Guantánamo Conditions Slip, Military Lawyers Say
Lawyers representing six of the highest-profile detainees at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, sent a letter on Friday to the Pentagon complaining that their clients’ living conditions have deteriorated since a new commander took over the prison last year.
In the five-page letter addressed to William K. Lietzau, the top detainee policy official at the Pentagon, the lawyers complained that some of the food, medicine, and hygienic items given to the prisoners has not been certified as halal, as required for observant Muslims. They also suggest that the amount of recreation time and access to educational and entertainment items, like Arabic newspapers, has been curtailed.
A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, denied any mistreatment of prisoners.
While it has become routine for civilian lawyers representing Guantánamo detainees to complain about their clients’ treatment, the letter was unusual because it came from a group of mostly military lawyers representing six high-level members of Al Qaeda, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/us/guantanamo-conditions-have-fallen-military-lawyers-say.html
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