HRH F joined an Amnesty International-initiated appeal yesterday for the Norwegian contractor Aker Kvaerner to be investigated for accessory to torture at Guantánamo. HRH´s own appeal states that the detention camp has become an icon of injustice committed in the ´war on terror,´ undermining security and respect for the rule of law. HRH F further calls for the Guantánamo detention camp to be closed and for detainees to be charged and tried in full and fair proceedings, says Executive Director Maria Dahle, right. (12-JAN-07)
 
Integrating HRH F´s appeal with the Norwegian Section of Amnesty International´s press release, this article has been prepared for publication by HRH F / Niels Jacob Harbitz.

GuantanamoThe treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo, left, continues to be carried out in ways that are illegal according to Norwegian law, and that Norwegian authorities have specifically condemned. Aker Kvaerner, who until the pring of 2006 was in charge of various services and facilities at the detention camp, must thus also be considered to have acted in breach of Norwegian law. The company can therefore be charged and held responsible for these crimes. This is the conclusion of a legal assessment by the law firm Stabell & co, on request from Amnesty International.

-The assessment from Stabell & co concludes that Aker Kvaerner, through its activities at Guantánamo, contributed to torture and a number of other human rights violations. The Norwegian chapter of Amnesty International believes that the company must be investigated and charged in accordance with Norwegian law, says Petter Eide, Secretary General in the Norwegian chapter.

Through its American sub-company Kvaerner Process Services Inc. (KPSI), Aker Kvaerner was present at Guantánamo since 1993. The company contributed in the building of prison cells. Since 2002, Aker Kvaerner provided the maintenance of these cells, including the delivery of electricity and water and the facilitation of sewage services from the camp. From 2002, when the first prisoners from the ´war on terror´ arrived at the camp, it has been a well known fact that severe violations of human rights including torture and other kinds of mistreatment, were taking place at Guantánamo. Hence, from the moment Aker Kvaerner was, or should have been, aware of these conditions, the company´s activities there must be considered illegal. The legal assessment concludes that Aker Kvaerner continued its work at Guantánamo also after learning about the serving conditions and the breaches of human rights that were taking place.

Amnesty International does not suspect Aker Kvaerner´s employees of having taken part in torturing the detainees at the base, but believes that the company has a contributory responsibility for having facilitated the conditions within which the violations that are takeing place there can happen. Aker Kvaerner discontinued its work at Guantánamo in the spring of 2006. The reason given for this is that the company lost the competition with another contractor for further engagements. KPSI has since been shut down. Even so, the mother company, owning all shares in KPSI throughout, must be held fully responsible for whatever KPSI did.

According to Norwegian penal law, Aker Kvaerner can be sentenced for having broken sections of Norwegian law that apply to Norwegian companies´ activities abroad. Amnesty International has therefore requested the Norwegian State Attorney to take the legal assessment from Stabell & co into consideration in the decision as to whether or not to request a full investigation of Aker Kvaerner.

The Norwegian chapter of Amnesty International considers this case to be Petter Eide.jpgimportant for Norwegian legal history. -This case is of immense importance from a principled point of view, and goes well beyond just criticising Aker Kvaerner for its misdeeds at Guantánamo. If it reaches the courts, this case will be the first of its kind in Norway. We wish to set a precedent that will make it possible to hold Norwegian companies legally responsible if they are found to contribute directly or indirectly to crimes committed abroad, concludes Eide, right.