They called it a "legal black hole" and a "stigma".
Experts call for closure of Guantanamo due to human rights violations
One of the detainees is taken for interrogation.
Getty
Independent experts delegated by the United Nations called on the United States yesterday to close the Guantanamo prison, which has witnessed "continuous violations of human rights" since Washington opened it 20 years ago as part of the "war on terror" launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Joint The experts, who were commissioned by the United Nations but who do not speak on its behalf, said that “20 years of arbitrary detention without trial, accompanied by torture or ill-treatment, is simply unacceptable for any government, especially for a government that claims to protect human rights.”
The release of the statement coincided with the 20th anniversary of the entry of the first detainees to Guantanamo on January 10, 2002. Independent experts described this detention center as a "legal black hole" and a "disgrace" for the United States, which is considered a state of law.
The experts appealed to the United States to close this abhorrent chapter of the continuing human rights violations, and called for the repatriation of detainees who are still in Guantanamo, or sent to safe third countries, and to compensate them for acts of torture and arbitrary arrests they were subjected to. In their statement, the experts confirmed that since 2002, nine detainees have died in Guantanamo, including seven that the US authorities said committed suicide without any judicial follow-up in any of these cases.
The experts also called for the prosecution of those responsible for the acts of torture the detainees were subjected to.
During the past 20 years, a total of 780 people were held in Guantanamo, and the majority of them were released after being held for more than 10 years without any judicial charge against them.
Currently, there are only 39 detainees left in Guantanamo, including 13 who have been released, but their deportation is awaiting the approval of their countries of origin or third countries to host them, and 14 other detainees are waiting to benefit from similar release decisions.
As for the remaining 12, only two have been sentenced to prison terms, while the remaining 10 are still awaiting trial.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the US administration "remains committed to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison."
"We are studying ways to move forward," he told reporters.
The issuance of the statement coincided with the 20th anniversary of the entry of the first detainees to Guantanamo on January 10, 2002.
• Since 2002, nine detainees have died in Guantanamo, including seven that the US authorities said were suicides.
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