Inmates who have been held for years in the US detention facility in Cuba at Guantanamo Bay, according to a senior member of the International Committee of the Red Cross, are showing symptoms of “accelerated aging.”
“We’re calling on the USÂ administration and Congress to work together to find adequate and sustainable solutions to address these issues,” said Patrick Hamilton, the ICRC’s head of delegation for the United States and Canada, who spoke to Reuters. Action should be taken as a matter of priority,” he added.
He stated that he was “amazed at how those who are still in detention today are experiencing the symptoms of accelerated aging, made worse by the cumulative effects of their experiences and years spent in detention.”
He urged more frequent family visits and access to good mental and physical health treatment for prisoners.
According to a Pentagon spokeswoman who talked to Reuters, the US Defense Department “is currently reviewing the report.”
Republican President George W. Bush established the Guantanamo camp in 2002 to house suspects in international terrorism in reaction to the hijacked airline strikes on New York and the Pentagon in 2001, which resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 people.
