Ahhh here's something I can reply to. Thanks!
Article 13 of the third Geneva convention says PoWs must be humanely treated and "protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity". But the article does not prevent all photographs of prisoners, and newspapers and TV companies are not bound by the convention, which applies only to states or "detaining powers".
I know about that article, but if the POW's really were 'protected against public curiosity' they wouldn't have been shown on tv. The footage shot of the POW's often came from journalists who were with the troops during the war. Everything they shot was first screened by some people from the army. They shouldn't have allowed that footage to be used.
Article 13 does not to cover the bodies of soldiers killed in battle, since they are not prisoners of war.
So the guy from the senate (see quote I posted before) is wrong?
It was felt my the interim government of Iraq that the people of Iraq must see these photos to truly believe that these men were dead. It is unfortunate that they are being so widely spread as they are, but in a society held in fear for so long, surely you can understand why you must be sure... HAVE to be sure that they are gone. These people are terrified still... if you lived in hell since the day you were born and woke up one morning to someone telling you the devil was dead... wouldn't you demand proof?
That's not what this topic is about. It's about whether it's allowed to show the pics. I thought it wasn't allowed because of the things I read (like that quote).
Lastly... those being held in Guantanimo bay are considered "Enemy Combatants" NOT POWs. They do not fall under the articles of the Geneva Convention. The United States is affording them MOST of thse courtesies. But they do not have to.
A person is considered a POW if he's a member of an adversary state's armed forces or if he's part of an identifiable militia group that abides by the laws of war. Al-Qaeda members, who neither wear identifying insignia nor abide by the laws of war, probably would not quality. Taliban soldiers, as the armed forces of Afghanistan, may well be entitled to POW status. If there is doubt about a captured fighter's status as a POW, the Geneva Conventions require that he be treated as such until a competent tribunal determines otherwise.
But ok, let's assume there's no doubt, then under the Geneva conventions every "enemy combatant" is still entitled to humane treatment, basic shelter, clothing, food and medical attention. The people in Guantanamo Bay are in chained in small cages with concrete floors and metal roofs. Those cages offer no shelter from wind or rain. Details about sanitary and hygene aren't even available.
