ICRC reports inmates 'accelerated aging' in infamous US Guantanamo Bay

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Apr 2023 12:23
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The ICRC urges Washington to resolve the fate of the Guantanamo Bay inmates and to transfer out those who are eligible.

People in orange jumpsuits protest against the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, outside of the US Capitol in Washington, on April 5, 2023 (Reuters)

Inmates who have been held for years in the Guantanamo Bay US military prison in Cuba are showing signs of "accelerated aging", a senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed on Friday.

"We're calling on the U.S. administration and Congress to work together to find adequate and sustainable solutions to address these issues," said Patrick Hamilton, the ICRC's head of delegation for the United States and Canada.

"Action should be taken as a matter of priority," Hamilton underlined.

His comments came after a visit to the military prison in March following a 20-year hiatus.

The head of the ICRC delegation expressed that he was "struck by how those who are still detained today are experiencing the symptoms of accelerated ageing, worsened by the cumulative effects of their experiences and years spent in detention."

Hamilton called for providing inmates with adequate mental and physical health care and more frequent family contact, urging Washington to resolve their fate and to transfer out those who were eligible.

On its part, the US Defense Department claimed that it "is currently reviewing the report," a Pentagon spokesperson said.

The Guantanamo Bay military prison was established by Republican President George W. Bush in 2002 after the US launched its so-called "war on terror" following the 9/11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

In 2009, then-US President Barack Obama signed an executive order to try to get the prison to close down, but Congress later rejected the bid under the pretext of financial reasons.

Donald Trump then suspended the executive order in 2018, but the prison welcomed no new detainees during his mandate.

The prison illustrates the abuses and violations committed by the US under its so-called "war on terror" due to the severe interrogation procedures that critics say amounted to torture.

When US President Joe Biden assumed office in 2021, there were 40 inmates in the military prison. Biden's administration has claimed that it plans to shut down the facility but hasn't come up with a plan to do so.

In late February, the Pentagon announced that two Pakistani brothers, Mohammed Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani, 53, and Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani, 55, were released and repatriated from the Guantanamo Bay military prison after more than 20 years in detention.

In early January, America's director at Amnesty International, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said the Biden administration must take action to shut down once and for all the prison.

According to The New York Times, at least three inmates are currently held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison under "indefinite law-of-war detention" and are not recommended for transfer. All three of them had previously been tortured as part of the CIA's "black sites" program, The Times said.

After considering several possibilities such as detaining, deporting, or prosecuting them, one senior official remarked, "Why don't we just kill them?"
A new book exposes the #CIA's rendition and torture techniques, linking them to the practices of #AbuGhraib prison authorities. pic.twitter.com/o2h2A2uDKl
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 13, 2022

Another 17 inmates are held under the law of war but are eligible to be moved if specific security criteria are met. Ten inmates have been charged under the military commission's system, with only one convicted, while the others remain uncharged.

It is noteworthy that in 2002, seven inmates who were brought to the facility died there.

While the US Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that inmates have the right to challenge their imprisonment through habeas corpus, only one inmate has won such a case.