The U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay Cuba was turned into a prison following the attacks of 11 September 2001. It's been open for 15 years in all that time not a single prisoner has been tried in a court of law. Most of those held there have been released after it was determined that they either weren't terrorists, had any connection to terrorism or were low level operatives with no intelligence value. Many of the prisoners held at the facility were victims of
rendition others ended up incarcerated at Guantanamo thanks to
bounties offered by the U.S. government for the capture of
suspected terrorists. Once there a number of detainees were
subjected to torture which violated their rights as prisoners.
779 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo Bay of those
678 have been released to 56 countries. It can't be stated enough. None of these men were ever charged, tried or convicted of a crime associated with terrorism.
Why was Guantanamo Bay chosen as the facility to hold these terror suspects? Because it was viewed as being outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.
From the Guardian:
2002
The first 20 detainees arrive from Afghanistan on 11 January. The world is shocked by pictures from Camp X-ray of men in orange jumpsuits kneeling in wire mesh cages outdoors. Vice-President Dick Cheney describes the prisoners as “the worst of a very bad lot” and “devoted to killing millions of Americans”.
2003
Prison population hits a peak of 697 detainees in May.
2004
The “Tipton three” – Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2001 by a local warlord – are released without charge and flown back to Britain.
2005
Moazzam Begg, a British citizen detained in Pakistan in 2002 as a suspected member of al-Qaida, is released and continues to advocate for detainees through the organisation Cage Prisoners.
2006
A UN report recommends the closure of Guantánamo Bay prison.
