While working at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, U.S. Army Chaplain James Yee fought what he saw as injustices committed to detainees — until specious charges made him a detainee too.

Yee, former U.S. Army Captain and Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, delivered the unnerving details of his overnight arrest, unsupported detainment and arduous legal battle to a packed auditorium of ASU students Friday.

The 76-day Navy prison detainee spoke as part of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and The Muslim Law Students’ Association’s “Legal Implications on the War on Terror” presentation.

Raees Mohamed, president of the Muslim Law Students’ Association, said the idea for Yee’s visit came as a follow-up to a discussion on legal issues of terror last semester.

“It’s not just about the law — it’s about humanity in general,” he said. “We got a lot of questions about Guantanamo Bay. It’s so controversial and not covered at the institutional level [or] academically.”

Yee, a West Point graduate and part of a military family, began his military career as an air defense artillery officer, but after converting to Islam, he became a Muslim chaplain stationed at Guantanamo Bay. His duties included educating American troops about Islam and fulfilling chaplain duties for Muslim Americans and detainees at the base.

Operations at the base fell under two general categories: detention and intelligence, Yee said. His main duties were part of the detention operations, but through them, he became acquainted with intelligence practices.

“Interacting with the prisoners, I was able to learn what was happening inside the interrogation rooms,” he said.

Yee learned interrogators were using knowledge of Islamic customs and culture against detainees, claims that were later substantiated by official reports now released to the public. They performed defiling acts to the Koran and female interrogators exploited Islamic norms of sexuality by interrogating in the nude, Yee said.

“Intelligence officers knew that this was the belief of Islam,” he said. “It was another way religion was being used against these prisoners … I felt these things went against our values as a nation.”

Yee reported what he saw to his superiors. He raised questions about the actions of intelligence officers and the age of juvenile detainees — some as young as 12.

Superiors rewarded his initial efforts. Yee received accolades, awards and a chance to visit his family on leave, but he never made it home.

During a layover in Florida, officials searched Yee’s luggage and claimed it contained “suspicious documents.” Military officials later charged Yee with illegally transporting “classified documents.” Yee said he had no knowledge of the documents.

Military officials arrested Yee and transported him to a maximum-security prison called the Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C., where U.S. citizen enemy combatants are held.

During the trip to the brig, Yee experienced a process he had observed many times in Guantanamo Bay: sensory deprivation. In addition to normal restraints, goggles were placed over his eyes and sound-deadening earmuffs over his ears. Yee said the experience affirmed how serious his situation had become.

“It was like I had disappeared,” he said. “Nobody knew what had happened to me. They would learn when they saw me on the news. In 2003, I was the headline of the day.”

For 76 days, Yee lived in one of the prison’s small cells while news organizations ran headlines calling him a potential spy and traitor.

Even after his release, the government brought lesser charges against him.

“They wanted to keep me in jail,” he said. “At this time, I [was] at least granted some semblance of due process.”

Yee eventually escaped the bureaucracy of the legal system, exonerated himself and left the military with an honorable discharge in January 2005. He now travels the country giving lectures on his experience and trying to raise awareness.

“Today, the civil liberties of all people have been eroded,” he said. “I think it’s relevant to everyone in this country … we have seen the reputation of the U.S. damaged severely.”

Philosophy junior Joel Espino attended the event and said he found Yee’s talk unsettling.

“You never think these things happen in the U.S.,” he said. “It’s just astounding the way this stuff happens. It doesn’t sit well with me.”

Reach the reporter at channing.turner@asu.edu.