Frequent flyer program (Guantanamo) explained

The frequent flyer program is a controversial technique used by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in Cuba.^[1] Guards deprived detainees of sleep by moving them from one cell to another, multiple times a day, for days or weeks on end.^[1]

The technique was used to "soften up" detainees prior to interrogation. Guantanamo guards were ordered to discontinue the use of the technique in March 2004, although the practice persisted until at least later that year.^[1]

Major David Frakt, USAF, defense counsel to a recipient of the program, Mohamed Jawad, said:

In August 2008, in testimony at Jawad's Guantanamo military commission trial, US Army officers confirmed the existence of the frequent flyer program.^[2] At least 17 detainees were subjected to the program.

In May 2012, Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer for detainee Shaker Aamer, said his client alleges the frequent flyer program was still being used as a punishment technique in the isolation block known as Camp Five Echo.^[3]

See also

• Mohamed Jawad
• Ghassan al-Shirbi
• Torture

References

1. News: Tactic Used After It Was Banned: Detainees at Guantanamo Were Moved Often, Documents Say . Washington Post . Josh . White . Josh White (journalist) . August 8, 2008 . November 16, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110514041644/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080703004_pf.html . May 14, 2011.
2. News: August 13, 2008 . Young detainees appear at Guantanamo hearings . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110520155935/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gUx-sBP6ShV-Fe9Uf1kWIZMjFJIQ . May 20, 2011 . December 16, 2011 . Agence France Press.
3. News: Aamer's torment in the spotlight . . Paddy McGuffin . 2012-05-21 . 2015-11-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151130041108/http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/119282 . dead . In the lawyer's notes Mr Aamer states that he was held in solitary confinement from July to December 2011 in Camp 5 Echo block, a punishment block for "non-compliant" detainees. He was confined to his cell for 24 hours a day and subjected to sleep deprivation methods by guards. . 2012-08-31.