Guantanamo Voices
Ex-Guantanamo detainees in Pakistan and Afghanistan talk about freedom and the way the prison changed their lives and thinking.
The US military prison at Guantanamo Bay is arguably the worldβs most famous and most controversial detention facility. Eight hundred citizens from 48 countries were detained there, most of them from Afghanistan. The prison was established to hold persons classified as βenemy combatants" by the Bush administration in January 2002 following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Since then, there have been calls for the closure of the detention camp. Many US officials accept that the camp's existence has tarnished the USβs reputation as a beacon of freedom. President Obama has pledged to close Guantanamo saying that it hurts Americaβs βinternational standingβ. Although most of the prisoners have now been released or sent to other countries, more than 150 prisoners are still held there.
As the US-led NATOβs combat mission in Afghanistan ends in 2014, the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔβs Dawood Azami assesses the damage Guantanamo did to the USβs international reputation by visiting Guantanamo prison and talking to ex-Guantanamo detainees in Pakistan and Afghanistan about freedom and the way the prison changed their lives and thinking.
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- Tue 25 Feb 2014 00:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Tue 25 Feb 2014 04:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Tue 25 Feb 2014 09:06GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Tue 25 Feb 2014 15:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
- Sun 2 Mar 2014 10:06GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online
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