GENEVA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Wednesday said that the US detention of a Pakistani man, Ammar al Baluchi, at Guantanamo Bay is "arbitrary and breaches international human rights law".
The group, made up of human rights experts, urged the U.S. Government to allow them to visit the center, saying its continued operation was a source of deep concern and its closure must remain a priority.
The group said in a written statement that Mr. al Baluchi was being kept in U.S. detention with no legal basis, and had been denied his rights to be brought promptly before a judge and to challenge the lawfulness of his detention before a court.
"Mr. al Baluchi has been subject to prolonged detention on discriminatory grounds and has not been afforded equality of arms in terms of having adequate facilities for the preparation of his defence under the same conditions as the prosecution," the Working Group said.
The experts said Mr. al Baluchi, who has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2006, was suffering a serious and ongoing violation of his right to be presumed innocent.
This fact, alongside psychological and physical trauma resulting from torture he had suffered prior to his transfer to Guantanamo Bay, made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, they added.
"Mr. al Baluchi has been deprived of due process and the fair trial guarantees that would ordinarily apply within the judicial system of the United States," the group said. "This act of discrimination on the basis of his status as a foreign national and his religion has denied Mr. al Baluchi equality before the law."
The Working Group said Mr. al Baluchi should be released immediately and given an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, such as appropriate physical and psychological rehabilitation for the torture he had previously suffered.
