Thursday, February 26, 2009

Guantanamo Abuse Worsens Under Obama

A British-American lawyer Ahmed Ghappour for the group Reprieve, representing over 30 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, has publicly stated that the abuse there has heightened since the election of President Obama. While noting that the abuse is not directed from above, he claims it is an endemic form of barbarism made worse by overzealous prison guards who have become used to torturing inmates.

Reuters reports that Ghappour stated that, "According to my clients, there has been a ramping up in abuse since President Obama was inaugurated." In addition, Ghappour claims that continued beatings, dislocation of limbs, excessive use of pepper spray and over-forcefeeding of prisoners remain mainstays of prison procedure. Ghappour also noted that most all of the 241 inmates still held at Guantanamo Bay do not believe that they will ever be released from the prison. All inmates held at the Guantanamo base are Muslim.

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