Heather Cerveny
Heather Cerveny | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 |
Sergeant Heather Cerveny was a United States Marine, and a paralegal. In 2006 she submitted an affidavit documenting abuse that off-duty GIs had bragged about at one Guantanamo's drinking establishments. She concluded that "I understood that striking of detainees [held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps] "was a common practice".[1] [2]
Press reports state Cerveny, who was 23 years old in 2006, was assigned to assist in the defense of Guantanamo detainees in September, and that the incident she reported occurred on her very first visit to the base. The Department of Defense's Inspector General announced that another inquiry would be launched into detainee treatment, based on Cerveny's affidavit.[3]
Muneer Ahmad, the civilian lawyer for Omar Khadr, reported that Cerveny and her superior, Colby Vokey, Khadr's military lawyer, had been ordered not to comment on conditions at Guantanamo.[4] This order was confirmed on behalf of Colonel Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel, who according to the Washington Post "had directed him [Ahmad] not to communicate with the media 'pending her review of the facts. This is necessary to ensure all actions of counsel are in compliance with regulations establishing professional standards for military attorneys'."
Colonel Richard Basset, the officer assigned to investigate the allegations in Cerveny's affidavit,[5][6] He returned from his investigation on November 15, 2006.[7] He submitted his report on December 10, 2006.[5][6] The report was not immediately made public.[8][9][10]
Associated Press quoted one of Basset's superiors, who said Basset "interviewed guards and some detainees during a visit to the naval base in southeast Cuba. He also traveled around the U.S. to speak with guards who had left Guantanamo,"[6]
A thirteen page summary of the inquiry was made public in February 2007.[11] It was heavily redacted.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Cerveny's affidavit (.pdf)] (PDF), October 4, 2006
- ↑ "Marine says morale miserable at Guantanamo Bay prison". San Jose Mercury. 2006-10-13.
- ↑ "Pentagon orders probe into Marine's report of Guantanamo detainee abuse", The Jurist, October 13, 2006
- ↑ 2 Ordered Not to Discuss Gitmo Claims, Washington Post, October 14, 2006
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Col. Submits Guantanamo Investigation". The Guardian. 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2
"Col. Submits Guantanamo Investigation: U.S. Army colonel completes, turns in report on Guantanamo abuse investigation". CBS News. 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "CbsNews061210" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ "U.S. Army colonel investigating abuse allegations returns from Guantanamo". North Carolina Times. 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ↑ "Investigator into alleged Guantanamo abuse accuses Marine of [[false complaint]]". International Herald Tribune. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-10-02. URL–wikilink conflict (help)
- ↑ Michael Melia (2007-02-07). "Military: No Gitmo Guard Abuse Evident: U.S. military investigation reports no evidence guards beat Guantanamo detainees". CBS News. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
- ↑
Michael Melia (2006=12-10). "Col. Submits Guantanamo Investigation". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-10-02. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ Richard Bassett (2007-02-05). "Army Regulation (AR) 15-6 Investigation into Alleged Abuse of Detainees at Joint Task Force -- Guantanamo2009-08-04Department of DefenseGuantanamo;abuse" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2009-08-04. mirror