19 of 21

by Will Kester

• Rating:

• A
• A
• A

Dear American citizens:

I am writing from the depths of Gitmo prison. I am an American citizen, and have been stuck in this hell for a long time. I've lost track, but think it has been about three years.

Our conditions have improved, recently, with the media exposure of our conditions, but it is still not where I belong.

See, I was confused with someone who was on the terrorist list, and under normal circumstances, I could prove my innocence, but with the new interpretation of rights for suspected terrorists, I have no rights, now. I have no writ of habeas corpus, no right to a fair or speedy trial, no court of appeals, and no legal representation.

There are criminals here, I admit, and some of them scare the hell out of me, truthfully, but we are not all terrorists. Since there are no fair trials, we can't sort them out, which makes us all suspect each other as violent criminals. Many of my fellow inmates now will do anything to bring down the American government, but didn't think that when we came here. Now, they have huge followings of angry followers of their cause.

For the love of God, please pay attention to our plight. We are not criminals because we have never been found guilty of a crime in a court of law. We may deserve some punishment, but we deserve to be charged, and tried, before being punished. What happened to America's defense of freedom and civil rights for all?

I tell you who will be punished most of all for this crime against me. The people of America, that's who will be hurt the most, lose the most, and pay the most for this outrageous violation of civil rights.

Please! I implore you, if not for me, four yourselves, don't let America become another Third World Country, violating and torturing people for the sake of security.

Sincerely,

Okay, I was just jerking your chain. I'm not really in Gitmo, thankfully. But it could happen to me or you, and that's why we have to protect the rights of people we don't like, so that when it is us, we have those rights we protected.

What is my assessment of the rights of the prisoners in Guantanamo prison? It could be you or someone you know who will benefit, or be the subject of right's abuses, in the near future. If we don't act now to stop this, we will have to stop more powerful administrations in the future, for every time they take away our rights, we lose more of our power to prevent those abuses. That's my assessment.

Learn more about this author, Will Kester.

Add your voice
Know something about Assessing the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees? We want to hear your view. Write now!