Torture in Guantanamo Bay

Winston eventually went mad, confessing the psychological abuse was more severe than the physical he experienced while in the prison. He began begging for mercy, and went as far to ask others to be put in his place to relieve him from the torture that seemed to occur “hour after hour” (Orwell, 199). This is proof the dignified man that was introduced in the beginning of 1984 was lost to the Party’s power and manipulation and completely stripped of his ethics.

In Abu Ghraib prison, the detainees were beaten with brooms and fists. They would often make the inmates walk around naked and make them have oral sex with the other inmates and make them masturbate. Some of the inmates would be handcuffed to their cells with no toilets, water, or windows for no reason at all. They would also make the prison to have on little to no close. The inmates were also threatened with rape. The guards were given permission to stitch wounds after the inmates had been bullied in their cells. The most common form of torture was making the prisoners walk around naked for humiliation purposes. I feel like this type of treatment should not be dished out by the guards because the obviously the inmates have done nothing to

Four concrete walls, a steel bed, and a sink to soak the unclean clothes in as well as an insignificantly compact restroom. Welcome to solitary confinement where the lights always stay on and there’s always room for just one, you. When we think about solitary confinement we probably think of a killer or rapist getting what they deserve. What we don’t see is another human life being psychologically destroyed. Some of these prisoners have been in solitary confinement from a couple of years to decades. It is true that these are not honorable or peace keeping men, but a human life being tortured by solitude is a torture no one deserves.

The Abu Ghraib torture scandal left a large blemish on the occupation of Iraq and George Bush’s War on terror. As stories of the torture happening in the Abu Ghraib prison began circulating, American citizens had trouble comprehending the acts of evil their soldiers had committed on Iraqis. Some began to see a correlation between Abu Ghraib and the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. Though the guards in both situations were brutal to their captives, distinct differences lay in the severity of their actions. Abu Ghraib’s guards were much more vicious to their captives, and this can be attributed to the prejudices the guards felt against their captors, the environment, and the lack of training, compounded with a lack of accountability in the leadership.

Did you know, as American taxpayers, maintaining the prison at Guantánamo has costed $4.8 billion since it had opened in 2002? Well this al back to “ The Global War on Terror” under the Bush administration that,. response to the 9/11 attacks, targeted middle eastern regions of the world;, collecting men from left to right by heavily armed American soldiers. Unfortunately, some of them are destined to pay for another man’s crime by serving time in Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay, located within a naval base in Cuba, became a facility purposed to hold alleged enemy combatants and terrorists alike. Because of later documented injustices reported against detainees, it gained negative spotlight by both citizens and world leaders. When Obama succeeded in presidency, closing the facility became one of his priorities for a number of reasons.

Throughout history crime has always presented itself as well as punishment for these crimes. In time there have been several ways to physically, emotionally, and psychologically punish a human being. However, being a part of the Guantanamo Bay era the increasing use of solitary confinement has offered itself to be one of the best ways to reprimand criminals as well as hostages. A troubling movement in the American prison system is the escalating use of sustained and consistent forms of cruel solitary confinement also known as supermax prisons which are used to confine prisoners that the government labels as dangerous. A documentary film, as well as several informative resources, will be used to uncover the truths behind this form of punishment.

Torture is commonly practiced all over the world, but most notably in the Guantánamo bay detention center in Cuba. It is most commonly used on prisoners of war to obtain useful enemy information, but it is not limited to that as it is practiced in normal prisons and jails. After experiencing torture, people don’t possess the same mindset. These (cruel ) sessions of

Guantanamo Bay in Cuba houses some of the most dangerous people. The people being held have ranged in committing various crimes. What makes Guantanamo Bay well known is how the time period a detainee has spent in prison without a trial. While in prison for an extensive period of time, a detainee is bound to receive discipline for not following the guards. There are often a variety of different methods that the guards use to teach discipline to the detainees. All who follow Guantanamo Bay as institution often criticizes the measures taken. What makes Guantanamo Bay an ironic place to start this journey is because Guantanamo Bay is at the center of attention to a very important, controversial law passed in 2006. The controversial law was

A new congressional report was released last week detailing the controversial CIA torture program during the years following the September 11 attacks on the twin towers. The report detailed several despicable ways detainees were treated at various CIA black sites, detainees endured waterboarding, sleep deprivation, confinements, rectal feeding and death from hypothermia. The most despicable aspect of the report was that psychiatrists, psychologist, and some physicians originated some of the torture techniques used by the CIA.

The United Nations Convention Against Torture stated that torture is defined as “any state-sanctioned act ‘by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person’ for information, punishment, intimidation, or for reasons based on discrimination” (AFSC). Craig Haney, a social psychologist and psychology professor of University of California, interviewed a group of people in solitary confinement in 1993 at Pelican Bay State Prison (a supermax, Security Housing Unit (SHU)) where he was studying psychological effects of isolation on prisoners. 20 years later he went the same prison to do more interviews only to find the same prisoners there in the same condition (Goode). Haney found high rates of psychological trauma in long term solitary confinement where more than half of the studied prisoners had nightmares, heart palpitations, fear of impending nervous breakdowns, hallucinations, perceptual distortions, while a quarter of the prisoners had suicidal ideation (Rice). In ACLU prison, prisoners have gone as far as swallowing broken glass, amputating fingers, testicles, scrotum, earlobes, and one even amputated a finger and ate it in a bowl of ramen noodles (Katel). Dr. Haney describe what they were going through as, “They were grieving for their lost lives, for their loss connectedness to the social world and their families outside and also for their lost selves. Most of them really did understand that they had lost who they were, and weren’t sure of who they had become” (Goode). In other words, in solitary confinement prisoners experienced identity loss as they were completely isolated from human contact: One inmate who was in solitary confinement for 24 years explained, “I got a 15-minute phone call when my father died. I realized I have family

You wake up in a dimly-lit room laying down, your back flat on a cold table, facing unfamiliar men standing over you. You attempt to move, but your arms and legs are strapped down leaving you completely defenseless. Panicking, you begin to scream, but your screams are cut short as a wet cloth is laid over your face. You feel water being poured over the cloth and you begin choking; you can’t breathe; you are drowning. You are being waterboarded. What you just experienced was one of many common interrogation techniques used to pry information from suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay naval base. These techniques,

Three weeks in solitary confinement. Confused, distressed and disorientated, only for tear gas to engulf your cell. —Despite what you may be imagining, these scenes described are not from the infamous torture detention camp Guantanamo Bay, but are in-fact only a few examples of the outrageous abuse of human rights encountered in the Northern Territory’s Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. You heard me right, this is occurring in our own country, to young, impressionable teenagers. Our own backyard, if you may. Yet only recently have such allegations reached the public eye. What’s worse, the government and head of child protection services have known about such claims, yet turned a blind eye on the cases, and ultimately turned a blind eye on the lives of the abused detainees.

The repercussions of subjecting a person, especially an innocent one, to certain harmful coercion techniques are serious. Individuals that have been put through torture techniques are often faced with deep psychological and, not to mention, physical health issues as a result of their experiences. One notable case that demonstrates the effects of torture on the mind is the case of Omar Khadr. Khadr, who is now 23, was imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay at the age of fifteen. Khadr is a Canadian citizen who was born in Toronto. Ethnically, he is Egyptian and Palestinian. Born into a family that was heavily involved in terrorism and fundamentalism, he had seen and taken part in some questionable activities, albeit, oblivious as he lacked a good moral compass due to his young age and his upbringing. During a four-hour firefight with militants in Afghanistan, American soldiers

Guantanamo Bay, though started with good intentions, only highlights America’s negative side. Marine Major General Michael Lehnert, who played a significant role in the opening of Guantanamo, has drastically changed his opinion and said that it, “Validates every negative perception of the U.S.” (Sutton 1). One example of this occurred in 2006, when President Bush justified the use of “physical coercion” (torture) during interrogations (Fetini 1). Some of these torture methods include isolation, beatings, sleep deprivation, and general abuse. Other tactics such as disrespect for Islamic symbols or sexual provocation are used to encourage stress in detainees (Bloche 1). These immoral methods led to an international outcry. It was later remarked that the Cuban territory upon which Guantanamo is located is being used as a “concentration camp” of sorts (Fetini 1). Guantanamo and its unethical values are being recognized by nations around the world, displaying America in a bad light.

In the United States, one of the major methods in obtaining crucial information has been through the use of Guantanamo Bay. While many have condemned of the torture that is believed to occur there, not only does Guantanamo Bay comply with national and international standards, but it also complies with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (Meese 1) which states