Watchdog Says US Guantanamo Prison Remains 'Symbol Of Islamophobia' 17 Years After Opening

Watchdog Says US Guantanamo Prison Remains 'Symbol of Islamophobia' 17 Years After Opening

The US military prison at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay remains a threat to human rights and a symbol of Islamophobia 17 years after its opening, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Thursday in a statement issued on the occasion of the facility's anniversary

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2019) The US military prison at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay remains a threat to human rights and a symbol of Islamophobia 17 years after its opening, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Thursday in a statement issued on the occasion of the facility's anniversary.

Former US President Barack Obama, who was in office from 2009 to 2017, did not send a single detainee to Guantanamo and even initiated its closure, although Congress did not back this initiative. His successor, Donald Trump, had pledged during his presidential campaign to "load" the prison "with some bad dudes," referring primarily to Islamist fighters, and eventually revoked Obama's executive order to close the prison once in office.

"While the prison should have been relegated long ago as an appalling chapter in U.S. history, Guantanamo continues to operate 17 years later as a symbol of Islamophobia that embodies the fear-mongering and xenophobia that defines Trump's presidency," Daphne Eviatar, the director of security with human rights at Amnesty International's US department, said, as quoted in the charity's statement.

She added that by revoking Obama's order to close the prison, Trump had ushered in another era of "horrific" human rights violations.

According to the watchdog, a total of 40 individuals, all of them Muslim, are currently imprisoned in Guantanamo. Amnesty further claimed that many of the prisoners had been tortured, while others had been authorized for transfer to other detention facilities, yet remained in Guantanamo.

"Those who are cleared [for transfer] must be transferred immediately, and all other prisoners should either be charged and fairly tried or released to allow this shameful institution to close permanently," Eviatar said.

Former US President George W. Bush opened the Guantanamo Bay prison in 2002 amid the Global War on Terrorism, which Washington launched following the 9/11 attacks. Since opening, Guantanamo has held a total of over 700 prisoners.