Seton Hall Law Study Challenges Government on Gitmo "Suicides"

A new study from the Seton Hall University School of Law challenges the conclusions of an NCIS report on the deaths of three detainees at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay. The NCIS report concludes that the three men, who were found hanging in their cells, committed suicide, but the Seton Hall study alleges serious irregularities an contradictions.

Most importantly, notes Scott Horton, law professor at Columbia University and expert on the law of war, the three detainees were said to have, on their own, stuffed rags so far down their throats that medical personnel could not extract them, made mannequins of themselves to fool guards, braided nooses, tied their own hands and feet together, and finally hung themselves from the cell walls. All of this was done, keep in mind, while they were supposed to be under constant supervision by guards and video cameras.

Also odd is that one of the detainees was only days from being released. 

The Seton Hall study also claims that evidence that should have been collected routinely was missing, and that NCIS questioning appeared to be constructed in order to get certain answers. Video of the hallway where the deaths took place is also missing from the NCIS report.

Even more distressing, notes The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, is that one of the dead detainees, whose body was subjected to an independent autopsy, had the heart, throat, and kidneys removed. Medical examiners say that the removal of the throat is highly irregular. That is especially troubling given the fact that detainees had had rags stuffed into their throats.

All of this seems to point at the very least to undisciplined conduct at the Gitmo prison, something which has been alleged in the past. At the worst, it might indicate a military cover-up of something far more sinister than guards leaving their posts. It is also indicative of the erosion of the rule of law that has occurred in the past eight years under the context of the War on Terror. A thorough investigation not only of this incident, but of military policy towards enemy combatants and detainees in general, is needed  to ensure not only that this does not happen again, but also that any crimes that may have occurred are prosecuted.