Families of European detainees lobby White House

(9 Mar 2004)
1. Wide shot of families and activists holding news conference outside US Supreme Court
2. Cutaway of press
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Azmat Begg, Father of Guantanamo Bay detainee:
"In one letter, he wrote 'I do not know what crime I am supposed to have committed for which not only I, but my wife and children continuously suffer. As a result, I'm in a state of depression and beginning to lose the fight against depression and hopelessness."
4. Wide shot of Azmat Begg speaking
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5. Still photo of detainee Moazzam Begg
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Azmat Begg, Father of Guantanamo Bay detainee:
"He has been held captive for more than two years and in all this time he has never been charged and tried. I do not ask for mercy, I ask for justice. Before mercy comes justice and my son has been denied justice."
7. Cutaway of press at news conference
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8. Still photo of detainee Murat Kurnaz
9. SOUNDBITE: (German) Rabiye Kurnaz, Mother of Guantanamo Bay detainee:
"I want due process and justice for him and I want to see him. If it was possible, I'd want to bring him home, but I know that's not possible. I know he's not doing well. The way they're treating the detainees is against humanity."
10. Cutaway of cameras
11. Wide shot of Terry Waite speaking at podium in front of Supreme Court
12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Terry Waite, Former Hostage in Lebanon:
"We are here today because we believe there has been a major breech of human rights. Perhaps it was done with good intentions, but the consequences will be disastrous, disastrous for the United States and disastrous for all our freedoms."
13. Cutaway of cameras
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vanessa Redgrave, Actress, Founder of Guantanamo Human Rights Commission:
"You must have international human rights law and national law in which those international human rights are embodied. And that's why we're here, because this has been denied to the detainees, both in Guantanamo and other places that we've heard about like the British-American base of Diego Garcia. If there are no rights, then what do you have? Some call it an interrogation camp. I'm afraid I have to say I consider it to be a concentration camp."
15. Wide shot of families and press in front of the Supreme Court
16. Family members of detainees walking towards the White House
17. Shot of the White House
18. Azmat Begg standing with other family members outside the White House
19. Rabiye Kurnaz walking in front of the White House with religious leader
STORYLINE:
Family members of some of the detainees being held at US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay were in Washington on Monday seeking what they say are the basic rights their relatives are being denied.
The European family members of three terror suspects held at the Navy base in Cuba urged President Bush to release the prisoners for trial in their home countries, saying the indefinite detainment is taking a toll on their mental health.
At a press conference in front of the US Supreme Court, Azmat Begg read a letter from his son, Moazzam Begg, one of the estimated 640 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
In the letter, Moazzam Begg says he has never been told of the crime for which he is being held. And he described his detention as being "kept like an animal in a cell" with little sleep and no information.
Azmat Begg, who came from England to pursue due process rights for his son, has written a letter to President Bush in which he pleads for justice, not for mercy.
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