Pentagon official Paul Lewis announced that inmates released from the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison have already incurred in the killing of at least six Americans. Neither the names of the victims or the perpetrators have been revealed to the public by the government.

“What I can tell you is, unfortunately, there have been Americans that have died because of [Guantanamo] detainees,” he stated as he discussed with a Republican senator. He did not comment whether the events occurred before or after Obama’s election in 2009.

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Officials say Guantanamo transfers have killed Americans Credit: PBS NewsHour

Released criminals back on track

The Washington Post assures that the inmates were released during the Bush administration, besides revealing that the victims included mostly military personnel, a single civilian and a female aid correspondent.

The Obama administration is known to have made efforts towards closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison. As of today, at least 80 inmates reside in its cells and almost 700 have been released. One of the arguments of the Obama administration is that it would be cheaper for the U.S. to detain the criminals on the mainland. But Republicans argue that this would be a very dangerous procedure that could bring forward further terrorist attacks, endangering the lives of U.S. military personnel.

According to the Washington Post, the detainees were implicated in war zone skirmishes, which made it difficult to know whether they had killed Americans or if the killers were other subjects from the belligerent forces. The information of the detainees and their participation in armed conflicts has been ruled as classified, where only officials with top-secret clearance could read the document.

The terrors of Guantanamo Bay

The inherent secrecy of Guantanamo has proven to be an obstacle for President Obama, as there are widespread rumors of both physical and psychological torture, sexual humiliation and other aberrations that occur to inmates in Guantanamo Bay prison.

The infamous Guantanamo Diary is a recent publication of a manuscript by Mohamedou Ould Slahi where he tells about the many types of torture that take place in the prison. He learned to write in English, mainly thanks to Guantanamo’s guards.

The book also shows the wicked psyche of the prison’s personnel and their fear-mongering practices. “There is nothing more terrorizing than making somebody expect a smash every single heartbeat,” he commented. He even resorted to false confessions to avoid punishment.

The implications of Guantanamo are broader than most people may realize. The U.S. Federal Justice system is not exempt of what goes on in that prison. One of the most discussed events is the imprisonment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was the supposed man behind 9/11.

His lawyer made a claim revealing that the government had allowed the destruction of evidence that could have been used in his favor. The trial took place in Guantanamo Bay. Reportedly, Mohammed was submitted to waterboarding, a method of torture and interrogation where the person’s face is covered with a cloth and then water is poured on its face.

Many members of the government, mostly Republican senators, have asked for a greater deal of transparency when it comes to the treatment and transfer of Guantanamo detainees, but it seems that the current administration will not be the advocate for such measures.

Source: Washington Post