The Wii shows up in all sorts of places, like in a story today about Mohammed Jawad, a young man who spent six years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba before an American court ordered his release.
A report carried in the McClatchy Newspapers today explained that Jawad, who may have been as young as 12 when he was arrested in 2002 for allegedly throwing a grenade at U.S. soldiers, was released after a court found that Jawad's confession had been made under conditions that constituted torture. Afghan police secured a confession from him while threatening to kill him and his family. The thrown grenade had injured two U.S. reservists.
Ultimately, military defense lawyers prevailed in clearing Jawad and the federal government declined to continue the case.
The McClatchy story details the treatment Jawad received at Guantanamo, the complications of his case and how his experiences serve as a microcosm of the complex issues of imprisonment and prosecution of individuals involved in the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan.
Jawad is back in Afghanistan with his family now, but the story concludes with a description of his transition from the main prison of Guantanamo Bay to his home:
Prior to his release, Jawad was transferred to Guantanamo's Camp Iguana, a lower-security site where he was held with a dozen Uighur-speaking captives awaiting their freedom and learned to play Nintendo's Wii.
The Wii does indeed appear to be omnipresent.