US govt to act against soldiers
The US government has said it will take tough measures against its officials if proved that they illegally detained and tortured Suleiman Abdallah Salim, a Tanzanian arrested five years ago for allegedly being involved in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.
Salim, who was brought back to the country last week under the escort of Red Cross officials, was arrested in 2003 by American soldiers, who detained and tortured him for all those years.
Some of his fingers were chopped off as a result of the torture Salim claimed he suffered under American soldiers.
Acting Public Affairs Officer for the US embassy in Dar es Salaam Karen Grissette said yesterday that the US had learnt with shock reports that Salim was tortured by American military personnel.
“The United States strictly prohibits the abuse of prisoners in its custody. Allegations of abuse are thoroughly investigated, and those who are determined to have violated these standards have been and will continue to be held accountable,“ said Grissette.
She said the United States did not wish to hold anyone longer than necessary.
“Detainees are screened at various points from capture to detention at theatre detention facilities and their individual cases are reviewed periodically thereafter.
These procedures are designed to ensure we only hold those who are enemy combatants and who pose a continuing threat to the United States and its allies,“ she said.
According to her, US personnel were required to comply with all relevant US laws and treaty obligations in their care and treatment of detainees.
“Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment is prohibited by all US personnel in all locations,“ she said.
She, however, said that the United States was in a state of armed conflict with al Qaida, the Taliban and their supporters.
“Under the law of war, countries may lawfully detain enemy combatants until the cessation of active hostilities. The principal rationale for the detention of enemy combatants during wartime is to prevent them from returning to the battlefield to re-engage in hostilities,“ Grissette said.
Speaking immediately after his arrival last week, Salim said he was arrested in the Somali`s capital of Mogadishu in 2003 when he was on his own business and was taken by the American soldiers to an unknown destination.
He said while in Mogadishu, he was severely tortured and subsequently transferred to Nairobi.
“They told me I was a Somali but I replied that I was a Tanzanian. They then charged I was from Yemen,“ Salim told The Guardian.
Salim said he was later on taken to Afghanistan in an American prison popularly called Darkness, where he and other inmates suffered from threatening animal voices before he was shifted to another cell called Chatem and later on to another one known as Bagram.
“I was chained and subjected to other related forms of torture. They used to give me food at two days intervals. My health has terribly weakened,“ he said.
A lawyer with the Legal Human Rights Centre Clarence Kipobota said Salim could sue the US government for the torture he had suffered.
“We are planning to intervene. We intend to talk to him in person to find out what really took place before we can give him legal assistance,“ said Kipobota.
US govt to act against soldiers
September 5th, 2008 | Category: Suleiman Abdallah Salim, Torture
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