Guantánamo suspects want to stay, say officials

Alex Spillius
London Telegraph
Monday, Nov 2nd, 2009

As President Barack Obama’s deadline to close Guantánamo looms, some occupants of the notorious detention centre would rather prolong their stay than be sent to maximum security prisons on the US mainland, according to camp officials.

Despite its reputation, the regime at the Pentagon facility on Cuba’s southern coast offers privileges that would not be enjoyed at the federal “supermax” prison at Florence, Colorado, the likely alternative for the most dangerous al-Qaeda suspects.

Sensitive to criticism that the detention centre was not meeting international standards, the Pentagon has gradually improved living conditions at Guantánamo.

Adm Thomas Copeman, the commander, now confidently describes it as a “model detention facility” in terms of environment, though he refused to be drawn on the policy and legality of detentions that have lasted for nearly eight years, in most cases without trial.

Full article here

Print this page.

Comment Rules

Comments are closed.