Moscow has expressed concern over Guantanamo and the fate of a Russian inmate held there. The detention center, which doesn’t comply with US international commitments, should be shut down, the Foreign Ministry’s envoy for human rights told RT.
It has been over three months since the beginning of the mass
hunger strike in the notorious American detention center in
Guantanamo Bay. US authorities confirmed that 30 of the 100
hunger-striking inmates are being force-fed via tubes. That is
despite criticism from rights groups who consider it cruel. Rights
activists also put the number of strikers at up to 130.
RT spoke with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human
Rights Konstantin Dolgov, to find out his view on the situation as
the hunger strike hits its’ 100-day landmark.
RT: It is one hundred days since the hunger strike in
Guantanamo began, and we’re hearing shocking reports about
prisoners being force-fed. What do you make of that? How does that
comply with the human rights and violations of human
rights?
Konstantin Dolgov: It definitely does not comply either with
the human rights as such or with the respective obligations and
commitments which the United States has before the international
community in the field of human rights. We have said many, many
times before that the entire existence of this special prison in
Guantanamo contravenes the basic international tenets in the field
of human rights.
So the situation, which is still ongoing, with the hunger strike,
obviously is a matter of concern — not only to us, but to the
entire international community and, obviously, to the human rights
defenders, including American human rights defenders.
We have seen many statements coming from the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, coming from other institutions,
international institutions, defending human rights. In all those
statements, there is one major request, or I would rather say
demand, addressed to the United States government — to close down
finally this particular prison.
We have seen and we have heard many promises by different
representatives of the Obama administration that it is coming, it
is coming, it is coming. They are telling us that the US Congress
does not support closing down the prison, which factually is true,
but obviously we continue to think that the administration, that
the government of the US has to meet the international obligations
of that country and they have to undertake resolute steps to
finally close down the prison which has been the arena of multiple
violations of human rights, not only this ongoing situation with
the hunger strike.
Yes, we are concerned by the information which we are receiving
that there have been violations of the rights of inmates. You know
that quite a number of them, they had to be released years ago,
because the US courts have made such a decision, I think, a couple
of years ago.
But they are still there. They are still inmates, they are still
kept in prison because those decisions by the courts, for this
reason or that, are not implemented.
So there are multiple violations of human rights. I must
reiterate that we were planning to send a delegation to Guantanamo,
a Russian inter-agency delegation, with the leading role,
obviously, of the Foreign Ministry, but unfortunately this visit
has not been carried out so far.
It is not reasonable to go without having an opportunity to see
our Russian citizen, Ravil Mingazov, who is still kept in that
prison, he is an inmate. He is the last Russian citizen in
Guantanamo. Obviously we want — and we have notified the American
side in due course, in due form – that we want to get firsthand
information about the conditions in which Mingazov is kept there,
about the situation with the implementation of his basic
rights.
Unfortunately, such a visit to Mingazov is not possible so far,
at this juncture. We have been told that he is not willing to meet
with the Russian government officials, but we also have the
information that, if his lawyers were allowed to attend such a
meeting, then Mingazov definitely would be willing to meet with
us.
So, unfortunately, the US government, the federal authorities,
they did not provide for the necessary conditions for such a
meeting to take place. There are some rules, I think formulated by
the Pentagon, which preclude the presence of lawyers at such
meetings.
So we are still there, we still are inclined to go to Guantanamo
and to get a better understanding of how serious the situation is
with the violations of human rights of different inmates,
including, once again, to get information about the living
conditions of our citizen.
But our basic position has not changed. Once again, we think
that the US government is to close down Guantanamo as soon as
possible.
RT:As for closing it down, the main concern of the US is
obviously what to do with the prisoners when the prison is shut.
There’s the Russian citizen, the only one left there; would Russia
be willing to take Mingazov back to Russia and investigate the
crimes if he committed any?
KT:
Well, first of all, once again, it is important to get
first-hand information about conditions in which he is kept there
in Guantanamo. Definitely we will be ready to discuss different
options, but what is important is to close down the prison and to
decide upon the future of the inmates.
Definitely it is to be done in contact with the respective
governments of the countries whose citizens they are, and in the
case of Mingazov, his fate is to be decided in contact with the
Russian government.
So, we will be ready to discuss it, but first of all, we have to
ascertain that his rights are not being violated.
As far as we know, he has not participated in the hunger strike,
but even without the hunger strike the conditions in which the
inmates are being kept are definitely not in line with
international standards.
And our basic policy, our principle position — if you wish — is
that we are trying to get back our citizens as soon as possible
from foreign prisons and we think that Mingazov is to leave the
prison in Guantanamo as soon as possible.
But on the specific modalities, I think certain consultations
are to be carried out.
RT:Some reports are suggesting that Mingazov doesn’t
want to return to Russia — of course that’s being said through his
lawyers, not himself. KD:
The main stumbling block is that the Russian Federation
needs to hear that from Mingazov, that he doesn’t want to be a
Russian citizen anymore.
But as I said we still want to meet with Mingazov, we still want
to talk to him and to discuss different topics, different issues,
which are linked to his future. So we’ll see how things will play
out, but all our requests addressed to the American side are still
in effect and our offers are on the table.
This article originally appeared on : RT