bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

A five-minute primer on  an issue making headlines

What and where is Guantanamo Bay?

'Gitmo', as American servicemen quaintly call it, is a US naval station in Cuba  now better known as an interrogation centre for prisoners taken in George W. Bush's 'war on terror'.

The naval station, on the other side of the island from Fidel Castro's capital, Havana, was established in 1898 when the US gained control of Cuba from Spain at the end of the Spanish-American war and with it, a perpetual lease on Gitmo. Each year Washington sends a cheque for US$4,000 to lease the base; each year Dr Castro refuses to cash it in protest at the American presence on the island, which sits just 145km from Florida. The base covers 116 sq  km.

What's the fuss about?

Human rights organisations, including the International Red Cross and Amnesty International, are concerned about reports of torture and abuse of prisoners. There are also questions about the propriety of using an offshore prison and the unclear legal status it causes for the detainees - neither prisoners of war nor common criminals.

What's its history?

Christopher Columbus sailed into the bay on April 30, 1494, and remained overnight. In the early 1990s, the base housed refugees from Haiti and Cuba intercepted on the high seas. The 1992 Tom Cruise movie A Few Good Men was set at Guantanamo Bay.  Cruise defends two marines on a murder charge. Jack Nicholson, as base commander, was nominated for an Academy Award.

In 2002 al-Qaeda and Taleban prisoners captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere were brought to Camp X-Ray, Camp Delta and Camp Echo. As of last month,  the US was holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects. Many have been held for more than three years. Only four have been charged. The US has classified them as 'enemy combatants' and denied them rights accorded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.

The American have a reputation for fair play, so what are the complaints?

Prisoners have alleged they were beaten, tortured, sexually degraded, drugged and forced to bark like a dog. They have been exposed to loud music and extreme temperatures. Former interrogators have told of military doctors advising on how to adjust psychological duress levels and manipulate fears to make detainees more co-operative.

Several Uygur Muslims, from China's far-western Xinjiang region  , have been released from Gitmo but the US has refused to send them back to China in case they are persecuted.

Has there been an official inquiry into conditions?

Yes. A report presented before the Senate Armed Services Committee rejected torture allegations. It concluded that 'creative' interrogation of suspects - including forcing a prisoner to wear women's underwear, dance with another man and undergo interrogation for 20 hours a day - was generally humane but recommended that a former prison commander be punished. The general responsible for the jail rejected the recommendation. The report said: 'At the bottom line, though, we found no torture. Detention and interrogation operations were safe, secure and humane.'

In October 2002, the camp's commander  was dismissed  after being criticised in the press for being too soft on inmates.

What do the US courts say?

In February, a US judge ruled that Guantanamo military tribunals for terrorism suspects are unconstitutional. The Fifth Amendment states that no one under US jurisdiction can be 'deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law'. In January a different judge dismissed the cases of seven prisoners on the grounds they had no recognisable constitutional rights and were subject to military review process. Both cases could go to appeal.

How much does it cost to run?

About US$95 million a year.

Is there any chance the jail will be closed?

Senator Joseph Biden, a top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says the prison is doing the US more harm than good and should be closed. However, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld suggested last month that the Gitmo prison would be needed for years to come.



Guantanamo Bay US Navy base and detention centre