INSIGHT INTO GUANTANAMO JUSTICE !

Insight into Guantanamo justice
By Steve Swann BBC News.

Mustafa Ait Idir says his knuckle was broken by guards. The BBC has obtained recordings of alleged terrorist suspects appearing before military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay. They were held in 2004 to review whether six detainees should be classified as "enemy combatants".
This is the first public glimpse into how the law works in Guantanamo. An American voice announces: "This tribunal is being conducted at 1917 on 6th October 2004 on board naval base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."
An Algerian detainee, Mustafa Ait Idir, is brought into the room. He is asked if the shackles on his feet are too tight.
He says after three years of wearing them, he is used to it.
It's one of six recordings of hearings released to an American legal firm under the Freedom of Information Act.
Each is of an interview held before a US military tribunal to review whether six alleged terror suspects should be classified as "enemy combatants".
Allegations of abuse
Mr Idir describes to the panel of three military officers how he was arrested in Bosnia in 2001.
Along with five other Algerians, he was accused but cleared by the Bosnian authorities of a plot to attack the British and US embassies in Sarajevo.
After the men were released, they were re-arrested on the same day and transported to Guantanamo in January 2002.
Mr Idir tells the tribunal he has suffered physical abuse there.
"On the middle finger, my knuckle has been broken. You probably cannot see that. But on my finger you can see that clearly."
Do you have anything that is clear or proves clearly that I planned these things? How can they know that I planned these things? The answer I am able to give you is that I did not
Mustafa Ait Idir

Mustafa Ait Idir denies associating with al-Qaeda
The charges against another detainee, Mohamed Nechla

The tribunal president says: "Let me ask you a question. Are you saying a soldier in Guantanamo Bay Cuba broke your fingers?"
Mustafa Ait Idir replies: "Yes. Soldiers took me and placed me on the ground in the rocks outside. My hands and feet were bound.
"The soldiers put my face on the ground... and then another soldier came and put his knee on my face."
A number of allegations are read out to Mr Idir, including that he is linked to an Algerian group, the GIA.
"The GIA is a recognised extremist organisation with ties to al-Qaeda."
Mr Idir asks: "How can I respond to this? It is not a question and it is not an accusation."
The tribunal president agrees.
Mr Idir is then told that "while living in Bosnia, the detainee associated with a known al-Qaeda operative".
When Mr Idir asks who this refers to, the president says he does not know.
Enemy combatants
Another detainee, Bensayan Belkacam, who refused to appear before the tribunal, is accused of being linked to Osama Bin Laden's operational network.

Bensayan Belkacam, who refused to appear before the tribunal
His personal representative, who is appointed by the military, says he has already been to court for this allegation in Bosnia - and was found innocent.
Each of the hearings is followed by closed sessions, at which classified information is presented to the panel. The detainees are not allowed access to this.
In each case, the men are told a decision will be taken by officials at the Department of Defense in Washington DC.
And in each case, the men were confirmed to be enemy combatants.
A total of 558 hearings like this have been held at Guantanamo.
Thirty-eight detainees were found no longer to be enemy combatants.
The Pentagon says that detention of captured enemy combatants is "allowed under international law of armed conflict and that it has a responsibility to protect the United States and her allies from terrorist risks while providing an administrative process for detainees to contest their status".
But Rob Kirsch, a lawyer for the six Algerians says: "These were not panels intended to determine facts.
"They were teams of military officers acting on orders to process hundreds of men through show trials."

BBC NEWS REPORT.