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Four months after the September 11, 2001 attack, the United States established a heavily guarded prison at its Guantanamo Bay base.
Since then, “Gitmo” has held up to 780 detainees who are prisoners of the so-called “war on terror.” 39 are left today.
This offshore prison was built during the presidency of George W. Bush to detain suspected al-Qaeda members who were arrested during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
To date, of the 780 detainees, 732 have been acquitted and many of them have no legal means to challenge their detention after more than ten years of detention.
Where is Guantanamo Bay?
The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located at the eastern end of Cuba. It covers an area of ​​116 square kilometers (45 square miles) and has been under the control of the United States since the end of the 19th century.
The base is a hotly debated issue between the United States and Cuba. For decades, Cuba insisted that the United States return the territory it seized by force in 1898, and subsequently leased it permanently from the government of Cuba’s first President Thomas Estrada Palma in 1903.
(Al Jazeera)The prison complex was originally set up as a temporary detention facility in 2002, known as the “X-ray camp”, and now includes seven detention camps, which are labeled according to the order of construction. According to the US military, all the remaining detainees are in camps 5 and 6.
Detainees by nationality
Since January 11, 2002, Guantanamo Bay has held at least 780 detainees from 48 countries.According to reports, only 16 people have been charged with criminal offences Human Rights Watch.
(Al Jazeera)According to the New York Times, the countries with the highest number of detainees include: Afghanistan (219), Saudi Arabia (134), Yemen (115), Pakistan (72) and Algeria (23) Guantanamo File Tracker.
The youngest detainee is only 15 years old Omar Kader, A Canadian citizen, was released in 2015 after 13 years in custody.
In 2017, the Canadian government paid Kader a settlement of 10.5 million Canadian dollars (8.1 million US dollars) and formally apologized for any role the government played in the abuse he suffered as a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay.
The oldest prisoner still in custody is 73-year-old Saifullah Paracha, a Pakistani national who has been detained without charge for the past 17 years.
In May, the United States approved Paracha’s release, only to conclude that he was “not a constant threat” to the United States. According to his lawyer, Paracha may return home in the next few months.
What happened to the 780 detainees?
Since 2002, 732 Guantanamo detainees have been sent home or to other countries through prisoner transfer agreements. 39 more are still being held. Nine people died in custody.
(Al Jazeera)The most detained countries include: Afghanistan (203), Saudi Arabia (140), Pakistan (63), Oman (30) and the UAE (24). Guantanamo File.
Of the remaining 39 detainees, 17 are held indefinitely and transfer is not recommended, 10 are eligible for transfer if safety conditions are met, 10 have been charged by the US military, and 2 have been convicted.
Close the prison
Spanning four presidents and nearly 20 years, this world’s most notorious detention center has become a symbol of human rights violations.
Several international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, have repeatedly condemned so-called human rights violations, including harsh interrogation methods that critics believe amount to torture.
(Al Jazeera)In 2006, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that the United States should close the Guantanamo Bay Prison as soon as possible and support the key conclusions of the independent team appointed by the United Nations.
During his presidency, George W. Bush stated that he wanted Guantanamo Bay to be closed, but it was not easy.
His successor, Barack Obama, promised to close the detention center in Guantanamo and signed an executive order the day after he took office to close it within a year. This never happened.
In 2018, former President Donald Trump vowed to keep the prison open and signed his own executive order, overturning Obama’s order.
President Joe Biden reiterated the Obama administration’s efforts to close the prison. In July 2021, Moroccan prisoner Abdul Latif Nasser (Abdul Latif Nasser) became the first detainee transferred under the Biden administration. Since 2002, he has been detained by the United States without being charged.
Approximately 540 detainees were released during the Bush presidency (2001-2009), approximately 200 during the Obama administration (2009-2017), and 1 during the Trump presidency (2017-2021) One was released during Biden’s current presidency.
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