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Guantanamo Inmate Dead of Apparent Suicide

By Jeralyn

Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih, a 31 year old Yemeni held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002, has committed suicide, according to the AP and Pentagon.

Salih was in the psychiatric ward, being force-fed due to being on a hunger strike. He was down to 86 pounds. No charges had been filed against him.

"Salih was being force-fed in a restraint chair; the other six surviving inmates are being force-fed from bed," Remes said, adding that he didn't think the Yemeni had any legal representation until two lawyers arrived in February. "They were due to see him for the first time in a couple of weeks," he said.

The military says he was found unresponsive in his cell. Suicide or did his body give out? Stay tuned. [Update below]

Update: The ACLU calls for an investigation:

Tragic deaths like this one have become all too common in a system that locks up detainees indefinitely without charge or trial. There must be an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding this apparent suicide and the conditions of confinement at Guantánamo.

“There is no room for a system of indefinite detention without charge or trial under our Constitution. Detainees against whom there is legitimate evidence should be tried in our federal courts – not in the reconstituted military commissions now being proposed. Those against whom there is no legitimate evidence must not be given a de-facto life sentence by being locked up forever.”

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 02, 2009 (boomark / email).