Guantanamo Bay detention camp

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was set up in 2002 by President George W. Bush to hold people thought to be involved with terrorism after the September 11 attacks. People from many countries have been held there over the years.

After the September 11 attacks, the United States worked to stop groups that planned harmful acts. The camp was made to hold people without normal court hearings. Some people were held for many years without being formally charged. There has been much debate about whether the people held there were treated fairly and given their rights.

The detention camp has been talked about a lot and many people disagree about it. Some leaders have wanted to close it, while others want to keep it open. As of January 2025, a small number of people still remain at the camp. The camp has also been used to hold people who entered the country without permission, which has caused more debate about how these individuals should be treated.

History

During the Spanish–American War in 1898, U.S. forces took control of Cuba. In 1903, the U.S. and Cuba made an agreement allowing the U.S. to use land at Guantanamo Bay for a naval base. This base has been used by the U.S. ever since.

In 2002, after the events of September 11, the U.S. opened a special prison at Guantanamo Bay to hold people suspected of terrorism. The prison was run by a special military team. Over time, many people were held there, and some were later sent away or moved to other places. There have been many discussions about how the prison should be run and whether it should stay open.

Camp facilities

Camp Delta was a large place to keep people. It had 612 rooms and was finished in April 2002. It had several parts, like Camps 1 through 4 and Camp Echo, for people who were not going to have trials.

Camp X-Ray was a small, short-time place that closed in April 2002. The people there were moved to Camp Delta.

In 2008, there were reports about Camp 7. This was a very safe place for people who were kept in secret prisons before. In April 2021, Camp 7 closed because it was not good, and the people were moved to Camp 5.

Camps 5 and 6 were built in 2003–04 and looked like places with strong security. Camp 5 closed in 2016 to become a place for the health of the people, but it opened again in April 2021 for some people from Camp 7. Camp 6 is for people who have not had trials.

Camp conditions and testimonies of abuse and torture

Reports say the conditions at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp were very hard, and some people were treated badly. Some health workers were said to have helped with harsh interrogation methods, which was wrong.

Some former prisoners said they were treated unfairly because of their religion.

The camp has been criticized for how prisoners were treated. Some people think prisoners should be treated fairly until any fighting stops. Others think the camp was needed to hold people who might do harmful things.

Testimonies of treatment

Some former prisoners talked about their time at the camp. They said they felt very sad and were treated harshly.

Reported suicides

There were reports of prisoners who died while in the camp. This led to many talks about how prisoners were treated and if they felt they had hope.

Torture

Inspectors from an international group visited the camp and said they saw prisoners being treated in very hard ways.

There were stories from former prisoners about how they were treated.

Safety concerns

Some reports said prisoners were treated in ways that made them feel very ashamed about their beliefs. This was very upsetting and caused a lot of sadness.

Operating procedures

A manual called "Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedure" was shared on WikiLeaks. It helps guide how Guantánamo Bay is run and how people are treated there. It was signed by Major General Geoffrey D. Miller and is now part of a legal case led by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In 2008, it was reported that some U.S. military trainers used ideas from an old study about how to resist being questioned. These ideas were later used when questioning people at Guantánamo Bay. This caused discussions and investigations about why these methods were used.

Camp detainees

Main article: List of Guantanamo Bay detainees

Since January 2002, many men have been brought to Guantanamo Bay. Afghans were the largest group, followed by people from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, and Algeria. Overall, people from 50 different countries were held there.

Although some were captured fighting in Afghanistan, many were captured by others and brought to Guantanamo. Some were sold for money by people in the area.

Eight men have died in the prison camp. Some reports say they took their own lives, but many people have questioned these reports.

An estimated 17 to 22 minors under the age of 18 and 3 under the age of 16 were detained at Guantanamo Bay.

In July 2005, many detainees were moved out of Guantanamo. Some were released without charge, and others were sent to other countries.

By May 2011, 600 detainees had been released. Most were sent home or to other countries.

As of June 2013, 46 detainees were to be held indefinitely because they were considered too dangerous to transfer, but there was not enough evidence to try them.

After the release of Saifullah Paracha in October 2022, 35 prisoners remained, 20 of which had been cleared for release, pending identification of a suitable country.

As of 20 April 2023, 30 detainees remained at Guantanamo Bay.

The fates of former detainees after their release from Guantanamo are mixed. Many have tried to return to normal life in their home countries. Some have sought and won refugee status away from their home country. Some have been arrested and jailed in their home countries after being returned.

High-value prisoners

In September 2006, President Bush announced that 14 important suspects were to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay from secret prisons overseas. These people include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, believed to be a key leader before he was captured; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an alleged would-be 9/11 hijacker; and Abu Zubaydah, who was believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and many groups.

On 11 February 2008, the U.S. military charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, Ali Abd Al-Aziz Ali and Walid bin Attash with committing the September 11 attacks.

Once the three inmates are transferred, this will reduce the remaining number of detainees to 27.

Government and military inquiries

In 2006, some senior law enforcement agents shared their worries about how people were treated at the prison. They believed these methods were not helpful, might not give true information, and could be against the law. When they could not get help from army leaders, they asked a top navy lawyer for assistance.

The lawyer and another navy expert thought the treatment was against the law. They spoke to many top lawyers and leaders in the country’s defense department, asking them to look into it and create clear rules against using force in questioning.

Later, a group was formed to make new questioning rules. These rules were based on a famous legal document. One lawyer who helped form the group disagreed with the new rules and spoke about his concerns. Even though some people opposed the rules, they were sent to the prison without their knowledge. This lawyer believes that after the rules changed in January 2003, the treatment followed the law.

In 2005, a report from a high-level military investigation mentioned claims of harsh treatment of prisoners. Some agents from a government agency wrote about things they saw that they felt were wrong.

In June 2005, a group from the United States government visited the prison and said it was well-run. However, some members were unhappy because they were not allowed to speak with the lawyers of the people held there.

In 2009, a report said that some government leaders had asked for strong methods when questioning people, changed the law to allow it, and let these methods be used. The report said these actions made it harder to get true information, helped the country’s enemies, and hurt the country’s reputation.

Main article: Senate Armed Services Committee Report on Detainee Treatment

Legal issues

President Bush's military order

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Congress gave the President of the United States powers to fight terrorism. Some advisors said the President must follow international rules. Others said the President could hold some detainees without normal court oversight.

In November 2001, President George W. Bush signed an order to hold detainees and try them in special military courts.

Rasul v. Bush (2004)

In 2002, detainees at Guantanamo asked U.S. courts to check if their detention was legal. A U.S. judge said they couldn’t access U.S. courts. Another court agreed.

In June 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the detainees could ask U.S. courts to review their detention.

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)

To decide if detainees were enemies, special reviews were created. Some judges said these reviews didn’t follow proper rules. The Supreme Court later said the reviews didn’t meet international standards.

Boumediene v. Bush (2008)

Congress later tried to stop detainees from asking courts for help. In June 2008, the Supreme Court said detainees still had the right to ask U.S. courts to review their cases.

Other court rulings

In March 2006, the U.S. government released the names of some detainees. A French judge delayed a trial for six men, saying more information was needed about how they were treated.

Access to counsel

In 2012, new rules were created to restrict when lawyers could meet with their clients at Guantanamo. A U.S. judge rejected these rules, saying lawyers should still have access under earlier court orders.

International law

In 2004, Cuba asked the United Nations to investigate Guantanamo. In 2007, a UN expert said the United States broke international rules by not giving detainees certain rights. Some groups said the U.S. didn’t follow proper international agreements for prisoners of war.

Lease agreement for Guantanamo

The Guantanamo base is on land leased by Cuba to the United States since 1903. Cuba has argued this lease isn’t valid, but the U.S. continues to use the base under the terms of the original agreement.

Guantanamo military commission

Main article: Guantanamo military commission

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the U.S. President said that some people who were not U.S. citizens could be held and tried by military authorities. This meant people the government thought were involved in terrorism could be detained and tried in military courts, not regular courts.

In 2006, new laws were passed letting the President call certain individuals “unlawful enemy combatants.” This label meant they would face trials in military commissions with fewer rights than in normal trials.

In 2007, the place where these military trials happened was sometimes called “Camp Justice.” It was planned as a big, permanent building but became a smaller, temporary setup.

Reporters covering these trials had to follow strict security rules, like not bringing certain items and going through checks. Only a few reporters were allowed in the room at a time, and they watched with a delay to avoid hearing secret information.

Two individuals were convicted in these military trials, but later their convictions were overturned by higher courts.

Release of prisoners

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the release and transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Many people were released from the Guantanamo Bay prison over the years. In 2004, two hundred detainees were released before any reviews of their status were held, including three British citizens known as the Tipton Three.

In July 2004, four French detainees were sent back to France, where they were held by French authorities. The remaining three French detainees were released in March 2005.

Also in 2004, the Tipton Three returned to the UK and were freed by British authorities shortly after their return.

Administrative Review Board

Main article: Administrative Review Board

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay had reviews to check if they should still be held. These reviews looked at what they were accused of doing. The reviews also heard about problems detainees faced while in prison.

The Department of Defence also held yearly reviews to decide if detainees should be released, moved to another country, or kept at Guantanamo. By November 2005, over 350 of the detainees at Guantanamo had these yearly reviews. Some were approved for release, some were to be moved to another country, some were to stay at Guantanamo, and for some no decision had been made yet.

In 2006, a man named Murat Kurnaz, who lived in Germany, was released from Guantanamo after five years without being charged.

President Obama

By June 2009, over 220 detainees were at Guantanamo. The United States worked with other countries to find places for some detainees to go. For example, Saudi Arabia accepted three men, and Bermuda accepted four others.

In December 2009, the U.S. reported that since 2002, over 550 detainees had left Guantanamo and gone to many different countries.

In January 2010, a report suggested releasing some detainees, prosecuting others, and keeping some indefinitely. Since then, over 60 detainees have been moved to other countries.

President Biden

In July 2021, the U.S. released a detainee named Abdul Latif Nasir back to his home country, Morocco. He was the first detainee released since 2016. At that time, 39 detainees were still at Guantanamo.

In spring 2022, three more detainees were released. In fall 2022, the oldest prisoner, Saifullah Paracha, was released.

In January 2025, the United States sent 11 Yemeni prisoners from Guantanamo to a detention facility in Oman. The Omani government agreed to take them as part of efforts to reduce the number of people at Guantanamo.

Subsequent actions of some released detainees

After some people left the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a few of them were later involved in harmful activities.

Some examples include:

Airat Vakhitov and Rustam Akhmyarov were captured in 2001 and released in 2004. They were arrested in 2005 in Russia on suspicions of planning attacks but were later released without charges.
In 2015, two people who had been held at Guantanamo were arrested in Belgium on suspicions related to harmful groups.
Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi, a former detainee, died in a conflict situation in 2008 after being released in 2005.

The exact numbers and details about these cases are debated.

Criticism and condemnation

Many groups and leaders around the world have talked about how people are treated at Guantanamo Bay. Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said that the rules for holding people there do not follow important international agreements. Some leaders from Europe and other places have asked for the prison to be closed, saying it does not match the United States' history of fairness and justice.

Some people who have visited the prison say conditions are better than in some other prisons, but many still believe it should be shut down. The debate about Guantanamo continues, with many people around the world concerned about how the people there are treated.

Plans for closing of camp

President Obama's attempt

When Barack Obama was a candidate for president, he called Guantanamo a "sad chapter in American history" and promised to close the prison in 2009. After becoming president, Obama repeated this promise but faced strong opposition from some members of Congress, which made closing the prison very difficult.

Obama signed an order to close Guantanamo within a year, but later admitted this deadline would be missed. Many plans to move prisoners to other locations faced problems, including lack of proper records about some prisoners and objections from local governments. Despite many efforts, Obama could not fully close the prison before leaving office, though he did reduce the number of prisoners held there.

President Trump's statements

President Donald Trump promised to keep the prison open and use it to hold people accused of terrorism.

President Biden's review

President Joe Biden announced plans to review the camp with the goal of closing it by the end of his term. At that time, there were about 40 prisoners, many of whom had been held for nearly twenty years without trials.

Media representations

Several TV shows, films, and other media have talked about the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. For example, the TV series NCIS: "Minimum Security" looked at a story linked to someone held at the camp. The documentary Frontline: "The Torture Question"_ examined how decisions made after September 11, 2001, affected prison conditions in places like Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and Iraq.

Other films such as The Road to Guantánamo/ and Prisoner 345/ shared stories of people who were detained there. The comedy Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay/ used a funny way to talk about the topic. Documentaries like Witness to Guantanamo/ collect interviews from former detainees and others.

The camp has also appeared in video games. In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist/, players must escape from Guantanamo Bay. Another game, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes/, uses a fictional prison camp inspired by Guantanamo Bay.

Books have covered the topic too, such as Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo by Murat Kurnaz, sharing his story of being held there.

Music has referenced the camp, like in songs from artists such as The Who and Caetano Veloso.

Radio programs have talked about the camp's history. The program This American Life/ discussed legal issues around detentions, and Radiolab/ shared the story of one detainee.

Theater productions such as Good Morning Gitmo/ have used humor to address the camp's existence.

Artistic responses

Artists have made works about the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. In 2006, the artist Banksy put a big picture of someone from Guantanamo inside a Disneyland place. In 2009, artists Nonny de la Peña and Peggy Weil made a digital version of the prison in a world called Second Life. In 2012, artist Ian Alan Paul thought of a pretend museum called the Guantanamo Bay Museum of Art and History to replace the prison. In 2013, artist Molly Crabapple visited the prison and drew pictures of the people there and the buildings.