Potter mania grips Guantanamo
2005-08-08 11:04
Washington - Books about boy wizard Harry Potter have become favourite reading material among Islamic terror suspects at the United States detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, The Washington Times reported on Monday.
Citing a librarian working at the centre, the newspaper said JK Rowling's tales about the boy and the school of wizardry are on top of the request list for the camp's 520 al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects, followed by Agatha Christie novels.
"We've got a few who are kind of hooked on it. A couple have asked if they can see the movie," the librarian identified only as Lori is quoted by The Times as saying.
Lori said she is compiling a list to provide to various lawmakers in Washington, who recently visited the prison at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay as part of a congressional delegation investigating accusations of torture, according to the report.
A US military investigation last month concluded that no torture has taken place since the prison opened in early 2002.
The Times said the Guantanamo library also has drawn interest because of a separate investigation into how guards handle the Qur'an, which is given to any prisoner who requests it under Pentagon policy.
The investigation found five cases of mishandling the sacred book, but no evidence that personnel flushed a copy down a toilet.
- AFP