'Ghosts' of Guantanamo Bay

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When Former US Army Captain James Yusuf Yee objected to the systemic and sanctioned mistreatment of detainees at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay, the very government he served turned on him. Here, the prison camp’s former chaplain spoke to The Paper That Cares about his ordeal and his now relentless pursuit to educate the world about Islam

IRWAN ABDUL RAHMAN

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 14:43:00

UPHOLDING TRADITION: Yee comes from a family of military servicemen

WHEN Chinese-American Captain James Yusuf Yee was assigned in November 2002 to be the Muslim chaplain at the now infamous Guantanamo Bay US military prison camp for 'alleged terrorists', he thought his job was to give a better understanding to his supervisors about Islam and its practices, in order for his commanders to better treat the prisoners.

Little did he know that it was the start of a journey which would expose the prisoner abuses in the camp, also known as 'Gitmo', located on the south eastern corner of Cuba.

"My job was to defend religious freedom, religious rights and to advocate for religious accommodation," said Yee, in a one-on-one interview with The Malay Mail after a visit to the Home of Hope, a shelter for orphans, underprivileged children, single mothers and the elderly that is run by Pertubuhan Al-Khaadem, a non-governmental organisation.

"My understanding was that I was also to advise the commanders of the Muslim religious customs and practices."

Yee stated that during the time he was stationed there (Nov 2002 to Sept 2003), Gitmo had close to 700 prisoners, all of whom were Muslims.

In his opinion, they were mostly innocent of any acts of terrorism.

"The US government has characterised the prisoners there as 'alleged terrorists'. The reality is that most of them had nothing to do with any act of terrorism. That is evident because by today, about 600 have been released, with about 180 still held."

He added: "Some of the prisoners thrown into Guantanamo were still minors, some as young as 12 or 13 years old. What I've learned is that only 5 per cent of the prisoners in Guantanamo were captured by US Forces during the so-called war on terror in the Middle East.

"The rest were brought in by Afghan warlords and tribes at war with each other - and these warlords were rewarded handsomely by the US military for bringing in the 'enemy combatants'.

"Naturally, what happened was that the warlords would simply kidnap individuals from the opposing tribes, or foreigners working there, and hand them over just to claim the monetary rewards, some as much as US$5,000 per head."

SPREADING THE WORD: Yee speaking during the Al-Khaadem Home for Hope fund raising dinner last Sunday

Yee said it was clear from the very beginning that the prisoners in Gitmo were abused and mistreated.

"I would say that their treatment was cruel, inhumane and degrading.

"From the perspective of a US military chaplain, what was most disturbing was how religion, how Islam was used as a weapon against these prisoners.

"They were persecuted for their faith. US personnel in Gitmo understood how Muslims revere and respect the holy Quran. So they abused it, desecrated it and disrespected it in front of the prisoners.

"The US personnel also understood the culture of Islam, where there is separation between men and women. Many of the prisoners came from very conservative societies, and many of them were young men who were not married.

"Many of the female interrogators were very ready to strip of their own clothes in front of the prisoners, inappropriately harass and rub their bodies against these men who could not resist, being shackled to their chairs. The interrogators intentionally exploit this aspect of the prisoners to sexually humiliate them."

Yee added that there were also forced shaving of beards, or guards turning of the water supply right before prayer times to prevent prisoners from performing their 'wuduk' (ablution), and mocking the 'azan' or the prayer itself, as the prisoners were praying.

"The US military personnel did all that in hopes that it would 'break' the prisoners, and believing that this would gain confessions or information from them," said Yee. "Instead, it only caused disturbances and prison riots at the camp."

The 42-year-old Yee, who comes from a family of servicemen, said that the practices in Gitmo were a violation of the very values of the United States constitution.

"It was also against Army values, which are respect, honour, dignity and integrity. As a chaplain, as a US military officer, and as a US citizen it was my duty to report those abuses.

"There were, to my understanding, war crimes committed in Guantanamo. However, the US president at that time, George W. Bush, had declared that the Geneva Convention, the international body of law that governs armed convicts, did not apply in Guantanamo.

"Other administration officials had stated things like 'the gloves are off'. This opened the doors for prisoner abuse in Guantanamo and other CIA black sites (secret prison camps) around the world."

Yee said while his immediate superiors were happy with his report of prisoner mistreatment, some personnel higher up got upset.

"In raising my concern about the abuses, I believe my own supervisors got valuable information to help them try to correct some of the problems they were facing. In Guantanamo, I received official military awards and an outstanding officer evaluation report, among other things. I was being rewarded for the job I was performing there.

"However, as that information moved further up the chain of command, where I believe these abuses were authorised and dictated, some felt threatened that it would expose what was happening exactly in Gitmo. Remember, this was in 2002, 2003, when most of the world had no idea what was going on in Guantanamo."

Happy with his performance and service, Yee's superiors gave him a well-earned vacation. This, however, was when things got really bad for the decorated officer. En route to his family home in Seattle, Yee was detained at the airport in Florida.

"As a military officer for many years, I was confident in my ability to perform my job and my ability to educate others about my being a Muslim chaplain. Being harassed a bit, that was something I expected and I could deal with, being on Sept 10, 2003, a day before the anniversary of the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks.

"But then officers from military intelligence (NCIS) and the FBI appeared out of nowhere. I was arrested, put in shackles and thrown into a prison cell. I thought the situation was simply ridiculous, (got) out of hand. Still, I thought things would be cleared up in a matter of hours. I was, of course, very naive."

The gravity of the situation was clearer days later. Held in a cell in Jacksonville, Florida, Yee was accused by military attorneys of spying, espionage, aiding the enemies - charges one could be put to death for.

FIGHTING FOR HONOUR: Yee and his counsels

during their legal battle

"They then transported me to this maximum security prison in Charleston, South Carolina," Yee related.

"They shackled me up at the waist, the ankles, the wrists and my eyes were covered with these blacked-out goggles, plus they put on my ears these industrial earmuffs, so I could neither see nor hear. I recognised this as something called 'Sensory Deprivation', a method to instill fear and intimidation in detainees in Guantanamo.

"It was at that time that I feared the worst, because I understood that the prisoners who were treated like that had no rights whatsoever, and I feared that my own government was stripping away my rights as a US citizen.

"Then they put me in this solitary cell, and I was there for 76 days." Yee said that he felt he was being betrayed by his leaders.

"I was a West Point graduate. My brothers serve in the military and my father was drafted during World War II. All of us patriotically served, and here I was, with the government out to get me.

"Why? One word that comes to mind is 'Islamophobia', or an irrational fear of Islam or Muslims. Because I'm a Muslim, and because the people in Guantanamo saw how I read the Quran, how I prayed, and how it was similar to how the prisoners prayed, they felt threatened. Maybe it was due to ignorance, or even bigotry - people who hated the Muslims.

"Perhaps because I was also Asian," he added. "Someone at Gitmo once said, 'Who the hell does this Chinese Taliban think he is, telling us how to treat our prisoners?'

"No doubt, I was betrayed by the leadership within the military. I believe the policies that were set in place after 9/11 by the then president and the secretary of defence contributed to the hysteria and how I was treated."

Fortunately, after 76 gruelling days, the military dropped the charges. However, that wasn't the end of the ordeal for Yee.

"After they knew I was not a terrorist spy, they tried to smear my reputation with lesser charges - of adultery and storing pornography in a government laptop! But as history proved, despite raiding my home, my workplace and my chapel to find any shred of evidence, they could not find any to support their allegations, all the charges were dropped, and I was exonerated of all the accusations."

Yee was reinstated, but once he returned to his homebase in Washington state, the captain resigned his commission from the US military.

"I received an honourable discharge, and was conferred a second US Army commendation medal for 'exceptionally meritorious service'. To me, receiving those things were an admission by the US military that they knew they had made a mistake. They would not apologise, however."

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY: The inside story on Guantanamo Bay available in major bookstores

Yee published a book to document his experience and what went on - and still goes on - in Guantanamo.

"The military wouldn't respond to my book. But later they stated that all the claims I put in my book about Guantanamo - all of which is public knowledge and confirmed by other sources now - would be 'thoroughly investigated', without denying any of them.

"I believe the treatment found in Guantanamo is also applied in other detainment centres around the world. Things that happen in the secret CIA black sites are even worse than those in Guantanamo."

Yee also added that if the US military intelligence was looking for information, they were not doing it the right way.

"In my view, torture and abusive methods don't work. In fact, they are counter-productive.

"These methods are actually benefitting for adversaries of the United States, damaging the country's reputation as the leader in human rights and the rule of law. I don't believe any useful information and reliable confession regarding any terrorist operation were obtained using these methods."

Yee now spends his days trying to educate the world about Islam, believing that by showing the world the good values in Islam, it could bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims.

"My objective now is to help get Guantanamo closed and start the rebuilding process of America's reputation. I am also committed to properly educating others about Islam and Muslims, and show that there is no inherent conflict being American and being Muslim."

The father of one hopes that while he has forgiven those who had wronged him, someday some will be held accountable for the way he was mistreated.

"We have the expression, 'Never Forget'. Forgiveness is a part of my faith, but so is accountability."

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