Text Only
Search

 
Red Cross to Visit Guantanamo

12 June 2006

Guantanamo detainees (file photo)
Guantanamo detainees (file photo)

The International Committee of the Red Cross plans to send a team to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, later this week to assess the situation after the suicides of three prisoners there.

Two Saudis and a Yemeni hanged themselves with sheets and clothes in their cells Saturday.

The ICRC is the only humanitarian agency allowed to visit Guantanamo and it has done so on a regular basis.

The deaths generated calls for other independent investigations Monday and for the closing of the facility. Attorneys for Guantanamo detainees want the U.S. to allow independent medical exams of the remaining prisoners. The human rights organization Amnesty International has called for a civilian-led independent probe.

And the European Union says it will raise the issue of closing Guantanamo with President Bush at a summit in Vienna next week.

The U.S. military says the more than 400 detainees are at Guantanamo because they waged war against the U.S. and continue to pose a threat.

President Bush has said he would like to close the prison facility, but he did not say when.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

emailme.gif E-mail This Article
printerfriendly.gif Print Version

  Related Stories
Three Suicides at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center
Red Cross Says US Continues to Refuse Access to Secret Detainees
Washington Defends Guantanamo After Criticism From Britain
 
  Top Story
Iranians Rally on Anniversary of American Embassy Takeover

  More Stories
Afghanistan's Abdullah Says Karzai Re-election Lacks Legitimacy
Republicans Gain in US State Elections  Audio Clip Available
Clinton Calls Israeli Settlement Activity Illegitimate
US Envoys Meet Burma's PM, Aung San Suu Kyi
Pakistan Army: Troops Battling For Control of Key Taliban Stronghold
India Denies Support to Pakistan Insurgents
Australian Oil Spill Stemmed After 10 Weeks
Fiji's Diplomatic Tussle With Australia, New Zealand Escalates  Audio Clip Available
Obama, EU Push for Climate Deal  Audio Clip Available
Merkel Meets With Obama, Addresses Congress   Audio Clip Available
Czech Court Clears Way for President to Sign New EU Treaty  Audio Clip Available
World War II 'Lost Battalion' Veterans Reunite  Audio Clip Available