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3 suicides in Guantanamo
10/06/2006 23:07 - (SA)
Miami - Three foreign prisoners at the United States navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, died on Saturday in apparent suicides, said the US military.
"Two Saudis and one Yemeni, each located in camp 1, were found unresponsive and not breathing in their cells by guards," said US southern command in a statement.
The military said attempts to resuscitate the detainees failed and they were pronounced dead by a physician at Guantanamo.
The prison holds about 500 foreigners, most of whom were captured in the US war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
The suicides throw a fresh spotlight on the camp, which has drawn widespread criticism against the Bush administration from foreign countries - including some allies - and human rights advocates.
Facing indefinite detention with none of the rights afforded formal prisoners of war, or criminal suspects in the US justice system, dozens of the detainees are on hunger strikes.
Several have also attempted suicide.
A fake suicide attempt was staged recently, to trick prison guards into going into a cell where detainees intended to ambush them.
'This is the government's worst nightmare'
The names of the deceased were not released.
The US military said the bodies were being treated "with the utmost respect". An investigation had begun, it said.
A White House spokesperson said US President George W Bush had been informed.
Bush said he would like to close the detention centre at a joint news conference with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday.
The prime minister had raised concerns about the prison with the US president.
"We'd like it to be empty," said Bush. "And we're now in the process of working with countries to repatriate people."
In a CNN interview, the attorney for two Guantanamo detainees, Joshua Denbeaux, said the suicides represent the US government's "absolute worst nightmare".
"These people have been trying to kill themselves, or many of these prisoners have been trying to kill themselves, for months, if not years," said Denbeaux.
- Reuters
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