Admiral: Last Guantánamo death was suicide

Source: Miami Herald

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- A Navy criminal investigation has concluded that a Yemeni man found dead in the Guantánamo prison camps' psychiatric ward in June committed suicide, the detention center commander said Tuesday.

Navy Rear Adm. Tom Copeman declined to specify the method but said Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, 31, ``unfortunately but successfully committed suicide'' inside the prison camp's 12-cell Behavioral Health Unit on June 1.

The Yemeni had been described at the time as a long-committed hunger striker who had been held at this remote detention center since early 2002 on suspicion of ties to the Taliban.

The death had been listed as an ``apparent suicide'' soon after prison camp staff discovered him ``unresponsive and not breathing.'' Different accounts attributed the cause of death, alternately, to asphyxiation and a drug overdose. Saleh's body was returned to Yemen for burial the same week, after an autopsy.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/guantanamo/story/1269701.html

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"The Saudi's interrogation took place over 50 days from November 2002 to January 2003, though he was held in isolation until April 2003 on suspicion he was meant to be the 20th hijacker in the Sept, 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Interrogators here menaced him with dogs, forced him to wear a bra, and put him on a leash and ordered him to bark as part of a program meant to break his will, according to a leaked interrogation log.

``For 160 days his only contact was with the interrogators,'' Crawford told Woodward. ``Forty-eight of 54 consecutive days of 18- to 20-hour interrogations. Standing naked in front of a female agent. Subject to strip searches. And insults to his mother and sister.''

``His treatment met the legal definition of torture,'' she told The Post. ``And that's why I did not refer the case'' for prosecution."

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Thanks for the thread, sabra.

what were the autopsy findings? hmmm?

Conflict of interest? Never heard of it! You want an unbiased third party to investigate? That would be . . . um . . . a threat to national security. Yeah, that's the ticket. You'll have to take our word for it. But don't worry. We investigated ourselves and found ourselves to be extremely honest.

The death had been listed as an ``apparent suicide'' soon after prison camp staff discovered him ``unresponsive and not breathing.'' That makes it sound as if the cause of death was agreed upon before the time of death. "Looks like an apparent suicide to me." "I'm not dead yet. I feel like dancing!"