Adnan Latif died in his cell in Guantanamo the other day, on September 10, 2012, having spent the last third of his young life behind concertina and razor wire. He was only 32 years old. Latif, a Yemeni youth of 21 was caught up in a sweep by Pakistani troops eager to win favor with their American allies in the aftermath of 9-11. No evidence of his ties to any terrorist group was ever produced and he was never brought to trial. He was one of the first prisoners to be sent to Guantanamo in 2002 and there under harsh conditions, torture and isolation he just slowly wasted away mentally and physically with no hope of an end to his illegal incarceration .
In medieval England, and in France, the king could lock up any accused wrong-doer, and throw away the key. But royals (as well as modern presidents) were very soon discovered to be subject to ulterior motives beyond those of simply maintaining justice and safety of their realms. Sometimes, perhaps too often, this regal tool to maintain calm and safe streets and byways was drastically misused. Powerful leaders might imprison an innocent, perhaps a political enemy, or a rival claimant to power, or even use it to satisfy a personal enmity against someone, and simply lock him or her up and toss away the key---solving their problem by letting the poor unfortunate die of disease or old age in prison. There are several good French and English novels built around this sad theme. It's difficult to think that we here in the USA have somehow devolved back into Medieval practices....but we have.
Our history tells us that nearly 800 years ago a group of English aristocrats drew up the Magna Carta of 1215 to prevent unpopular, unwise King John from using unlawful and endless detention as a means to maintain his power---the kind we are using in Guantanamo. That great document, the Magna Carta, established that a citizen has the right to liberty and justice before the law. It required any prisoner to be brought before a judge to be tried. Subsequently, the great writ of habeus corpus codified the injunction against unlawful imprisonment implicit in the Magna Carta and henceforth prevented this practice by the English kings in England--and in time other nations around the world too.
Here in America, during our British colonial period, we inherited the hard-won legal imperatives of the Magna Carta and habeus corpus. But somehow these great writs have been submerged or forgotten today. Since 9-11 our great nation, rightly proud of our legal heritage, boastful to the point of embarrassment at times, has besmirched that great inheritance with our establishment of a modern medieval-style prison and torture center on the Island of Cuba, where we lock up people indefinitely without a trial, as old King John did. These individuals are not there awaiting trial. There are no trials. Our Founding Fathers, would be ashamed.
Shame on you President George Bush (who probably did not know of Magna Carta) for establishing this monstrosity;and you too President Barak Obama (who knew very well of these writs, but succumbed to your worst political motives) for maintaining it.
Adnan Latif was incarcerated on the watch of George Bush and died under that of Barak Obama. They are both responsible for denying him his ancient and well established rights of freedom and justice. When will justice be done and we plow this awful place, which while it stands denies us all our rights to claim we are a great nation of laws, back into the ground?
Get the picture?
rjk
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