The unlawful detention of “enemy combatants” at the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba has now entered its fifth year. Hundreds of people of around 35 different nationalities remain held in effect in a legal black hole, many without access to any court, legal counsel or family visits.
Many of these detainees allege they have been subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In desperation, some detainees have attempted suicide. Others have gone on prolonged hunger strikes, being kept alive only through painful force feeding measures.
Guantánamo Bay has become a symbol of injustice and abuse in the US administration’s “war on terror”. It must be closed down
In depth report Guantánamo and beyond: The continuing pursuit of unchecked executive power
It is over a year since the United States Supreme Court ruled that US courts have the jurisdiction to consider appeals from detainees in Guantánamo Bay. This report shows how the US administration, in seeking to block judicial review every step of the way, has ensured that not a single detainee has had the lawfulness of his detention judicially reviewed. And though over a year since the Abu Ghraib torture scandal broke, the conditions remain in place for torture and ill-treatment, in Guantánamo Bay and beyond, to occur.
Read the full report