Document - USA: Guantánamo reports worrying

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PRESS RELEASE

News Flash

AI Index: AMR 51/080/2006 (Public)

News Service No: 130

19 May 2006

USA: Guantánamo reports worrying

Reports of inmates attacking guards at Guantánamo Bay are worrying not least because the camp is still effectively sealed off to the outside world - including to human rights groups.

For months we have been expressing strong concern that the sheer hopelessness of their situation is forcing Guantánamo prisoners to consider taking their lives rather than endure years behind bars without justice or access to the outside world.

As the UN said only yesterday, the US authorities should immediately close down Guantánamo and either release prisoners or bring them before proper courts on the US mainland.

They also need to allow independent medical experts into the camp as a matter of urgency to ensure that a full range of medical and psychiatric treatment is available.

Public Document

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