I was held back in prison at Guantanamo for 14 years without ever being charged with a crime. I was sent there at the age of 19. I didn’t know why I was being held, what I had done to be imprisoned, or when I would be released.
Like many other people at Guantanamo, I believed that the United States forces holding me would live up to their own ideals of law and justice and give me the right to defend myself and prove my innocence. That never happened.
Instead, I was subjected to torture and constant harassment. I fought for humane treatment and basic human rights, and after 14 years I was released. During my imprisonment, I imagined that one day the world would find out what happened to us and demand accountability and justice. I thought once people found out they would shut this poor place down.
It’s been almost nine years since I was released. All this time I have not stopped writing and giving interviews about what happened to me. The world knows, and yet Guantanamo still works.
Earlier this month we celebrated our 23rd anniversary its creation. Today marks the last day in office of another American president who promised to close it and didn’t. You have to ask yourself later all reports by the United Nations and various human rights organizations, media reports, documentaries, books, etc. – why does this symbol of injustice still stand?
Guantanamo was established after September 11, a tragic event that deeply shook the world. Subsequently, the US launched the so-called global “war on terror”, a campaign ostensibly aimed at fighting terrorism, but in reality legalized torture, undermined international law and dehumanized an entire religious community.
Located on the island of Cuba, outside US legal jurisdiction, the Guantanamo Detention Center was deliberately designed to circumvent constitutional protections and international norms, becoming a place where prisoners can be held indefinitely without charge or trial.
The concept of indefinite detention is a direct affront to the principles of justice. Detaining individuals without charge or trial defies the very foundations of legal systems around the world. It denies detainees the opportunity to defend themselves and subjects them to years – sometimes decades – of suffering with no solution in sight.
Guantanamo became the blueprint for other forms of extrajudicial detention, torture and human rights violations around the world. The prison’s legacy is visible in the proliferation of CIA black sites, the normalization of Islamophobia, and the erosion of international norms designed to protect human dignity.
The global war on terror—with Guantanamo as its most infamous symbol—institutionalized policies that dehumanized Muslims. It has fueled Islamophobic rhetoric, justified invasive surveillance programs, and stigmatized entire communities as potential threats.
The US has taken the lead in all of this, and many countries have followed suit, using US rhetoric of the “war on terror” to justify attacks on entire communities. The consequences have been devastating for Muslim and other vulnerable communities.
At its peak, Guantanamo held approximately 680 men and boys, many of whom were sold as “terrorists” to US forces in exchange for compensation. This happened to me.
To date, 15 men remain in Guantanamo. Some have been granted release but continue to languish in limbo, a testament to the failure of US systems to uphold even the most basic human rights. For these men, every day is a continuation of mental and physical torture — a state in which they are neither free nor officially accused.
We have heard many promises to close Guantanamo over the past 16 years. US President Barack Obama famously signed an executive order on his second day in office in 2009 ordering the plant’s closure. The then vice president Joe Biden stood right next to him and clapped. When Biden became president in 2021, he also made the same promise and also broke it.
The prison still operates at an annual cost of about $540 million.
The continued operation of Guantanamo is not only a policy failure, but also a moral stain on the US. This is a clear contradiction of the ideals of freedom, justice and human rights that the US claims to represent. Its existence undermines US credibility on the global stage and encourages authoritarian regimes to justify their own abuses.
With each anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo, I wait for the international community to wake up and demand action to close the military prison, justice for its victims, and ensuring accountability for those responsible for its creation and maintenance. Every year I get disappointed.
Guantanamo military prison is more than crimes against its prisoners and their families. For more than two decades, it has symbolized systematic torture, arbitrary detention and the weakening of the global human rights regime. Guantanamo violates the Geneva Conventions and embodies the elements of crimes against humanity with its systematic abuse of primarily Muslim detainees.
As the new administration takes office in Washington, I have the same message for them as for their predecessors:
Close Guantanamo. Close the institution and stop the practice of detention indefinitely.
Ensure justice. Release those who have been granted transfer and allow fair trials for the others.
Ensure accountability. Investigate and hold accountable those responsible for authorizing torture, extrajudicial detention and other ill-treatment.
Admit and apologize. Issue a formal acknowledgment and apology for the wrongs committed.
Provide compensation. To compensate the former detainees for the damage caused to them.
Closing Guantanamo is not just closing the physical location; it is about closing a dark chapter of history. It is about reaffirming the principles of justice, dignity and human rights that should be respected for all people, regardless of their origin or beliefs. Guantanamo must not live to see another anniversary.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
