Iraqi Detainee Reported Suffering Paralysis at Guantánamo

Politics|Iraqi Detainee Reported Suffering Paralysis astatine Guantánamo

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — A Marine Corps justice has ordered the aesculapian unit astatine the wartime situation to taxable an exigency study Friday connected an Iraqi captive who according to his lawyer abruptly suffered paralysis and mislaid the quality to walk.

The prisoner, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, 60, was discovered to person mislaid each feeling successful his legs Wednesday evening.

He has degenerative disc disease, and is among the astir physically disabled of the 39 detainees astatine Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He has undergone a bid of spine surgeries successful caller years by Navy aesculapian teams who were airlifted to the distant base.

“He nary longer has usage of his legs,” his lawyer, Susan Hensler, said connected Friday. “He cannot locomotion adjacent with a walker.”

Mr. Hadi, who says his existent sanction is Nashwan al Tamir, is accused of commanding Qaeda and Taliban forces successful Afghanistan that committed warfare crimes against U.S. and allied forces astir 2002-2004. He could beryllium imprisoned for beingness if helium is convicted.

He was captured successful Turkey successful 2006 and held by the Central Intelligence Agency arsenic a “high-value detainee,” past was transferred to U.S. subject custody astatine Guantánamo Bay the adjacent year.

Even earlier his capture, according to his lawyers, helium had been diagnosed with spine problems and signs of degenerative disc disease. His information became acute successful 2017 erstwhile guards discovered him incontinent successful his cell. The Pentagon scrambled a neurosurgical squad to the basal up of the accomplishment of Hurricane Irma for the archetypal of 5 spine surgeries successful 9 months.

Mr. Hadi present relies connected a wheelchair and walker wrong the prison, and a padded geriatric seat for enactment successful court. Guards besides support a infirmary furniture wrong the courtroom wherever helium has slept erstwhile dense painkillers caused him to motion off.

Mr. Hadi’s lawsuit has highlighted the challenges for the Defense Department of managing aging detainees astatine Guantánamo Bay.

While U.S. troops and different residents of the basal are routinely sent to subject wellness attraction facilities successful the United States, the Pentagon has had to bring experts and blase aesculapian instrumentality to Guantánamo for the prisoners due to the fact that the instrumentality forbids their transportation to the United States for immoderate crushed — not proceedings oregon imprisonment oregon exigency wellness care.

The United States is obliged to supply capable wellness attraction to warfare captives nether the Geneva Conventions. Prison commanders person besides for years boasted that the attraction the Guantánamo detainees person is adjacent to that it provides U.S. work members, and astatine times much instantly disposable due to the fact that medics are connected work astatine cellblocks astir the clock.

Defense lawyers said, however, successful an exigency filing connected Thursday that Mr. Hadi was notified that “specialist attraction was not disposable for respective weeks.”

Lt. Col. Michael D. Zimmerman, the Marine justice successful Mr. Hadi’s case, noted successful ordering a study connected Friday that a regular wellness update filed with the tribunal past week listed “no important alteration successful the accused’s aesculapian status.” Military judges person been mostly reluctant to impact themselves successful disputes implicit detainee aesculapian care, with the objection of issues that interfere with the quality of a captive to enactment with lawyers.

U.S. subject spokesmen assigned to the situation and U.S. Southern Command office successful Miami had nary contiguous remark connected Mr. Hadi’s condition, including whether the pandemic had analyzable efforts to attraction for him. Most detainees person been vaccinated. There person been nary known cases of unit oregon prisoners becoming infected astatine the prison.