There are approximately 600 people held in Bagram Airbase, and according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), there are many more who have been unaccounted for, including children,1. Conditions at the US military run prison have been under the spotlight since the deaths of two men in 20022.

It was ruled in Boumediene v Bush that detainees at Guantanamo Bay had the right to challenge their detention. The outcome of Boumediene prompted a case surrounding the detention of four men held at Bagram. The men’s legal team argued that due to the similarities of detention, they should be afforded the same right of challenge. In a landmark ruling, Judge Bates ruled that three of the four men could challenge the lawfulness of their detention3. However, the US Government has sought a reversal of this decision in an attempt to continue to hold the men indefinitely.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that any person who is deprived of their liberty must be able to challenge their detention. It also provides that a person must have an effective remedy for violations under the treaty.

Many of the people detained in Bagram have been held for years without charge or access to judicial review of their detention. In addition, the conditions within Bagram continue to contravene international human rights law standards4.

The brief submitted by the Government to appeal Judge Bates’ decision contained the new "enhanced" detainee review procedures which will come into effect this month. The Obama Administration asserts the authority to "detain persons temporarily, consistent with the laws and customs of war"5. The procedures also authorise the detention of anyone who;

  1. "planned, authorised, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, and persons who harbored those responsible for those attacks"; or

  2. "Persons who were part of, or substantially supported, Taliban or al-Qaida forces or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act, or has directly supported hostilities, in aid of such enemy forces."6

The new procedures are very similar to those used in Guantanamo Bay which have been shown to be 'sham creations'7. One of the similarities are that three US military officers will decide the fate of the person detained, not an independent court. Amnesty International is also concerned that there remains scope for political interference and that they have been designed to delay and block any independent and timely judicial review.

Amnesty International has urged the US Government to;

  1. Grant all detainees held in the US base at Bagram access to legal counsel, relatives, doctors, and to consular representatives, without delay and regularly thereafter;
  2. Grant all Bagram detainees access to US courts to be able to challenge the lawfulness of their detention;
  3. Assist the Afghan government in creating mechanisms to ensure fair trials for those in detention, including the option of mixed national/international tribunals to try those apprehended in counter-insurgency operations by Afghan as well as US and other international forces.

Read the full report “USA: Government opposes habeas corpus review for any Bagram detainees; reveals ‘enhanced’ administrative review procedures” here

References

  1. Read more about some of the issues surrounding Bagram here

  2. See Amnesty International Report “Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Court”

  3. See summary of the case here

  4. See Amnesty International Report “Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Court”

  5. “USA: Government opposes habeas corpus review for any Bagram detainees; reveals ‘enhanced’ administrative review procedures”p. 5.

  6. ibid.

  7. “USA: Government opposes habeas corpus review for any Bagram detainees; reveals ‘enhanced’ administrative review procedures”