Guantanamo Bay Prison Turns 15 Years Old Today

The Guantánamo, Cuba, prison where the American government holds dozens of terrorism suspects. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times

DW: Guantanamo at 15: Doomed or resurrected?

President Bush opened it amid global protest, President Obama vowed to close it. After 15 years the Guantanamo Bay prison camp does not just remain open, it could even experience a revival under President Trump.

What began on January 11, 2002, with the transfer of 20 prisoners suspected of belonging to the Taliban and al Qaeda terrorist groups from Kandahar in Afghanistan to the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would relatively quickly evolve into a political and humanitarian nightmare that would soon vex the third consecutive US president.

Set up by the administration of George W. Bush in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Guantanamo was specifically chosen as a detention hub as its location on a US naval base on Cuba put it out of the reach of American courts.

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