US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has declared that the 15 prisoners who still rot in the controversial Guantanamo Bay military prison ‘should’ve been executed long ago.’
Hegseth, speaking to reporters in Florida following a visit to the infamous detention centre on Wednesday, he was asked why the remaining prisoners were still alive.
In response, he said: ‘These [Guantanamo] detainees should’ve been executed, in my mind, a long time ago for the crimes they committed against the American people.’
Set up during the War on Terror in the wake of the September 11 attacks against the US, around 780 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo Bay.
Of the 15 people who remain, nine have been charged with war crimes under US military law.
But six others remain without being charged. Three of these men are being held in indefinite law-of-war detention, and aren’t being recommended for transfer, while the other three are being held in law-of-war detention but have been recommended for transfer with security arrangements to another country.
The prison was built to house suspected terrorists captured by American forces.
But many were held in the prison for long stretches without trial, and little chance of being freed. Hegseth blamed ‘international groups and lawyers’ for slowing down the trials.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth (pictured) has declared that the 15 prisoners who still rot in the controversial Guantanamo Bay military prison ‘should have been executed long ago’
US Army Military Police escort a detainee to his cell January 11, 2002 in Camp X-Ray at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay
And many alleged they had been tortured by American personnel. The US has long denied these allegations.
Conditions in the prison were allegedly so poor that many prisoners attempted to harm themselves or even take their own lives.
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At least six detainees took their own lives, while there have been hundreds of suicide attempts in the 24 years since the camp was set up.
The UK has also been caught up in the Guantanamo scandal. Earlier this year, a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who claims Britain was complicit in his torture by the CIA received ‘substantial’ payment after spending almost 20 years at the notorious detention camp.
Abu Zubaydah, who has been held at the Cuba prison since 2006 despite having never been charged with or convicted of a crime, is still bidding for his freedom and would be ‘grateful’ for a safe state to offer him a home.
The Saudi-born detainee, 54, was first captured in Pakistan by US forces in 2002 after it was alleged he was a senior al-Qaeda member following the 9/11 attacks. The US government later withdrew the allegation.
Zubaydah, then 31, was the first man subjected to CIA’s ‘enhanced interrogation’ techniques, which include sleep deprivation, slapping and waterboarding.
He alleged MI5 and MI6 knew he was being mistreated but still passed questions to the CIA for officials to use during interrogations.
Zubaydah brought a legal claim against the UK, arguing that the country’s intelligence services were ‘complicit’ in his torture.
The camp has survived multiple attempts to close it down by successive US administrations, though at times has had its resources boosted.
In January 2025, US president Donald Trump ordered a section of the base be prepared for the arrival of 30,000 migrants.
