The inmates are held in chicken wire cages, exposed to rain and sun, and are provided with one-inch thick foam mats as beds. Some have tested positive for tuberculosis. Press reports indicate they have had their beards forcibly shaved off.

"We have no intention of making it comfortable," said Brig. Gen. Michael Lehnert, commander of the detention camp dubbed Camp X-Ray.

The U.S. government has barred the media from making contact with prisoners. The only way military officials allow journalists to get near detainees is through touring the facilities in a van.

One detainee who is being held in an area reserved for "troublemakers" was able to shout a message in English to reporters from CNN as they passed by the area in a van. "We are on a hunger strike. We've been on a hunger strike for 14 days and nobody cares," he yelled out. "We need the world to know about us. We are innocent here in this cage. We have no legal rights, nothing. So can somebody know about us? Can you tell the world about us?"

The Washington Post reported March 11 that the U.S. government has secretly arrested and deported dozens of people from other countries who it deemed have links to alleged terrorists. U.S. officials have bypassed extradition procedures and legal formalities.

According to the Post, some of these countries include Egypt and Jordan where they can be "subjected to interrogation tactics--including torture and threats to families that are illegal in the United States." In some cases U.S. spies remain closely involved in the interrogations, the paper said.

"After September 11, these sorts of movements have been occurring all the time," an unnamed U.S. diplomat told the Post. "It allows us to get information from terrorists in a way we can't do on U.S. soil."
 
 
Related articles:
Free the Guantánamo prisoners!
Washington prepares war against Iraq
Bloody assault shores up U.S. domination in Afghanistan  
 
 
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