ICRC Start video chat for Pakistan detainee in Guantanamo jail.

Peshawar (30 September 2009) Families in Pakistan of people held in Guantanamo have for the first time had the chance to see their detained relatives live on screen. In this regard, the first family travelled to the office of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Peshawar to take part in hour-long video call that was limited to family and personal news and monitored by the authorities at Guantanamo.

"We had a family chat together, me, my four children and their father. My youngest son saw his father for the first time… I cannot say, what this means to us. It was an hour of all pleasures, that came after many years", said Ayesha, wife of the person held at Guantanamo. "I was free to talk to him, as we were alone in the room. I am very pleased that the ICRC arranged that Parda (privacy) for us."

"Persons held in connection with armed conflict the world over have a right under international humanitarian law to exchange personal news," said Miriam Zampatti, the ICRC delegate who oversees the videophone programme in Pakistan. "The emotions of the family members who took part yesterday made it clear that this strictly humanitarian initiative is a worthwhile endeavour."

Families in Pakistan decide on their own whether they want to take part in a video call, but when they do the ICRC helps meet the cost of travel to its offices. As the first family has participated so far, more video calls between Guantanamo detainees and their Pakistani relatives are expected in the near future. A similar video link has been provided for families whose relatives are jailed at Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2008.