OpEdNews - Page 3 of Article: Guantanamo Under Obama

-- discipline is imposed on any inmate trying to block a/c vents;

-- one inmate described the combination of cold and 24-hour lights as "indirect torture."

Sleep Deprivation

Besides round-the-clock lights, guards routinely kick cell doors and awaken prisoners as late as 2AM for "recreation." In addition, bed sheets are called a privilege to be denied as a disciplinary measure.

Physical Attacks by an "Immediate Reaction Force (IRF)"

Inmates "live in constant fear of physical violence," and anything or nothing may trigger it. Attacks are frequent, violent and spontaneous. One example was as follows after a minor provocation. Guards accused an inmate of attacking them. He did not. They left him in a "recreation" cage as punishment. He fell asleep on the floor, then was awakened by an IRF team in the dark. They shackled and beat him, blocked his nose and mouth to create an asphyxiation effect, hit him repeatedly in the ribs and head, and caused serious injuries. Back in his cell, a guard urinated on his head.

Another inmate described painful forced feedings to hunger strikers, constant IRF cell intrusions inflicting "cruelty, beatings and bodily torture....the administration is giving the soldiers all the authority to practice violence against us....we are in very bad condition, suffering from aggression, beatings and IRF teams, as well as the inability to sleep except for a few hours."

After years of torture and deprivation, some prisoners want to die. In the words of one: "I'm in despair right now and I don't know what to do. I'm going crazy."

Abuse of Psychologically Ill Detainees

According to experts, the combination of torture, sensory deprivation, and a state of constant fear and hopelessness "can cause serious and potentially permanent psychological and physical damage." The former include hallucinations, severe anxiety, hostility, panic attacks, nightmares, confusion, loss of memory and appetite, self-mutilations, profound depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Lawyers and others report these observations. Detainees say many times they tried to harm or kill themselves. Instead of help, "detainees have faced further abuse - gross mistreatment that exacerbates their pain and suffering." Psychiatric visits are few and cursory, and when inmates report problems they're placed in more restricted isolation and punished.

Attempted suicides are downplayed as "manipulative self-injurious behavior." Torture is "enhanced interrogation." Medical staff often are complicit. They impose unwanted care, verbally abuse detainees, and often laugh at their pain. They deny information about medical tests, existing diseases, what drugs are administered and their risks. They ignore the brutalizing effects of mistreatment causing serious physical and emotional harm as well as chronic weight loss, rotted teeth, receded gums, renal pain, and a constant state of emotional stress and ill health.

Washington under Bush and Obama withholds inmate access to independent medical help, leaving them exclusively in prison hands to continue mistreatment or none at all. What happened to Muhammed Khan Tumani is typical.

Imprisoned at age 17, he's been at Guantanamo for a third of his life, separated from his father who's also an inmate. The effect is telling:

-- signs of serious mental trauma;

-- in December 2008, he cut multiple slashes across his inner arm and a vein in his hand;

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