Another broken promise to close Guantanamo. prison
I was held in the Guantanamo detention center for 14 years without being charged with any crime. I was sent there when I was 19 years old. I didn’t know why I was being held, what I had done to deserve imprisonment, or when I would be released.
Like many other people at Guantanamo, I believed that the United States forces who held me would hold to their ideals of law and justice and give me the right to defend myself and prove my innocence. This never happened.
Instead, I was subjected to torture and constant harassment. I fought to be treated humanely and get basic human rights and was released after 14 years. Throughout my imprisonment, I imagined that one day the world would know what happened to us and demand accountability and justice. I thought once people found out, they would shut this pathetic place down.
It’s been almost nine years since I was released. All this time, I have not stopped writing and giving interviews about what happened to me. The world knows, and yet, Guantanamo is still functioning.
Earlier this month, we celebrated the 23rd anniversary of its creation. Today we are celebrating the last day in office of another American President who promised to shut it down but didn’t. After all the reports, media reports, documentaries, books etc. from the UN and various human rights organisations, one wonders – why is this symbol of injustice still standing?
Guantanamo was established after 9/11, a tragic event that deeply shook the world. In its wake, the US launched the so-called global “War on Terror”, a campaign that was ostensibly aimed at countering terrorism, but in reality, it legitimized torture, undermined international law and persecuted entire religious communities. Made inhuman.
Located on the island of Cuba, outside US legal jurisdiction, the Guantanamo detention center was deliberately designed to circumvent constitutional protections and international norms, becoming a place where detainees were held indefinitely without charge or trial. could go.
The concept of indefinite detention is a direct affront to the principles of justice. Detaining individuals without charge or trial violates the foundation of legal systems around the world. This deprives detainees of the opportunity to defend themselves and forces them to suffer for years – sometimes decades – without redress.
Guantanamo became the template for other forms of extrajudicial detention, torture, and human rights abuses around the world. The prison’s legacy is evident in the proliferation of CIA black sites, the normalization of Islamophobia, and the erosion of international norms designed to protect human dignity.
The global war on terror – whose most notorious symbol is Guantanamo – institutionalized policies that dehumanized Muslims. It promoted Islamophobic rhetoric, justified aggressive surveillance programs, and stigmatized entire communities as potential threats.
In all this the US took the lead and many states followed, using the rhetoric of the US “war on terrorism” to justify attacks on entire communities. The consequences have been devastating for Muslims and other vulnerable communities.
At its peak, Guantanamo held approximately 680 men and boys, many of whom were sold as “terrorists” to the US military in exchange for remuneration. This is what happened to me.
As of today, 15 men remain in Guantanamo. Some have been approved for release, but remain in limbo, a testament to the failure of American systems to uphold the most basic human rights. For these people, every day is a continuation of psychological and physical suffering – a state of being neither free nor formally imposed.
We have heard many promises that Guantanamo will be closed for the last 16 years. US President Barack Obama signed an executive order ordering the closure of the facility on his second day in office in 2009. Then-Vice President Joe Biden was standing right next to him and applauding. When Biden became President in 2021, he made the same promise and also broke it.
The prison still operates at an annual cost of approximately $540 million.
The continued operation of Guantanamo is not only a policy failure but a moral stain on the United States. This stands as a clear contradiction to the ideals of freedom, justice, and human rights that America claims to support. Its existence undermines US credibility on the global stage and encourages authoritarian regimes to justify their own abuses.
With each anniversary of Guantanamo’s opening, I look forward to the international community waking up and demanding action to close the military prison, provide justice to its victims, and ensure accountability for those responsible for its creation and perpetuation. Am. Every year I feel disappointed.
The Guantanamo military prison is much more than a crime against its detainees and their families. For more than two decades, it has been a symbol of systematic torture, arbitrary detention and the weakening of the global human rights regime. Guantanamo violates the Geneva Conventions and contains elements of crimes against humanity through the systematic mistreatment of predominantly Muslim detainees.
As a new administration takes office in Washington, I have the same message for them that I had for their predecessors:
Close Guantanamo. Close the facility and end the practice of indefinite detention.
Secure justice. Release those cleared for transfer and give the rest the right to a fair trial.
Ensure accountability. Investigate and hold accountable those responsible for authorizing torture, extrajudicial detention, and other ill-treatment.
Admit and apologize. Issue a formal acknowledgment and apology for the injustice done.
Provide compensation. To provide compensation for losses suffered by former prisoners.
Closing Guantanamo does not just mean closing a physical location; It’s about closing a dark chapter in history. It is about affirming the principles of justice, dignity and human rights, which should be upheld for all people, regardless of their origin or beliefs. Guantanamo should not see another anniversary.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
