Lawyers release Guantanamo video

15/07/2008| IslamWeb

Lawyers for a young Guantanamo detainee have released video footage of his interrogation at the US prison facility in Cuba.

The video, released on Tuesday, shows Omar Khadr, a Canadian accsued of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan, crying as agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) question him.

 

In the tape, apparently shot from a ventilation shaft, Khadr is asked what he knows about al-Qaeda and questioned about his Islamic faith.

 

The footage from February, 2003 covers seven and a half hours of questioning over three days of Khadr, who was just 15 years old when he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002.

 

A 10-minute tape was initially posted on the internet and a complete version was due to be issued later on Tuesday by Khadr's lawyers, following Canadian court orders.

 

At one point, an interrogator tries to calm Khadr, who is clearly distraught, saying he needs to get a "bite to eat" and adding: "I understand this is stressful."

 

When Khadr complains his compatriots have not helped his case, an interrogator replies: "We can't do anything for you."

The 10-minute video shows no beating or physical abuse of Khadr.

 

 

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The US prison base in Cuba has been highly controversial [EPA]

 

 

Al-Jazeera