11 Kuwaiti Families Bring Suit Against the U.S. for Guantanamo Bay Prisoners

On May 2, 2002 counsel for families of 11 Kuwaiti nationals detained at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, claiming the United States Government has erroneously detained them. Counsel for families of the eleven Kuwaiti nationals claim the men were working in Pakistan and Afghanistan as volunteers in hospitals, orphanages, and water facilities when foreign forces arrested them in January and February. The complaint contends that the families believe that none of the Kuwaiti detainees was ever a member or supporter of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or any terrorist organization. The complaint requests, as relief, the names of the Kuwaitis being held, hearings on whether sufficient cause exists for their detention, or transfer to Kuwaiti custody. The media report that both the U.S. Department of Justice and Kuwaiti off refuse to comment on the suit. The case represents at least the third such suit on behalf of detainees. Efforts treat the emotional and psychological problems have been impeded by language difficulties, since the officials at Guantanamo Bay base do not speak Arabic or other languages of the region.