Painful Past Still A Reminder For Former Gitmo Detainees

Manama, Bahrain (AHN) - They suffered torture and humiliation in Guantanamo Bay for years. But even after their release, the six Bahraini men carry with them the dreaded tag as "criminals," a reminder of their painful past.

It's going to be one year in August since the last Bahraini detainee, Isa Al Murbati, was released from Camp Delta. Things have not changed since then for Murbati or the other men who have faced problems of adjusting to their situations.

"I want my basic rights of job, housing which is the responsibility of the state. This is how we Guantanamo Guys are treated, no one to look after us. I want to go for Hajj this year, but have no documents," former Internment No. 052 Al Murbati told AHN.

His problems are similar to those of Adel Kamal who was released in 2005. Three years down, he says his ordeal is not yet over.

"We are not normal people, but criminals all our lives. All talks by the authorities did not heal our scars. I cannot find a job or start a business and feel cheated," Kamal said. "No government officials tried to contact me to know about my condition since my return, although the men in the car follow my movements to my friend's house or to the mosque," he claimed.

The other Bahraini detainees at Camp Delta were Shaikh Salman Al Khalifa, Abdullah Majid Al Nuaimi, Salah Al Beloushi and Juma Al Dossary. Considered enemy combatants by the U.S., they were charged with recruiting personnel for Al Qaeda, fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan and having links with the Philippines separatist group Abu Sayyaf. The men have denied all the accusations.

The detainees were released in batches: three returned in November 2005, and the other three returned individually in October 2006 and July and August 2007.

Bahrain authorities have announced a rehabilitation program for all the men to help them integrate with society after spending years in captivity. But lawmaker Shaikh Mohammed Khalid, who headed a committee for supporting the Guantanamo Bay detainees, told AHN, "It seems these men were released from one prison and sent to another. All the promises made by the authorities were not done. Their fight continues."

Sources told AHN that a group of lawyers here are studying the possibility of filing a case against the U.S. on behalf of the former detainees. Any lawsuit could include a demand for compensation.

Ten American attorneys have voluntarily taken up the detainees' case, visiting them on 12 occasions from October 2004 to June 2007. U.S.-based law firm Dorsey and Whitney LLP, which is handling the cases, feel the men need a helping hand from the government and society.

"It has been nearly a year since the last of our clients returned home to Bahrain from Guantanamo. It is my sense that our clients in Bahrain have not always had as much help. We call on the government and the people to help these men who have suffered to rebuild their lives," attorney Joshua Colangelo Bryan said.

He noted that Juma Al Dossary, who returned to Saudi Arabia, received a great deal of assistance from the government like other Saudi former detainees. "The assistance which has been financial and otherwise allowed him to adjust to his new life at home again," Bryan said.

Kamal and Murbati may be the worst affected victims of red tape, while Al Dossary, who holds dual citizenship in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, has started a new chapter of his life.

In an interview with the BBC, Al Dossary, who had 15 flirtations with death as he repeatedly tried to end his life in Camp Delta said, "They broke my nose and my face like it was a balloon. I was kept in a dirty isolated cell with no blankets during winters. I did not even shake hand with anyone for few months. But then, there were also some soldiers who gave me cookies and candies in the cell. Do not judge the entire America because of actions of few men."

During President George W. Bush's trip to Bahrain in January as part of his Middle East tour, protesters wore orange jump suits and sat in a "cage" calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay and an end to Iraq war crimes. The orange jump suits were similar to the orange uniforms Gitmo detainees wear and the cage depicted the prison.