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Slideshows

Guantanamo

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Sarah Havens (right rear) and Douglas Cox (left, in glasses) with Arabic interpreters and other Allen & Overy attorneys on Coast Guard boat that transports them to the windward side of the Guantanamo military base, where the prison is. Havens and Cox both speak some Arabic themselves: Cox learned it as a linguist in the Army; Havens as an exchange student in Cairo.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Photos of detainee Abdelaziz Al Swidi and his sister's newborn baby girl. The Al Swidi family told the attorneys Abdelaziz went to Pakistan to study languages. The military says he traveled to Afghanistan to attend a weapons training camp.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Attorney Sarah Havens holding detainee Abdelaziz Al Swidi's niece, who was two weeks old.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Detainee Abdelaziz Al Swidi's daughter with a Dora doll attorneys Cox and Havens purchased for her at his request. Cox and Havens say the detainees had varied reactions to the news the attorneys were going to visit their families: some asked them to buy gifts, others found it difficult to think about having to experience the visit vicariously.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Attorney Douglas Cox with detainee Ali Yahya Mahdi's father and brothers. Mahdi and his family admit he attended a weapons training camp in Afghanistan, but they say he never fought against Americans or intended to. Attorney Sarah Havens says Mahdi’s father told the attorneys he forced his son to go to the camp because the family had financial difficulties. Military officials concluded, based on classified evidence, Mahdi is a member of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Detainee Ali Yahya Mahdi's brother sharing qat with attorneys Havens and Cox. Qat is an addictive herb many people chew in Yemen and that area of the world.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Detainee Ali Yahya Mahdi's niece Asma outside the palace of Dar al Hajjar in Yemen’s capital. She told the attorneys she’s praying for Ali to come back and play with her.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Detainee Ali Yahya Mahdi’s nephew. When the attorneys visited Mahdi’s family, they welcomed them into their home and spread out a huge feast on a sheet of plastic on the floor. The father gave Attorney Douglas Cox the honor of eating the brains of the lamb.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Neighbors of detainee Ali Yahya Mahdi. Mahdi’s brothers rented a taxi so they could pick the attorneys up and bring them to their home.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Attorney Douglas Cox in the Taj Sheba hotel lobby with detainee Riyad Ataq Al Haj’s father. Cox and Havens spent many hours searching for Riyad’s father. When they found each other, they say he burst into tears. He thought his son had been blinded and his legs had been cut off. He told Attorney Cox he must act as a father to Riyad.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Detainee Riyad Ataq Al Haj’s brother Ibrahim with a son who was born after Riyad’s capture. The son is named after Riyad. Riyad’s attorneys say Riyad’s detention may be a case of mistaken identity.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
When the attorneys meet with detainee Emad Abdullah Hassan family, they bring along an official representative from their neighborhood in Aden. He tells the attorneys that the whole community is waiting to welcome Emhad back – regardless of why he left.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Detainee Fahmy al Tawlaqi's family serves drinks to attorneys Havens and Cox in their home. Fahmy’s father brought attorney Havens chocolates and flowers when they first met.
graphs courtesy of Through the Walls
Attorneys Sarah Havens and Douglas Cox at the home of Ali Yahya Mahdi. Doug is wearing Yemeni clothes and a traditional dagger given to him by Ali's brothers. Havens wore these clothes to meet with many of the families, out of respect for their culture.

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