The lawyer representing nine British citizens being held in the American prison camps in Guantanamo Bay has spoken of their harsh living conditions.

Addressing a meeting at the Vine Church in Ilford by Peace and Justice in East London, Louisa Christian said her clients, who were all suspected terrorists, were only allowed out for exercise for 15 minutes, twice a week.

She said this contravened international law which stipulated that prisoners should be allowed out of their cells to exercise once a day.

Ms Christian told the gathering: "There are fears of suicide and damage to the mental health of these young men.

"I have been a lawyer for 25 years now and never before have I had clients that I have not been allowed to meet, speak to or communicate with.

"I never thought I would be representing British citizens that the British Government refused to speak up for."

There are currently 600 Muslim men from Afghanistan and Palestine being held in cells measuring just 6ft by 6ft in Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay.

Peace activists say the Americans have produced no proof of any wrongdoing on the prisoners' part and there is talk of some 300 Iraqis being moved there after the war.

Ms Christian said the British Government had made no public representations on behalf of the prisoners, while the Pakistan, Afghanistan and German governments had called for the release of detainees.

Appealing to the meeting to join the last anti-war march, she said: "This war, which will not stop at Iraq, can only be stopped by popular protest. It can and will be stopped by popular protest."

Fellow speaker Gareth Evans from peace group Voices in the Wilderness warned that the worst effects of the Iraq war were still to come.

He said: "The collapse of the infrastructure will cause far more deaths in the longer term than the bombing. There will also be psychological damage."

April 27, 2003 13:30