Talk:Prisoner (disambiguation)

Merge

This article should be merged to "Prisoner". -St|eve 00:22, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

• I think it should be expanded instead. The use of the term instead of POW, prisoner, enemy combatant, etc. has great relevance to modern geopolitics.--Hraefen 03:08, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

The word has no relevance to modern geopolitics. A "detainee" is someone being held after school, not a prisoner. Ed Graham

Badboats writes: Prisoner, or Prisoner of War is a person belonging to one of the following categories and who has fallen into the power of the enemy:

1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members forming such armed forces.

2. Members of a militia or other volunteer corps must fill the following conditions:

  a. They are commanded by a person responsible for their subordinates
  b. They have a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance
  c. They carry arms openly
  d. They conduct operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war

3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government not recognized by detaining power.

4. Members who accompany armed forces (such as contractors) and they receive direction from said armed forces.

5. Members of crews such as pilots and apprentices.

6. Inhabitants who, on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms and carry them openly and respect the laws and customs of war.

Persons who do not fall into the above categories and have fallen into the power of the enemy must be dealt with somehow, rather than allow them to set roadside bombs, kidnap and kill members of the US Armed Forces unjustly. During the time they are detained, under the guidance of the Geneva Convention it is not lawful to classify insurgents as Prisoner's of War, therefore they are simply detained in a detention facility and shall be (and are) referred to as "detainees".

So, yes you are correct a detainee is NOT a prisoner. Badboats 2308/06AUG06 Ref: Geneva Convention