The end of Guantanamo Bay?
Today’s blog focuses on the health significance of the main news from President Obama’s third day of office – his ordering of the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and all overseas CIA detention centers for terror suspects, a review of military trials of terror suspects, and a ban on harsh interrogation methods. We also have published a great new article about the link between air pollution and health written by Kate Leyland.
Photo courtesy of Amnesty International.
Exciting things are happening America following the inauguration of President Obama this week on Tuesday. People all across the world are closely watching the first 100 days of his presidency, awaiting the changes promised during his election campaign. Notably today he ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and all oversea CIA detention centers. Not only did he order the closure of Guantanamo Bay, in which about 250 suspects have been held without trial for links to terrorism, but he also announced that it will be closed within the year. Obviously this is a great success for human rights campaigners, most notably Amnesty International who have been campaigning on this issue for years; however it is a important success for healthcare professional too.
Guantanamo Bay is renowned for its extreme interrogation techniques and its ill treatment of detainees. There has been much controversy surrounding whether its interrogation is actually really morally unacceptable torture. There have also been multiple concerns raised about the physical and psychological medical consequences of techniques used during interrogation at the prison, including humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, and forced positions.
However, what is normally less known of is the role of healthcare professionals in the implementation of this torture. In the last few years, there have been reports that physicians based at Guantanamo Bay have force feed hunger strikers against their consent and released the confidential medical records of detainees to the prison for use in their interrogation. Also the prison has also been criticized for using military/intelligence psychologists to design, implement, and supervise the interrogation techniques used within the prison.
This involvement of medical professionals is shocking and completely conflicts with their professional and ethical obligation of non-maleficence. If these reports are true, these doctors are definitely not acting in the ‘best interest of their patients’!
If you would like to follow the progress of the closure of Guantanamo Bay closely over the next year, we suggest that you check out Amnesty International’s 100 Days website, dedicated to campaigning for Barack Obama to continue to take steps ‘to counter terrorism with justice’ over the next 100 days. Also find out more information about this topic geared specifically at health professionals at the website of Physicians for Human Rights.