Detainee
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Detainee is a controversial term used by certain governments and their military to refer to individuals held in custody, such as those it does not classify and treat as either prisoners of war or suspects in criminal cases. It is used to refer to "any person captured or otherwise detained by an armed force."[1] More generally, it is "someone held in custody."[2]
The word "Detainee" is from the french word : "détenu" and the french verb "détenir". "Détenu" means prisoner in french "prisonnier". In French, a "détenu" is a guilty person, a "prisonnier" is not necessarily a guilty person, for example the prisoners of war or the persons before a judgment.[citation needed]
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[edit] U.S. government's captured enemy combatants
The word came into common usage during and after the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), as the U.S. government's term of choice to describe members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda captured in that war, which has generated considerable controversy around the globe.[3] The U.S. government classifies captured enemy combatants as "detainees" because there is no consensus about whether the combatants are "prisoners of war" under the definition found in the Geneva Convention. The controversy arises because the Geneva Convention protects "prisoners of war" but says nothing about "detainees." Many of the detainees of this war were transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. These detainees are allowed a trial, but with strong procedural limitations. There were allegations of humiliating treatment and even deaths of such detainees from 2003 through 2005.[4] [5] [6]
In 2005, it was reported that the Bush administration transferred:
nearly 70 percent of the detainees at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to three countries as part of a plan, officials said, to share the burden of keeping suspected terrorists behind bars. U.S. officials announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement with the government of Afghanistan to transfer most of its nationals to Kabul's "exclusive" control and custody. There are 110 Afghan detainees at Guantanamo and 350 more at the Bagram airfield near Kabul. Their transfers could begin in the next six months.
—Washington Post [7]
The Canadian government was critcized for releasing some detainees back to Afghanistan in 2007.[8] They quietly reversed themselves in early 2008.[9]
[edit] Juvenile delinquents
It is also used to refer to adolescents who are in police custody, in order to note that they are juveniles (as opposed to being placed formally under arrest).
[edit] References
- ^ Golbal Security Glossary. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Princeton wordnet. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ In Depth: Afghanistan: The controversy over detainees: Are prisoners of war Canada's responsibility?", CBC web site, Last Updated April 27, 2007, found at CBC News web site. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Duncan Campbell and Suzanne Goldenberg, "Afghan detainees routinely tortured and humiliated by US troops", The Guardian, Wednesday June 23 2004, found at The Guardian article. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Tim Golden, "In U.S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths", The New York Times, May 20, 2005, found at NY Times article. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Barbara Starr, "Afghan detainees' deaths ruled homicides", CNN, Wednesday, March 5, 2002, found at CNN. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Josh White and Robin Wright, Afghanistan Agrees To Accept Detainees: U.S. Negotiating Guantanamo Transfers," Washington Post, Friday, August 5, 2005; Page A01Wshington Post article. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Paul Koring, "Amnesty slams Canada over Afghan detainees," Globe and Mail, February 21, 2007, found at Globe and Mail article. Accessed June 2, 2008.
- ^ Tonda MacCharles and Bruce Campion-Smith, "Afghan detainees decision surprises allies:Canada's move to end transfers to jails in Afghanistan catches NATO off guard," Toronto Star, January 25, 2008, found at The Star article. Accessed June 2, 2008.
