Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
What is Guantanamo Bay?(1)(10)(11)(12)
Guantanamo Bay (also commonly known as Gitmo or GTMO) is a high security detention camp run by the US military and is located in the southern part of Cuba around the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Guantanamo Bay was established in the early 70's in order to hold refugees of Haiti and Cuba but then later after the 9/11 attacks, the US government reestablished GTMO to be a detention camp where people suspected to be related to the 9/11 attacks or acts of terrorism were held.
Although GTMO appears to be used properly to hold those that pose a threat to society, it has received a lot of notice from many human rights organizations as many of the methods of interrogation used are deemed to be "inhumane" and "abusive" and may go against many human rights. This debate on Guantanamo Bay has brought on many issues and Barrack Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay in 2008 and renewed these vows in January of 2015, and yet very minimal actions have been taken in order to shut down GTMO. In order to motivate the close of GTMO, detainees participated in two major hunger strikes in 2005 and 2013 where many detainees refused to eat and many had to be force fed through tubes. These strikes were reported but as of December 2013, the US military stated that they would no longer be releasing information on the hunger strikes as they serve no purpose.
Guantanamo Bay (also commonly known as Gitmo or GTMO) is a high security detention camp run by the US military and is located in the southern part of Cuba around the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Guantanamo Bay was established in the early 70's in order to hold refugees of Haiti and Cuba but then later after the 9/11 attacks, the US government reestablished GTMO to be a detention camp where people suspected to be related to the 9/11 attacks or acts of terrorism were held.
Although GTMO appears to be used properly to hold those that pose a threat to society, it has received a lot of notice from many human rights organizations as many of the methods of interrogation used are deemed to be "inhumane" and "abusive" and may go against many human rights. This debate on Guantanamo Bay has brought on many issues and Barrack Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay in 2008 and renewed these vows in January of 2015, and yet very minimal actions have been taken in order to shut down GTMO. In order to motivate the close of GTMO, detainees participated in two major hunger strikes in 2005 and 2013 where many detainees refused to eat and many had to be force fed through tubes. These strikes were reported but as of December 2013, the US military stated that they would no longer be releasing information on the hunger strikes as they serve no purpose.
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Torture Techniques Used in Guantanamo Bay(2)
To begin one prisoner by the name of Majid Khan has been held in GTMO since 2003 when he was captured in Karachi, Pakistan and was accused of being in alliance with al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks. While attending one of many arraignments in 2012, Khan admitted to taking orders from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the head members involved in the 9/11 attacks. Khan admitted to delivering $ 50 000 to an al-Qaeda contact in Thailand and the money was used to fund a suicide attack on J.W. Marriott hotel where many people were killed and injured, but Khan stated that he was not aware of where the money was going. During his time in GTMO, Khan has undergone many torture techniques such as:
- Being waterboarded in 2003 two times
- Being hung from a wooden board and not being fed for three days
- Spending most of 2003 in darkness
- Being held in solitary confinement for almost two years
These are just a few techniques reported by Khan, however GTMO has used many other techniques along with the ones Khan faced. A few techniques used by GTMO include:
To begin one prisoner by the name of Majid Khan has been held in GTMO since 2003 when he was captured in Karachi, Pakistan and was accused of being in alliance with al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks. While attending one of many arraignments in 2012, Khan admitted to taking orders from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the head members involved in the 9/11 attacks. Khan admitted to delivering $ 50 000 to an al-Qaeda contact in Thailand and the money was used to fund a suicide attack on J.W. Marriott hotel where many people were killed and injured, but Khan stated that he was not aware of where the money was going. During his time in GTMO, Khan has undergone many torture techniques such as:
- Being waterboarded in 2003 two times
- Being hung from a wooden board and not being fed for three days
- Spending most of 2003 in darkness
- Being held in solitary confinement for almost two years
These are just a few techniques reported by Khan, however GTMO has used many other techniques along with the ones Khan faced. A few techniques used by GTMO include:
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Waterboarding(5)
Waterboarding is a process in which a person is lain on a board that is tilted with their feet higher up than their heads and a cloth is placed over their mouth and face. After putting the cloth on the persons face, water is poured over the cloth continuously in order to simulate drowning and to cause pain to the detainee. Each time water is poured it is poured for approximately 40 seconds at a time and is usually done more than once per interrogation.
Waterboarding is a process in which a person is lain on a board that is tilted with their feet higher up than their heads and a cloth is placed over their mouth and face. After putting the cloth on the persons face, water is poured over the cloth continuously in order to simulate drowning and to cause pain to the detainee. Each time water is poured it is poured for approximately 40 seconds at a time and is usually done more than once per interrogation.
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Rectal Feeding and Rehydration(5)
Rectal feeding and rehydration is the process in which a tube is inserted into a person through their rectum and food is funneled through the tube and into the intestines. According to CIA information 5 detainees were forced to be endure rectal feeding and rectal rehydration. One of these prisoners was mentioned earlier in relation to waterboarding, Majid Khan. Khan states in a CIA report that his lunch that consisted of pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins and hummus was "purred and rectally infused".
Confinement in a Box(5)
One man by the name of Abu Zubaydah was forced to be placed in a confined box and this box would then result in the restriction of all movement of the subject. Zubaydah stated in a CIA report that he was placed in one of these boxes during an intense interrogation in 2002 and he states that this box made it difficult to breathe and also opened up wounds on his legs. The CIA also considered using insects in the box since Zubaydah had a phobia of them but then later decided against it.
The Use of Cold Water(5)
Many detainees report being subjected to showers with extremely cold water. One man by the name Walid bin Attash stated that after being forcefully showered with cold water, his body was then wrapped in plastic so that the cold water stays on the body and this was endured for several minutes. In one case, a man by the name of Gul Rahman died of hypothermia in his cell as he was left naked from the waist down in his cell after enduring a cold shower.
Rectal feeding and rehydration is the process in which a tube is inserted into a person through their rectum and food is funneled through the tube and into the intestines. According to CIA information 5 detainees were forced to be endure rectal feeding and rectal rehydration. One of these prisoners was mentioned earlier in relation to waterboarding, Majid Khan. Khan states in a CIA report that his lunch that consisted of pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins and hummus was "purred and rectally infused".
Confinement in a Box(5)
One man by the name of Abu Zubaydah was forced to be placed in a confined box and this box would then result in the restriction of all movement of the subject. Zubaydah stated in a CIA report that he was placed in one of these boxes during an intense interrogation in 2002 and he states that this box made it difficult to breathe and also opened up wounds on his legs. The CIA also considered using insects in the box since Zubaydah had a phobia of them but then later decided against it.
The Use of Cold Water(5)
Many detainees report being subjected to showers with extremely cold water. One man by the name Walid bin Attash stated that after being forcefully showered with cold water, his body was then wrapped in plastic so that the cold water stays on the body and this was endured for several minutes. In one case, a man by the name of Gul Rahman died of hypothermia in his cell as he was left naked from the waist down in his cell after enduring a cold shower.
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Beatings and Threats(3)(5)
While being held in GTMO many detainees have had to face approved methods of physical contact such as "facial holds", "insult slaps" and "attention grasps". In a diary written by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Slahi recalls one of his beatings and states:
"By now the chains on my ankles were cutting off the blood to my feet. My feet became numb. I heard only the moaning and crying of other detainees. Beating was the order of the trip. I was not spared: the guard kept hitting me on my head and squeezing my neck against the rear end of the other detainee. But I don’t blame him as much as I do that poor and painful detainee, who was crying and kept moving, and so kept raising my head"
While being held in GTMO many detainees have had to face approved methods of physical contact such as "facial holds", "insult slaps" and "attention grasps". In a diary written by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Slahi recalls one of his beatings and states:
"By now the chains on my ankles were cutting off the blood to my feet. My feet became numb. I heard only the moaning and crying of other detainees. Beating was the order of the trip. I was not spared: the guard kept hitting me on my head and squeezing my neck against the rear end of the other detainee. But I don’t blame him as much as I do that poor and painful detainee, who was crying and kept moving, and so kept raising my head"
Stress Positions(5)
A stress position is essentially a position a person must remain in for an extended period of time that puts a strain on the muscles and is used to cause muscle fatigue, discomfort and exhaustion. One example of a stress position is when 10 suspects were shackled to the ceiling for up to three days and were forced to go to the bathroom on themselves and were left standing in their own excrement.
Sleep Deprivation(5)
Sleep deprivation is a technique in which the detainee is forced to remain awake and not allowed to sleep. In order to carry out this technique many other techniques are also used such as stress positions. There are many ways the CIA carries out sleep deprivation. One technique is to loud music or white noise for 24 hours a day and also made sure the cells were kept very cold so the detainees were not able to sleep. The detainees are supposed to be kept awake for 180 hours according to the GTMO agency but the Justice department states that the detainees were only kept awake for a maximum of 96 hours.
Forced Nudity and Restricted Diets(5)
The CIA's reasoning for forcing the detainees to be nude was that by embarrassing the detainees it helped the detainees understand how helpless they are and how the CIA has all control over them. They used it in order to create dominance over the detainees. By restricting the diets of the detainees, it helped increase the effectiveness of other techniques such as sleep deprivation. By feeding the detainees bland liquids it makes it harder for the detainees to stay awake, so when they are forced to stay awake it increases the level of dominance the CIA has over the detainees.
Why Do They Interrogate?
The main reason GTMO used these interrogation techniques is because they need some sort of information from it's detainees and from this they can use this information to solve the cases the detainees are related to.
A stress position is essentially a position a person must remain in for an extended period of time that puts a strain on the muscles and is used to cause muscle fatigue, discomfort and exhaustion. One example of a stress position is when 10 suspects were shackled to the ceiling for up to three days and were forced to go to the bathroom on themselves and were left standing in their own excrement.
Sleep Deprivation(5)
Sleep deprivation is a technique in which the detainee is forced to remain awake and not allowed to sleep. In order to carry out this technique many other techniques are also used such as stress positions. There are many ways the CIA carries out sleep deprivation. One technique is to loud music or white noise for 24 hours a day and also made sure the cells were kept very cold so the detainees were not able to sleep. The detainees are supposed to be kept awake for 180 hours according to the GTMO agency but the Justice department states that the detainees were only kept awake for a maximum of 96 hours.
Forced Nudity and Restricted Diets(5)
The CIA's reasoning for forcing the detainees to be nude was that by embarrassing the detainees it helped the detainees understand how helpless they are and how the CIA has all control over them. They used it in order to create dominance over the detainees. By restricting the diets of the detainees, it helped increase the effectiveness of other techniques such as sleep deprivation. By feeding the detainees bland liquids it makes it harder for the detainees to stay awake, so when they are forced to stay awake it increases the level of dominance the CIA has over the detainees.
Why Do They Interrogate?
The main reason GTMO used these interrogation techniques is because they need some sort of information from it's detainees and from this they can use this information to solve the cases the detainees are related to.