U.N. Wants Guantanamo Closed

A U.N. human rights report has been published regarding the American base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.N. demanded that the base be shut down immediately by either releasing detainees or by bringing them to trial, because of the torture and the cruel degrading treatment.

In a response to these accusations, the U.S. ambassador stated that the evidences were poorly taken into account and that the U.N. representatives refused to visit the Guantanamo detention facility because they were denied interviews with the prisoners.

The report was based on statements from former detainees, on public documents, media reports and lawyers. Also, an important source for this report was the questionnaire filled by the U.S. government.

Normally, a detainee has the right to challenge his detention before an outside judicial body, but, in this case, the U.S. executive has the role of prosecutor, defense lawyer and judge; this is a serious violation for the human rights.

The report also mentions that some of the prosecutors may have been involved in the tortures and humiliations. Accorded to Associated Press, charges have been filled against 10 detainees of the over 500 held in Guantanamo for suspicion of links to the Al-Qaeda group.