The decision of Donald Trump Of transfer 9000 irregular immigrants – including about 800 European citizens – within the Prison of Guantanamothe prison camp built in the US base of the same name a Cubaone of the most famous in the world and sadly known for repeated violations of human rights established by the Geneva conventions. It is yet another tight on‘immigration implemented by the US President thanks to the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the American Federal Agency that deals with immigration.
Among the people involved there would also seem to be two Italians: the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani However, he reassured that no one Italian citizen will be transferred to the Guantanamo prison, specifying that “there has never been a danger for Italians ».
The story of Guantanamo dates back to 1903when a military base was built inside the bay of the same name which also contained a prison: the major controversies, however, began shortly after the Attacks of 11 September 2001when the Bush administration decided to transfer all the prisoners accused of Islamic matrix terrorism to Guantanamo, mainly coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Precisely during these years they have been recorded serious violations of human rightswith torture and degrading treatments also reported by international organizations such as the UN.
The history of the Guantanamo prison: because it is American
The story of Guantanamo and the military base that contains the prison can be traced back to War ispano-American of 1898: following the conflict, Cuba ceased to be a Spanish colony, transforming himself into an American protectorate for the next 4 years, when the complete autonomy of the island was recognized. However, in 1901 the US President McKinley he published thePlatt amendment, who recognized the United States right of political and military interference In Cuba, with the aim of protecting its safety: it was precisely in this way that the US could be able to build a naval base within the island, considered as the American territory.
In the 1903 The military base of Guantanamo Bay In the south-east of Cuba, inside which a prison camp was also inserted: that’s why the Guantanamo prison is located inside Cuba and not any other place in the United States. To date it is theThe only US military base in a communist country.
The story of this prison, however, begins to become more and more controversial After the attacks of 11 September 2001: after the collapse of the twin towers, the then US president George W. Bush he decided to begin a “global war on terror”, transferring all the prisoners accused of Guantanamo to Guantanamo Islamic terrorism and suspected of having connections with the terrorist organization Al-Qaida. According to what reported by Amnesty Internationalsince 2002 the total prisoners have been about 800: after the different repatriations and transfers, to date they remain just over 30but the situation could drastically change if Trump’s proposal was actually made.
The structure of Guantanamo
The prison structure of Guantánamo Bay extends over an area of about 120 km² and was initially made up of three fields: the Camp Delta, the IGUANA Camp and the Camp X-Ray. Just the latter was abandoned in 2002replaced by a series of prison structures with even more limited and restrictive spaces of freedom.
The Total number of cells It is not clear: according to what emerged from several international investigations, there are 6 different areas in prison, each of which contains about 40 single cells extremely small. In fact, there is talk of about 2.44 meters in length, 2.44 meters high And 2 meters deep.
Prisoners are granted to pray for about 20 minutes up to five times a day. Inside the structure there is also one medical clinic and one library With several books and magazines.
The current situation of the prison camp: human rights violations
But then, what actually happens within this prison? What is configured inside Gantiamano is a sort of “Black hole” of human rights: from a legal point of view, in fact, the prisoners are not considered as ordinary defendants: This means that they are not subjected to normal system and legal guarantees and fair process protections provided for by American legislation. In other words, they cannot have legal representatives or witnesses during hearings and interrogations. But who ends up in Guantanamo It is not even recorded as a prisoner of war: all this generates a sort of gray area From the point of view of compliance with human rights and of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions regarding humanitarian law.
Their detention was therefore justified by the USA as a “Extraordinary rendition », That is, an extra-judicial procedure that provides for capture, deportation to secret places and the interrogation of suspicions with particularly brutal methods, especially within illegal prisons located in countries where torture is not expressly prohibited.
Over the years, then, the serious torture he is inhuman treatments and degraders to whom the prisoners were subjected: in order to obtain confessions and testimonies, the American army resorted to different methods and practices normally illegal and inflicted to cause serious suffering to the person, including the waterboardinga sort of controlled drowning, forced nutrition and sleep deprivation.
Paradoxically, it was the Americans themselves who published some photographs that testified the torture inflicted on prisoners: the goal, in reality, was to spread a sort of “global warning“And show what happened to members of enemy terrorist organizations from the USA. That’s why the prisoners were shown kneeling and handcuffed, with parts of the body partially uncovered and large bandages to cover the eyes.
Closing attempts during the Obama administration
Given the spread of numerous news on the serious violations of human rights, the hypothesis of definitively close the Guantánamo Bay prison. In practice, the only one who tried, at least partially, was the president Barack Obama during his first term.
Also thanks to the start of policies of Greater relaxation with Cuba (with which the relationships had become extremely tense during the cold war), Obama came to sign an executive order to definitively eliminate the prison camp within the military base. Its measure, however, was rejected by the Senate, which established to leave the structure operational.
