Six years ago today, in his first day in office, US President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the prisons at Guantanamo Bay. But even today, that offshore gulag remains open, a scar on the American psyche and a blight on Washington’s human rights’ record.
Every day, a hard core group of detainees are force-fed through a tube stuffed up their nostril and down into their stomachs. These men have decided not to eat to protest their imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay without any charge and without knowing if or when they will ever be released. Right now, there are 122 remaining in the three prisons in Guantanamo. Fewer than 30 are facing charges — the rest have never been charged, have been cleared for release and still linger in Camps V, VI and the top secret Camp VII.
And the men who are held in Guantanamo have all been tortured, by troops who picked them up in Afghanistan or Pakistan, by faceless and nameless intelligence agents who hit them, water-boarded them, kept them confined in small cages, and kept them awake for days on end — then shipped them half-way around the world to Guantanamo Bay. And there they were questioned again and again, until any and every last shred of sense or secrets was wrung from their tortured bodies and tormented minds. Now these men linger in cells and caged communal areas, watching daytime soap operas and reading the few books that are allowed in.
For the prison authorities, running the camps is simple: follow the rules and detainees get very few benefits; break the rules and detainees are deprived of all but the most basic needs; and refuse to eat and be tortured with the inhumane force-feeding regimen.
Yes, the rate of detainee releases and transfers has increased in the past three months. There were 779 men held in Guantanamo since January 2002, now 122 remain.
Six years is too long to wait for Obama’s order to take effect. And 13 years in jail without charge is criminal.
