Guantanamo on the 23rd: What’s next for the ‘lawless’ detention facility? | Human rights news

Washington DC – Detention Center in Guantanamo BayCuba celebrates its 23rd birthday on Saturday.

For Mansour Al-Dhaifi, a former prison inmate, the anniversary marks 23 years of “injustice, lawlessness, abuse of power, torture and indefinite detention.”

Only 15 prisoners remain at the US military prison, known as Guantanamo, which once held about 800 Muslim men — a dwindling number that gives human rights advocates hope the facility will eventually be closed, turning the page on the dark chapter of history it represents. . .

But Adefi, who now works as Guantanamo Project Coordinator at the advocacy group CAGE International, says truly closing Guantanamo would mean justice for current and former detainees.

Al-Adayfi told Al Jazeera: “The United States must admit its mistakes, and must issue an official apology to the victims and survivors.” “There must be reparation, compensation and accountability.”

Guantanamo was opened in 2002 to house prisoners of the so-called “War on Terror”, in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States.

The detainees have been arrested in countries around the world on suspicion of having ties to Al Qaeda and other groups. Many of them were subjected to horrific torture in secret detention facilities, known as black sites, before being transferred to Guantanamo.

At Guantanamo, detainees had few legal rights. Even those approved for release through Guantanamo’s alternative justice system, known as military commissions, remained imprisoned for years with no way to challenge their detention.

Thus, the prison became synonymous with the worst abuses committed by the US government in the post-9/11 era.

In recent weeks, the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden has accelerated the transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo, before his term ends on January 20.

On Monday, the US government released 11 Yemeni detainees He resettled them in Amman. Last month, two prisoners were transferred to Tunisia And Kenya.

‘crazy’

Daphne Eviatar, director of the Security with Human Rights (SWHR) program at Amnesty International USA, said closing the facility was possible.

She said the remaining detainees could be transferred to other countries or to the United States, where they would be subject to the American justice system.

Congress imposed a ban in 2015 on transferring Guantanamo prisoners to US territory. But Eviatar believes the White House can work with lawmakers to lift the ban, especially with so few inmates remaining at the facility.

“It is a symbol of insecurity and Islamophobia,” Eviatar said of Guantanamo.

“It is a complete violation of human rights. For the United States, which has detained so many people for so long without rights, without charge or trial, it is horrific. The fact that this continues today, 23 years later, is crazy.”

Barack Obama had made closing the prison one of his most important promises when he was running for president in 2008, but after taking office, his plans faced strong opposition from Republicans. As the end of his second term approached, Obama expressed his regret On failure To close the facility early in his presidency.

Of the 15 remaining prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, three are eligible for release, according to the Pentagon. Three others could appear before Guantanamo’s Periodic Review Board, which will evaluate the matter Both detainees Safe for transportation.

“We are still hopeful that President Biden will be able to transfer more detainees before he leaves office,” Eviatar told Al Jazeera.

While President-elect Donald Trump previously pledged to keep the prison open, Eviatar said he may view the facility as ineffective.

Plea deals

But the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a Quaker social justice advocacy group, stressed the need for Biden to act before Trump takes office.

“With President-elect Trump staunchly opposed to closing Guantanamo, President Biden’s need to close the prison is more urgent than ever,” Devra Baxter, associate program associate for militarism and human rights at FCNL, said in a statement.

He added: “Closing Guantanamo will only happen by transferring the final three men who have not yet been charged with a crime, and finalizing plea deals with those who have been accused of crimes.”

However, instead of finalizing plea deals for the prisoners, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought to cancel the agreements for three 9/11 suspects, which had been reached with military prosecutors to spare the prisoners the death penalty, in exchange for pleas of guilt.

Now the courts It is evaluated The validity of the agreements and Austin’s veto against them.

Eviatar said Austin’s push to scuttle plea deals amounts to political interference.

“It’s a very strange situation. I don’t understand why the Biden administration, which says it wants to close Guantanamo, would ask the Secretary of Defense to come in and stop the plea agreements. It doesn’t make sense.”

CAGE’s Al-Udaifi said the defeat in plea agreements shows there is no effective justice system at Guantanamo.

“It’s a big joke,” he said. “There is no justice In Guantanamo. There is no law. There is nothing at all. “It is one of the biggest human rights violations of the 21st century.”

Al-Udaifi added that the United States could have its ideals regarding freedom, democracy, human rights or Guantanamo, but not both.

“I think they have Guantanamo,” he said.