Good time at Guantanamo

[Abdul Alhazred]

From the UK Telegraph:
I had a good time at Guantanamo, says inmate

An Afghan boy whose 14-month detention by US authorities as a terrorist suspect in Cuba prompted an outcry from human rights campaigners said yesterday that he enjoyed his time in the camp.

Mohammed Ismail Agha, 15, who until last week was held at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, said that he was treated very well and particularly enjoyed learning to speak English.
His words will disappoint critics of the US policy of detaining "illegal combatants" in south-east Cuba indefinitely and without trial.

Of course this has no bearing on the question of whether or not he was held legally.

OK, UKers. Is this a reliable source? I admit I hope it is, but I'm reserving judgement.

How about it? I want specific answers about the reliability of the Telegraph.

Please save your rants about what stinkers we Americans are for some other thread. Thank you.

I'm asking politely, not 'censoring' you.

 

[Jim Lennox]

In my humble opinion the Telegraph is a reliable source and politicians seem to think so, too.

This is probably the only reference I'll be able to find for it though.

Certainly I read in the editorial columns of the Daily Telegraph, which of course is a very reliable source of information

Actually there's loads but this one is at least amusing.

Will he comment on the report in the Daily Telegraph—I always regard that paper as a relatively reliable source of information—which quotes one official as saying,
"People are fatter. Many have no concept of how far a mile is, let alone of running it".

 

[no one in particular]

A non UKer here with a comment.

Ugh, it is very subtle things such as this:

His words will disappoint critics of the US policy of detaining "illegal combatants" in south-east Cuba indefinitely and without trial.

...which annoy me political writing in general. So, critics of the Guantanamo detainment policy would be disappointed to hear that some kid was not mistreated while in Guantanamo bay? Those critics would have prefered him to live in poor conditions? I think not. Rather, they may be disappointed at their potential loss of political leverage if it was believed that conditions are not so poor as some critics have complained.

 

[Shane Costello]

This is not an isolated opinion. From the BBC

A Russian citizen held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has said he is afraid to return home because prison conditions there are far worse.
"I don't think there is even a sanatorium in Russia that would compare to this," Ayrat Vakhitov said in a letter to his mother published by Russia's Gazeta newspaper.

"Nobody is being beaten or humiliated," he wrote.

Not exactly the garden of Allah, but not bad either. I wonder how it compares to conditions experienced by US citizens tried and convicted by due process and incarcerated in US prisons?

 

[Nikk]

The Telegraph is a right wing paper but it is definitely regarded as part of the quality press. Its factual reporting is as good as anyone elses, i. e. far from perfect.

There is more likely to be a problem with which facts the paper chooses to report rather than with the facts themselves.

Opinion columns are a different matter of course.