A US Navy lawyer faces six months in prison and dismissal from service for sending a human rights lawyer the names of 550 Guantanamo Bay detainees. Lt Cdr Matthew Diaz, 41, posted a list of the names in an unmarked Valentine's Day card during the final days of his service at Guantanamo Bay in 2005. The US military had originally refused to release the names of the men it was holding at Guantanamo Bay. The names were made public in 2006 after the Associated Press news agency won a court case against the military.
<><> <>At a court martial, Lt Cdr Diaz was convicted of communicating secrets that could be used to harm the US and of three other charges of passing on information to an unauthorised person. The jury recommended that Lt Cdr Diaz receive full pay and benefits during his time in jail. The sentence and the dismissal order are reportedly subject to further approval and to review by an appeals court.
'Morality'<>"I had observed the stonewalling, the obstacles we continued to place in the way of the attorneys," the paper quoted Lt Cdr Diaz as saying. "I knew my time was limited... I had to do something. The officer said he had been moved to act because prisoners' rights under the Geneva Convention had been violated. "No matter how the conflict was identified, we were to treat them in accordance with Geneva, and it just wasn't being done."
<>The US government says the men held at its military prison in Guantanamo Bay pose a grave threat to the country and have not been tortured. The Dallas Morning News quotes Lt Cdr Diaz questioning both these assertions. The sentencing of Lt Cdr Diaz has been criticised by the Centre for Constitutional Rights, the New York-based human rights body whose lawyer received the Valentine's Day card and the list of suspects. "We believe that Lt Cmdr Diaz's actions were grounded in a strong sense of morality and commitment to the rule of law," a statement on the centre's website said.Well well. Given the decision by the jury of six military officers, who were of course only following orders, it is clear from the precedents set at Nuremburg and at the IMT in The Hague, that these officers now need also to be considered direct co-conspirators in the perpetration of crimes against humanity and other war crimes. Their decision, to imprison a fellow officer for acts to protect the human rights of prisoners of war who were being inhumanely treated and detained without due process, is added to the crimes of this nation against the peoples of the world. Their names must be added to the expanding list of those who commited these crimes. They too must be held accountable by the peoples of the world. We can no longer stand by and let these vile and evil people continue to destroy the foundations of liberty and human rights.
