Guantanamo Prisoners Suffer Accelerated Aging

Patrick Hamilton, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in the U.S. and Canada, announced today, Friday, that prisoners held for years at the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, show signs of "accelerated aging." He urged the U.S. administration and Congress to work together to find appropriate and sustainable solutions to address these issues, adding that "urgent action must be taken." Hamilton's comments came after his visit to Guantanamo in March, after a 20-year hiatus. He expressed astonishment that those still detained today are suffering from symptoms of accelerated aging, exacerbated by the cumulative effects of their experiences and the years spent in detention. He called for appropriate mental and physical health care for detainees and for them to be allowed to maintain contact with their families. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense indicated that the department is "currently reviewing the report." The detention camp was established by former President George W. Bush in 2002 to hold suspected foreign terrorists after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and the Pentagon, which resulted in approximately 3,000 deaths. The facility has become a symbol of U.S. abuses in the "war on terror" due to harsh interrogation methods criticized as torture. There were 40 detainees when Democratic President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The Biden administration has stated its desire to close the detention camp, but has not presented a plan to do so. Two brothers were repatriated to Pakistan in February, leaving 30 prisoners still at the facility. Hamilton urged Washington to determine the fate of the detainees and called for action to deport those eligible back to their countries.