Newsday News Story: Guantanamo Returnees' Treatment Criticized

• Newsday.cmn: Guaritanaml tumees' Treatment Criticized .' Page 1 of2
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As'sociatedPress Writer . . .'. . 'Island
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March 10, 200( 8:35 AM EST . . . ..•... .... 'L. .~~ . " .. ..t........ -1o;
. . . . . cif",-LONDON --A l~wyer for two .offive British suspects releasl;':d frqrn U.S. ·custody· diS'tin cin~ ~. in G.uant~a~o ~~y critici~ed.B~tish police \yednesday fo~ their trea~.~nt of the . ~:. ~. _".... .) :'" . : '-I.' .' '. det8JJlees on. therr retuIn to Bntain., .:. ~.".\" ir/l'l\J;;"":"-' ~,,"""'~;,;;,_~ ...." _:,!~"""~., '.-:~~.T.'~",~, '.;'; ....;.. ~ ..r • ~:.,~..'._ ..... : ..
Gareth Peirce said that the Metropolitan Police, who arrested foUr ofthe. five men who returned to .. Britain on suspicion of involve~erit in terrorism, made h'~ sleep-deprived clients undergo fmgerprinting procedures for too long; ".
Peirce represents AsifIqbal and Shaffq Rasul --two of the fiv.~ men 'wno amv~din' Britain iate Tuesday' after spending more than two years at.the U.S. detention· camp in Cuba. .
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Rasui;Iqbal. Rll;hal Ahmed and T~ekDergoill were··alhrrested.under asection of'the Terrorism Act . ~ . that concerns alleged involvement· in the co~ssion, preParation, or iostig~tion of terrorist acts .
. They are being held ~t'the high' security Paddington &een station in w.est London where they are ~o be questioned·individually by Anti:Terrorist branch officers.
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' .. " Peirce said that the men, who :w~re flown back to Britain on'8 mllitiUY pl!ine accompanied bX independent observers, we.re suffering from severe sleeP deprivation.··.
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"The pr~'~~ures went on far too 1001g last nigh~ ~ec~ssary ~dprotracted fing~rprintiog which continued until way after midnight," Peirce .said.
''It was very clear that tliey should have been allowed to sl~ep long before they were and it' was very clear lhatlhcir cells were lao cold," she added. "We told the police that they are simply compounding
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the imlawfulness·ofthe·last"two years." .' .' .
Police said the four men were examined by a forensic ll1cdical eXal11illC~ to ensure they"wcre fit 10 be aetained and interviewed by police. They were allowed a telephone call and access to lawyers of their choice, . .
., "1 welco~-lie the fact th'at these ITien are no longer in' legal limbo •." said Charles Kennedy ~ leader of the opposition Liberal DClllocrals·jJlI·tY. ;'T\V() years without proper recourse 10 lawytrs or access to their' . families W::IS 100 long."
Some legal experts doubt there will be enough.evidence to try any of the .relu111ees because info.rmatioll gleaned from interrogation at Guantanamo would·be inadmissible in court.' .
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DOJFBI-001383

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A fifth man. "37-year-old Jamal al-Harith, was released·aft~r being questioned briefly by iriui:Ugration officers at the air b~e. He was given a police escort to an undisclosed !ocation.
'Ai~H~t~~s l~wye~;'Rob~rt Li~, ~dhi'sclientwanted the U.S. a~ihorities ;'i~anrn'er'foi:the injUstice
wruchhe'has suffered."
"ll:~ ~:b~~d~tained ~~:inno~~~;for & peri~d o~two~;e~~~e:~b~~ntreated in a c~'~l, i~~Me'

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The' five were released from the U.S. Navy prison in Cuba after months of talks between British and . ~eri.can.c:fficials, incl~~gPreside.n!. B~~.~.~eMini~t~ T~ny Bla~,who discussed·'the '. det~ti·ons when Bush.V1S1~ London Ul NOv.cmber.· .. .
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", .Four 'Britons remam' at 'Guan~~amo --.MO~:B~gg.:Feroz Ab~asi': Richard Belmar and Martin Mubanga. Begg.and Abbasi had been listed as some ofthe first detainees likely to face a military
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About 640 prisoners are held. at Guantanamo. on suspicion of links to Afghanistan'S fallen Taliban
regime or al-Qaida. . . .... . ..' ., .. ' '" .' . . ". .
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Copyright ~2004, The Associated Press
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DOJ FBI-001384