Guantanamo Man 'Losing His Sanity'

Alongside David Hicks, the need for Bisher al-Rawi to be released from Guantanamo Bay is becoming ever more desperate. From The Observer:

Al-Rawi, 35, who was arrested by the CIA and local security forces during a business trip to Gambia in 2002, is showing clear signs of secure housing unit psychosis, a recognised clinical condition that afflicts high-security prisoners, said Clive Stafford-Smith, one of the lawyers.

'I have had several clients on American death rows who have developed it and it's clear to me that he is sliding down that path,' he said. 'The conditions in which he is being held are worse than any death row I've ever seen.'

It has been five years since Guantanamo accepted it's first inmates. While our leaders wring their hands over the way Saddam was executed (rather than the flawed trial itself), they stand silent as another human rights abuse continues. Unfortunately for David Hicks and Bisher al-Rawi, their governments have abandoned them. They are not prepared to stand up to the US and demand that their citizens are returned. For this, they should be thoroughly ashamed.

Further Reading: Amnesty International's Close Guantanamo campaign.