Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd

The treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, where the U.S. has held so-called “enemy combatants” without trial since 2001, is outrageous in many respects, but the Kafkaesque experience of 22 Uyghurs who were turned in as terrorists in response to bounties announced by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is especially galling. Filmmaker Patricio Henríquez's documentary effectively recounts the story of these Turkic-speaking Muslims, who were persecuted for their involvement in the separatist movement in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, and fled to Afghanistan, only to be captured post-9/11 and sold to America. The men endured up to seven years of captivity in Cuba (and Chinese interrogators were given access to them), before being eventually released to other countries, but scars remain—not only on the men but also on the reputation of the United States. Footage of the interior of the Guantanamo facility is limited but telling, and Henríquez includes extended excerpts from interviews with three of the prisoners, who describe their harrowing ordeal. Also interviewed are Rushan Abbas, who was enlisted by authorities as their translator and quickly became their protector, and Sabin Willett, a Boston bankruptcy lawyer who argued their case in federal court. Henríquez also looks at the Uyghurs' story within the context of President Obama's failed attempt to close the detention camp, using news clips and interviews with Daniel Fried, point man on the doomed effort. Presenting a surreal true story that reflects poorly on both American law and politics, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)