On the 20th anniversary of Guantanamo Bay, human rights advocates have called for the closure of the US military detention facility in Cuba that represents 20 years of ‘injustice’ and ‘abuse.’
In 2002, President George W Bush’s administration opened the prison at an American military base in Cuba. It was meant to deprive detainees of the post-9/11 “war on terror” of the constitutional rights that would otherwise have been granted to them if they enter US jurisdiction.
As an American-owned enclave of a Caribbean island, it muddied the waters in regards to the application of international law and the rules of war to the treatment of prisoners. A reputation of abuse and injustice outside the rule of law developed within the prison over time.
Current US President Joe Biden has pledged to close Guantanamo. However, reports that the facility is building a new, secret courtroom have raised concerns that the new Democrat cabinet may not be committed to closing it. Over the past year, only one prisoner has been transferred out of the facility.
Formerly home to nearly 800 detainees, the facility now houses 39 prisoners, 13 of whom have already been transferred. Most have been held without formal charges.
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