Free Thought Manifesto: Psychologist: Gitmo Detainee Is 'Broken Into Pieces'

Psychologist: Gitmo Detainee To Be Released Is 'Broken Into Pieces'

David Edwards and Jason Rhyne
Published: Friday December 28, 2007
RawStory

The first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be convicted by an American military tribunal will be released from prison on Saturday -- but six years of harsh treatment in US custody leave him ill-prepared to readjust to normal life, a psychologist says.

Australian-born David Hicks, who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, plead guilty earlier this year to charges of providing material support for al- Qaeda terrorists. As part of his plea deal, Hicks was transferred to Australia to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Appearing in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Monash University psychology professor James Ogloff said that Guantanamo had left a broken Hicks to fend for himself in the free world.

"In some very restrictive regimes, and Guantánamo Bay will fall into that category, the environments are actually designed to break people down," said Ogloff.

"There's no long term goal of rehabilitating people or having them return to the community. So the issues that the individual faces is, in fact, being broken into pieces and having to really be put back together."

During his time at Guantanamo, Hicks alleges that he was beaten, sedated and forced to take unidentified medication, among other abuses.

Although Ogloff had never personally assessed Hicks, he described conditions typical of prisoners kept for prolonged periods in solitary confinement.

"The become very anxious and nervous," he said. "The vast majority of people develop headaches, have problems sleeping, become angry and irritable, have emotional mood swings, high degrees of depression."

The stigma of his conviction will also affect his rehabilitation, said the psychologist.

"The infamy now that Mr. Hicks feels," said Ogloff, "will in fact exacerbate the problems he's experienced and make it all the more difficult for him to return to any semblance of a normal life in the community."

NOTE: The following videos about Guantanamo were NOT part of the above story, but were independantly included by me.

1. Gitmo Video - Guantanamo Bay