ISLAMABAD, April 19: American military strategies are counterproductive and uncivilised, said Clive Stafford Smith, a renowned human rights lawyer who has defended prisoners facing death penalty in the US for more than two decades.

“We are doing insane things around the world to stamp out terror. Guantanamo Bay illustrated we are hypocrites,” the lawyer told his listeners at Kuch Khaas while speaking on 'Death penalty and Guantanamo Bay' on Tuesday.

The founder of Reprieve, a UK charity which assists prisoners held beyond the rule of law in the 'war on terror', Smith is one of three lawyers who sued the US for right to represent prisoners at Guantanamo Bay – a successful case that resulted in allowing lawyers to get into Gitmo and represent prisoners.

He is in Pakistan to explore what his organisation could do to stop the drone attacks in what he termed as 'war of terror'. “The US uses drones for one purpose only. If we can kill as many Pakistanis as possible without picking up any costs ourselves nobody cares. It's a different situation if we even lose one American life in the process,” said the US-based British lawyer.

He was critical of possibilities of identifying “really bad terrorists” to the probability of hitting the right location. This he did by sharing some sad images of US attempts to destroy a Serbian target but instead blew up the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999.

Critical of the justice system in Pakistan, Smith highlighted how the country has the biggest number of people on death row in the world. “Pakistan tops the premier league of executions that has 8,600 individuals on death row. That's two-and-a-half times more than the rest of the world put together,” he said

Smith had represented over 300 prisoners facing death penalty in the southern US and has had a 98 per cent 'victory' rate.

He was also critical of the justice system in the US that he believed was designed to convict the innocent. “You can't make a juror if you can't hand down a death sentence. This they assess through psychological tests.” US military intelligence was no good either, he told the audience.

“Military and intelligence just don't go together. That is why the US is holding individuals for years without trial, including a detainee who came to Guantanamo Bay when he was 14 years old.

“The alleged Al Qaeda general detained in Guantanamo suffers from bipolar disorder. He was a chef in the UK where he lived for nearly two decades.” He said currently Reprieve was assisting those detained around the world under the pretext of 'war on terror', including seven Pakistanis who are held without charge or trial at the US military base in Bagram, Afghanistan.

“We are not certain how soon the three Pakistanis in Guantanamo Bay will be released. But we are optimistic about seven Pakistanis in Bagram especially if Pakistan government shares more information with us to help their return,” said another speaker with Reprieve.

In 2001, when the US military base at Guantanamo Bay was pressed into service to hold prisoners beyond the reach of the courts, Smith joined two other lawyers to sue for access to the prisoners there. During those early days, he received death threats and was labeled a 'traitor' for defending 'terrorists'; it was three years before the US Supreme Court allowed lawyers into the prison camp. To date, Smith has helped secure the release of 65 prisoners from Guantanamo Bay and still acts for 15 more.