Report shows that the 30 remaining detainees at the infamous US prison at Guantanamo Bay are allegedly subjected to ongoing cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that violates international law, according to the first UN investigator permitted inside the facility.
Fionnuala N’Aoláin, the UN Special Rapporteur on the facility, released a report on it and told reporters in New York that significant changes have been made since the prison’s use of torture came to light, but she emphasized that the 30 remaining inmates are still dealing with their past experiences.
read more:US prisons described as ‘hellholes’
The UN inspector reserved some of her harshest criticism for the fact that 19 of the 30 detainees—some of whom have been held in the military camp for 20 years—have never been charged with any crime.
Their predicament, according to her, is extremely worrying.
The post-9/11 CIA torture program, which has become a barrier for some of the detainees facing trial, made the issue worse.
The UN inspector claimed that some of the men’s continued detention was not due to any perceived ongoing threat, but rather because the authorities were unwilling to face the repercussions of the torture and other cruel treatment to which the detainees had been subjected.
The use of torture, according to the UN inspector, had also been a betrayal of the victims’ rights. He demanded an apology and assurances that the abuses wouldn’t happen again.
She added that because they have not yet received adequate torture rehabilitation, the detainees’ prior experiences with torture continue to affect them today, seemingly without end.
The remaining 30 detainees continue to endure harsh treatment, which includes ongoing observation, forcible cell removal, and the inappropriate application of restraints.
The UN celebrated its annual International Day in Support of Torture Victims on Monday.
The US State Department issued a statement in which it reiterated its opposition to torture in all places and at all times. Additionally, it supports those who have been tortured and their survivors all over the world.
The announcement was made as the Biden administration sought Julian Assange’s extradition for his role in disclosing US war crimes.
Since April 2019, Assange has been incarcerated at Belmarsh Prison in London without being charged.
Assange is being subjected to prolonged psychological torture, according to Professor Nils Melzer, a former Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (2016–2022).
The ambassador to the Human Rights Council, Michelle Taylor, provided the US government’s response to the UN report in a one-page letter.
The US was quoted as saying that it thought all UN members should be willing to expose themselves to outside observers.
Taylor continued by saying that the US was certain that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility’s conditions were humane and that they reflected the US’s respect for and defense of the rights of all those in its care.
Abu Zubaydah’s series of meticulous illustrations and writings, which were published in May by the Guardian, provides the most thorough account of the CIA torture to which he and other detainees were subjected to date.
Zubaydah is renowned for being a lifelong prisoner. With no charges against him and no chance of being freed, he is being held at Guantanamo.
Many of the people who were subjected to torture as part of the CIA program continue to suffer from severe trauma and ongoing physical and psychological harm.
US President George W. Bush established the Guantanamo Bay Prison in 2002. Before the population started to decline, Bush’s prison peaked at about 800 prisoners.
President Joe Biden had pledged to shut down the facility, but he hasn’t yet offered a strategy for doing so.
Biden’s failure to follow through on his promise to close the prison, leaving the inmates to languish in the infamous offshore detention center with no end in sight, has angered human rights advocates more and more.
Both international critics and American experts have focused on the case of America’s hypocritical actions in the area of human rights.
Nobody is unaware of America’s egregious crimes against humanity, which include the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan as well as the brutal torture carried out in the prisons at Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo Bay.
Of course, the United States has the worst record when it comes to human rights because of its unwavering support for Israel.
