The use of torture has persisted at the U.S. military-run Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba despite it being banned by both U.S. and international law, according to information obtained by a top United Nations human rights investigator.
These allegations come nearly a decade after the U.S. banned so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques”—torturous practices approved by the George W. Bush administration in the wake of 9/11.
Torture also remains illegal by international law. “This is one of the most fundamental norms of international law, and its violation is listed among the most serious international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Melzer said. “No circumstances, however exceptional and well argued, may be invoked to justify torture.”
Melzer claimed the U.S. is in “clear violation” of international law for “failing to prosecute the crime of torture in CIA custody,” adding, the U.S. has sent “a dangerous message of complacency and impunity to officials in the US and around the world.”
The 759 Guantánamo files, classified “secret”, cover almost every inmate since the camp was opened in 2002. The files depict a system often focused less on containing dangerous terrorists or enemy fighters, than on extracting intelligence.
There are 41 men being held at Guantanamo Bay—26 have never been charged with a crime, and five continue to be held despite being cleared for release, according to a March 2017 report from the American Civil Liberties Union. It costs roughly $7 million per year to hold one detainee at the U.S. military-run detention center. Since it opened in January 2002, Guantanamo Bay—also known as Gitmo—has seen nearly 800 men pass through.
Due to the ugly practices linked to Guantanamo Bay, it has been widely cited as a recruiting poster for terrorism. Jihadist media and propaganda have frequently mentioned the prison.
Sources:
Torture Used by U.S. Military at Guantanamo Bay Despite Being Banned, UN Says
Guantánamo Leaks Lift Lid on World’s Most Controversial Prison
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