US tortures at Gitmo counterproductive: Activist

Press TV has interviewed Massoud Shadjareh, a member of the Islamic Human Rights Commission in London, to discuss the release of Shaker Aamer, the last British detainee at the US notorious Guantanamo Bay.

Following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: This case is pretty incredible because you are looking at what has happened in Afghanistan and what has happened in the US prison and to take and throw this guy into a prison that is not on US soil, namely Guantanamo, and then not to charge him formally while you have evidence that is not even a hundred percent and then after all these years releasing him.

Shadjareh: Yes it really is astonishing and these sorts of actions you just stated are being done by so-called champions of human rights and justice and international law. It really is astonishing but it is not the first time. They have been involved in this sort of behavior since 9/11 and the reality is that even all the previous British ex-Guantanamo prisoners brought action against British government’s involvement in their torture and they eventually set a lot of courts and millions was given to the ex-Guantanamo prisoners.

And Shaker really has got, if anything, more reason to take action and the reality is that there are lots of rumors that one of the reasons that his release was delayed was because of the fact that he had access to much evidence and indeed he was a testimony of how torture was used and that is why his release was delayed. Thirteen years is an extremely long time for an innocent man to be in any prison. I remember when Obama was getting into power, he promised he is going to close Guantanamo. That is becoming the biggest joke of the century really.

Press TV: When you have these types of cases, what it does just like many other programs that the US has had is that it gives the opposite result. You are going to have a person that has done hard time come out and be just as hard against the US, just as it could carry out any type of attacks perhaps because of the way that he was treated and because of the fact that he was not charged. So doesn’t that prove counterproductive to US efforts to supposedly capture these so-called terrorists?  

Shadjareh: Absolutely. It really sets the standard for a conflict that if the United States as it is doing, justifying behaving this way then that becomes legitimized for everybody to do and the opposition and the terrorist groups and anyone else and we will see that this is becoming almost normal policies and not just those who are opposing the US but even among their so-called friends - Israelis are doing it, Saudis are involved in behaving outside the international law and behaving almost in a way that what is expected of a terrorist to do.

So you are absolutely right. It really destroys any standard in international law, any standard in due process and it leads to further conflict and further atrocities.  

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