Five British citizens were transferred from Guantanamo–where they were held for around two years without charge or judicial review for being “the hardest of the hard core,” in Donald Rumsfeld’s words–to the custody of the British government–who promptly released them without charge. They tell their stories at length in the UK Observer:
After about a week the prisoners were allowed to speak to detainees in adjacent cells, and a few weeks later still were given copies of the Koran, a prayer mat, blankets and towels. Yet all witnessed or experienced brutality, especially from Guantanamo’s own riot squad, the Extreme Reaction Force. Its acronym has led to a new verb peculiar to Guantanamo detainees: ‘ERF-ing.’ To be ERFed, says Rasul, means to be slammed on the floor by a soldier wielding a riot shield, pinned to the ground and assaulted.
[via TMN, cross-posted to Bloghdad.com]