"The letter written by my constituent Moazzam Begg which got to his family uncensored details a string of abuses. This along with other testimonies from former prisoners and people who have worked at Guantanamo Bay paints a disturbing picture of what is going on. There must be an immediate independent investigation in to the allegations.

"Nearly 200 people including 5 British nationals have been released since the prison was created. This means all these people were held against their will for up to two years without being told why, they were tortured, denied access to family, friends or legal representation and in the end were not charged with any crime. How can any civilised, democratic society not only justify but also condone this? If a country like Iran did this to an American citizen I'm sure Bush would be the first to condemn them.

"All the detainees at Guantanamo Bay have been held in unacceptable legal limbo for far too long. They have been denied access to lawyers and they do not even know what charges if any they face. This flies in the face of International standards of justice and human rights. The detainees should be charged or released, and those who are charged with crimes should face a fair trial according to international standards of justice.

"We cannot just blame America for eroding civil liberties. There have been 600 arrests in the UK under terrorism laws since September 11, 2001. Only 12 have resulted in a conviction. There has been a 300% increase in the number of Asian people stopped by police and we have our own version of Guantanamo Bay at Belmarsh Prison.

"We are all agreed on the importance of fighting terrorism, but we cannot surrender the basic human rights and values Europe shares with America. If we do the terrorists will have won."