What's happening with those poor devils at Camp Xray ???

Scrat, we are usually together on philosophies, but here, I do not see how they are going to appeal anything without access to lawyers or any other part of the legal system. I think you've come to the root cause of the dissatisfaction with the situation.

But both the International Committee of the Red Cross and U.N. Human Rights Commissioner consider the captives held by the US at Gitmo to be prisoners of war and have reqested that they be accorded such rights as are listed in the convention, the US has refused.

Can you support your statements with some citations of fact? Thanks.

That is indeed a Catch-22, ain't it! But it's wrong and it's even worse if America let's it go. Quite apart from what it's doing to the prisoners, this unaddressed gap in our legal system will cause real trouble particularly as it's being exploited by the administration. Shades of Nazi Germany, as you say, Dys.

Dang it, Scrat! I don't know if they have to do it themselves or not. But if they do, it's sort of a catch 22 situation, isn't it?

No problem - I'm expecting other opinions momentarily.

Article 5

The present Convention shall apply to the persons referred to in Article 4 from the time they fall into the power of the enemy and until their final release and repatriation.

Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.

Hasanova is aware of the Russian efforts to extradite the detainees for trial at home, and says the thought fills her with dread.

"I am terribly afraid that he might be returned to Russia and put into a Russian prison," Hasanova said. "I am afraid of everything in the Russian jails. It is better for me that he remains there than to be jailed in Russia." [..]

Kudaev's mother, Nina Adizheva, said [..] she fears he will be prosecuted, tortured, and killed if he is extradited to Russia.

"I appeal to the government of the United States: Do not extradite my son to Russia, because he went to Afghanistan before 11 September and he is not a terrorist, but a victim of political repression [at home]," Adizheva said. "I also appeal to the countries of the European Union and ask them to grant my son political asylum, because if he returns home his life will be in great danger."

For what it's worth, there are organizations taking it seriously, taking the government to court...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The U.S. military will build a fifth camp at Guantanamo Bay to hold and interrogate detainees from its war against terror, the military said Sunday in another signal its mission here will be a long-term one.

Camp V will make room for 100 more detainees, increasing the capacity at the remote naval base in eastern Cuba to 1,100, Lt. Col. Pamela Hart said.

Since the detention center first opened in January 2002, it has grown from open-air, chain-link cells that some likened to animal cages to trailer-style quarters where detainees have a metal bed, a sink and toilets that flush.

It holds about 660 men from 42 countries detained for alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network or the ousted Afghan Taliban regime that sheltered it. They include three youths - ages 13-15 - whom the military says it probably will recommend for release soon.