At present there are Australians, Britons and at least 12 Kuwaitis among the many others who are being held in the legal limbo no-mans-land of Guantanimo Bay Prison Camp [CUBA]. The detainees have been accused of terrorist-related activity.

The US government deemed Cuba the most secure environment for their detainment, interrogation and trial. As long as the prisoners are not on US soil they are denied the rights guaranteed to criminals under the American constitution, such as a presumption of innocence and a trial by jury.

What is the status of the detainees under international law?

The US insists that the detainees do not qualify for prisoner-of-war treatment under the Geneva Conventions, because they are not members of the regular Afghan armed force - nor do they meet the criteria for prisoner-of-war status for voluntary forces.

These criteria include wearing uniform and carrying arms openly. Washington has categorized the detainees as "unlawful combatants".

United Nations argue that the armed conflict in Afghanistan is of an international nature and the law of international armed conflict, the Geneva Conventions, should apply.

What does the legal argument mean for the detainees?

If the alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban members are not legally prisoners of war, then they are not entitled to various protections provided by the Geneva Conventions. These protections include certain restrictions on the interrogation of prisoners, the prohibition of cruel and degrading treatment, and a ban on torture.

Amnesty International have reported: In the name of internal security, governments have indicated that they would infringe on basic rights of citizens under the special circumstances of global terror threat. Laws have been enacted in various countries that violate Universal Human Rights. Amnesty says these laws are being abused. Amnesty was particularly critical about over 600 prisoners detained for over 18 months in the Guantanimo Bay prison camp.

Click Here to read the article -U.S. rejects Amnesty charge

Australian David Hicks
AUSTRALIAN David Hicks could remain in Guantanimo Bay forever, even if cleared by a US military tribunal. Adelaide-born Hicks will be among the first six Guantanimo Bay detainees to face a US military commission. The 27-year-old was captured fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in November 2001. He has not been charged and no date has been set for his hearing before the tribunal, which has powers including the death penalty. His American lawyer says there is no evidence to support Prime Minister John Howard's assertion that David Hicks had admitted training with the al-Qaeda terrorist network. David Hicks has been held 19 months, interrogated at will in a six foot by eight foot cell, no contact with the outside world, no counsel. "Literally, that is the (US) government's position, that David andeverybody else can be held indefinitely and that the war on terrorism is open ended. http://www.fairgofordavid.org Fair Go for David seeks that: David Hicks is treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. The law of Habeas Corpus be applied to David Hicks and that he be repatriated to Australia and given a fair civil trial, if charged with any crime/s; and that any other Australians in a similar situation to David Hicks be entitled to the same rights
Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib's arrest, unlike that of David Hicks, is the story of a man travelling in a country not at war, and without warning being arrested, transferred, and treated as an illegal combatant, despite the fact that he was never any kind of combatant. After being arrested on a bus heading to Karachi in Pakistan, where he was booked to return to Australia, his two Germen companions were released within weeks, due to strong diplomatic pressure from their government. Habib however, was unlucky, because the Australian authorities left him stranded, and refused to demand a fair trial, access to a lawyer, or to extradite him to Australia. What is worse is that after 14 months in prison, the Australian government has still not demanded these things, and he sits in Guantanamo Bay, his fourth country of incarceration, still without being charged, or convicted. Because he was arrested in Pakistan, transferred to Egypt, and only ever spent time in Afghanistan as a US prisoner when transferred from Egypt, he has no claim to the Geneva Convention. Likewise, having never fought or carried arms, he cannot possibly be treated as an illegal combatant.

Pictures from Behiond the wire of Guantanimo Bay (Cuba)

RELATED LINKS & SUPPORT SITES
Fair Go for David Site - Latest News & Info Behind Bars in Guantanamo Bay - Lots of info	CampXray.org - Human Rights info Sydney Morning Herald - News Article

Images Archived from bbc.co.uk