Inayatullah, Afghan Detainee At Guantanamo, Dies In Apparent Suicide

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An Afghan detainee at the Guantanamo Bay prison died Wednesday in an apparent suicide, the U.S. military said.

The prisoner, known only by the name Inayatullah, was not conscious or breathing when guards checked on him in the morning, and they immediately tried to resuscitate him, U.S. Southern Command said in a statement.

"After extensive lifesaving measures had been exhausted, the detainee was pronounced dead by a physician," the statement said.

The apparent suicide was under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which is standard practice for the death of a detainee at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba, said spokesman Bob Appin said in a phone interview from Miami.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Heidi Lenzini said the military would not immediately disclose any details about the circumstances of the death, including the method of the apparent suicide or in which section of Guantanamo the prisoner was detained. There are about 170 men held at Guantanamo, most on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Inayatullah had been held without charge at Guantanamo since September 2007. The military said he was an admitted planner for al Qaida terrorist operations, and acknowledged facilitating the movement of foreign fighters. Inayatullah met with local operatives, developed travel routes and coordinated documentation, accommodation and vehicles for smuggling al-Qaida militants through Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Iraq, according to the statement.

His remains would be treated with respect for Islamic culture and traditions with the assistance of a cultural adviser, the military said, with his body being be sent to Afghanistan after an autopsy.

He is the eighth prisoner to die at the detention center since January 2002, when the U.S. began using the U.S. Navy base to hold captured detainees. Five of the deaths were declared suicides. Two others were from apparently natural causes, including a 48-year-old Afghan who collapsed and died while exercising in February. Inayatullah is the eighth.

Comments

[lippp]

09:56 AM on 05/20/2011

Am I missing something here? If our government is convinced this man is an Al Qaida operative, then why has he not had a trial, leading to conviction, and then punish him according to the law? I'm all for putting known terrorists in prison and throwing the keys away if they truly are terrorists. But since 2007 and he has not be charged or tried? Is the US doing this?

[babybecks]

09:36 AM on 05/20/2011

They may as well go ahead try these people in a kangaroo court. Obama already said he would continue to hold detainees even if they were found not guilty in a court. If they were not tortured, then their evidence is credible, if they were, then it isn't. Simple enough.

They're all being held on suspicion of having evidence, or related to 9/11. When Abu Zabeyda was arrested, he had memorized the numbers of Saudi royal family members. Were the tapes of his interrogation destroyed because of torture, or because of who actually knew about 9/11 before it happened? Have a trial. Let's find out.

[djfick]

08:55 AM on 05/20/2011

Finally. A cost saving measure that works.

[commentsareus]

08:50 AM on 05/20/2011

I don't believe one word of what comes out of git-mo, sorry patriots...

[morris111]

01:14 PM on 05/20/2011

Neither did Usama.

[MissFrijole]

06:49 AM on 05/20/2011

Wait, so they aren't dumping his body into the ocean this time??

[morris111]

04:59 AM on 05/20/2011

One down, about 169 more to go.............................

[cwest91556]

09:34 AM on 05/20/2011

psychopath

[morris111]

01:13 PM on 05/20/2011

Yes 169 more psycopaths, terrorists, murderers, etc. to go.

[Acert]

04:50 AM on 05/20/2011

"The military said he was an admitted planner for al Qaida terrorist operations­, and acknowledg­ed facilitati­ng the movement of foreign fighters."

With all due respect, after all of the torture that went on at that prison, admissions of guilt from detainees have ZERO credibilit­y.

[d2air]

03:31 AM on 05/20/2011

Shame on the human rights abuses of the United States of America. We can't prosecute the detainee's in civilian courts because some were tortured and we lack enough evidence to convict the others. If they went to civilian courts they would be let go and then they would sue us for unlawful detention. A military tribunal for the detainees would allow us to use hearsay evidence and national security reasoning to convict but who would want to oversee this travesty? Like I said, we don't have enough evidence to convict. A military tribunal would sentence people to death without evidence. We tortured a confession out of them? This is your evidence? True Americans don't use torture-get a confession-sentence to death. Yes, Eric Holder may have to compensate the detainees and let them go. Some will find this sickening, but in the long term, our judicial system is one of the pillars that keeps America great.

[KMAJ]

04:52 AM on 05/20/2011

With all of the prisons in Cuba... you choose to criticize the one run by Americans?

[beau taylor]

07:06 AM on 05/20/2011

The hair cut gives it away. Guantanamo in one word: CRUEL. If we continue to hold and torture these men without a trial we do nothing but fuel the fires of ha8t for the terrorists of the world. This prison is not a deterrent but an aberration on the values of democracy.

[cwest91556]

09:36 AM on 05/20/2011

The US don't run prisons in Cuba, they do run GITMO.

[Acert]

04:56 AM on 05/20/2011

I don't care if they sue us for unlawful imprisonment. There is no doubt about it. We as a nation are guilty of violating the Geneva Conventions and our own constitution.

[KMAJ]

05:37 AM on 05/20/2011

The articles you refer to from the Geneva Conventions only apply to POWs and uniformed combatants. Get Al Qaeda and the Taliban to become a signatory and you would have an argument.

[gino618]

02:09 AM on 05/20/2011

Under Bush - this would have been a front page story (not just a blurb link).....
 
Wonder why it's not so important anymore?  Oh right - a Democrat is in the White House.

[SteveSFM]

02:56 AM on 05/20/2011

It's still important. Certainly, more important than simply an occasion for a partisan swipe.

[babybecks]

09:29 AM on 05/20/2011

Your logical statement clearly would make no sense to the original poster.

[longtimegone]

01:22 AM on 05/20/2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/afghanistan-troop-morale_n_864370.html

What goes around, comes around.

[Erewhon7]

12:49 AM on 05/20/2011

the only decent thing Inayatullah done in his entire life.

[Littlewords]

01:02 AM on 05/20/2011

While no fan of anything AQ, the guy had not even had accusations put before a military tribunal. So, until at least that happens, the alleged accusations hold no water. He's not had a hearing over the past four to five years.

The fact that we don't hold trials, nor even tribunals robs the US of credibility on the purported accusations leveled.

[cwest91556]

09:40 AM on 05/20/2011

it's just a proving ground, next those things will be done on US citizens also, watch and see. If we allow this kind of activity on US bases, we will allow the lack of due process and habeas corpus on a US base we will soon allow it in all 50 states.

[longtimegone]

01:16 AM on 05/20/2011

Ludi, you know what happens when you comment while drinking: your ugly inner state emerges for all to behold.

[pallmallguy]

12:27 AM on 05/20/2011

the pentagon considers suicide symmetrical warfare, you can't kill yourself at one of our prisons w/o the military thinking it's part of some diabolical terrorist scheme

[mflorian]

08:17 AM on 05/20/2011

During the Bush years, everything was a diabolical terrorist scheme. Especially Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan.

[jflorish]

12:04 AM on 05/20/2011

He's part of the terroist organization, stop acting like he's sells flowers on street corners.

[Pavane]

11:46 PM on 05/19/2011

"The military said he was an admitted planner for al Qaida terrorist operations, and acknowledged facilitating the movement of foreign fighters. Inayatullah met with local operatives, developed travel routes and coordinated documentation, accommodation and vehicles for smuggling al-Qaida militants through Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Iraq, according to the statement."

------

If he did all this and it could be proven, why not put him on trial?.

To be held indefinately is cruel and in humane. At some point, there is no reason to live.

[Plasma003]

12:08 AM on 05/20/2011

Yeah, well if more of them would do this, we wouldn't have to worry about closing the place. Hmm maybe he was on to something....

It's not 'inhumane' to jail these 'people'.... Crashing jets into buildings is inhumane..

[Pavane]

12:46 AM on 05/20/2011

Just noting that Bldg. No. 7 was not crashed into. Funny though, how it came down so neatly in it's own foot print.

Considering how you feel about the buildings ... you must be totally grief stricken over the decimation of an innocent country in retaliation. Poor Iraq. We killed untold tens of thousands, displaced millions and mutilated for life countless women and children.

THAT"S inhumane.

[SteveSFM]

02:58 AM on 05/20/2011

Both things are inhumane.

[sumogirl]

11:44 PM on 05/19/2011

If this man was held without charges being brought against him after such a long time, I think we should have released him. I've always felt it was not in our best interest to hold alleged terrorists indefinitely--it just turns that prisoner and all his family and friends against us--and his mosque, too. If they've committed terrorist acts or were working on behalf of terrorists, I'd prefer we bring them to trial.

BTW, I saw an interesting documentary on Netflix called "The Road to Guantanamo." It's worth watching for anyone--for or against detention of prisoners--who wants to see a different perspective, and you can watch it instantly online if you subscribe to Netflix.

[KMAJ]

05:04 AM on 05/20/2011

Great! Release him, he can stay with you at your house.

[MissFrijole]

06:53 AM on 05/20/2011

Hahaha!!! I couldn't have said it better!

[Savinia]

07:04 AM on 05/20/2011

Put yourself in his shoes. If you were captured by the Afghan authorities and held in prison for 4 years without trial would you think that was fair? All those prisoners should be put on trial and let justice be served. Follow the law. Surely you would expect it for yourself?