WASHINGTON - The United States is inviting independent human rights experts from the United Nations to visit detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba almost four years after the UN first asked permission to inspect the prison. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros said the invitation âwas extended in an effort to broaden understanding of US detention operations and to demonstrate that detainees at Guantanamo are treated humanely.âThere is no set timeline for the visit. The three observers will meet with commanders at the facility as well as medical staff and interrogation staff, but they will have no interaction with the detainees. They will be able to observe the detainees during recreation time, religious observances and other periods.
US officials have allowed only the International Committee of the Red
In a statement issued on Friday, the Pentagon said, âThe department strives for transparency in our operation to the extent possible in light of security and operational requirements and the need to ensure the safety of our forces.â
The three observers are: Dr. Manfred Nowak, an expert on torture and inhumane treatment; Asma Jahangir, an expert on religious rights and freedoms; and Leila Zerrougui, an expert on arbitrary detention.
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The strikers allege that feeding tubes are inserted without using anesthesia or sedatives and that tubes are being reused without proper sanitization. Some detainees have been fasting since Aug. 8. Dr. John Edmondson, commander of the US Navy Hospital at Guantanamo and head of the detainee hospital, has denied all of the detainee allegations, saying tubes are always inserted using a lubricant, an anesthetic is offered âin all cases,â and new tubes are used every time a detainee has to be fed involuntarily.