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Newspaper Calls the U.S. Guantanamo Bay Prison a Shame

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GtmoPrisionPhoto: REUTERS
 
The prison currently held by the United States at the naval base of Guantanamo, Cuba, is an international disrepute for our country and a shame that must be closed, according to the American daily La Opinion.
 
An editorial published in that media, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, also describes that prison as an affront to human rights and 'a shameful chapter in the War on Terrorism that must be closed once and for all'.
 
The Los Angeles, California-based media criticized the idea that there are crimes so horrible that they deserve to be punished with decades of imprisonment, even though the accused has not been found guilty.
 
The Supreme Court was able to intervene in the case of Yemeni Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alwi, arrested in Pakistan in December 2001, the editorial said, but indicated that the judges rejected the case.
 
Judge Stephen Breyer wrote that at some point the high court has to decide 'whether Congress authorized and whether the Constitution permits continued detention given the duration and other aspects relevant to the conflict,' the newspaper quoted.
 
According to the newspaper, it is regrettable that judges refuse to intervene. This is not the first time he has received cases from Guantanamo. In 2008 the Supreme Court ruled that prisoners have the legal right to go before the judge to challenge the legality of their detention and request their release.
 
However, the publication indicated that over the past 10 years the country's highest court has rejected subsequent appeals by detainees.
 
It added that the judicial processes authorized by the Supreme Court are currently paralyzed by disputes over the Government's refusal to provide the defense with secret documentation, in the face of testimonies obtained through torture.
 
The terrorist attacks of 2001 triggered actions, laws and decisions in the heat of emotions. One of them was the Guantánamo naval base to lock up the 'worst of the worst'. The idea was to have them in a legal limbo, without any rights or protection. It's time to take responsibility, said La Opinion.
 
It was recalled that former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) wanted to close the place, but Congress refused to bring the prisoners to the United States, while the administration of the current president, Donald Trump, 'extended the life of the prison for 25 more years and tried unsuccessfully to bring the detainees of the Islamic State to the base'.
 
The prison, inaugurated on January 11, 2002 by order of then Republican President George W. Bush (2001-2009), represented since its opening another dark chapter in the history of a naval base that has remained in Cuban territory for more than a century against the will of the island's people and government. / PL