By Jonathan Bell, Inter Press Service
Repatriated Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoners have once again been mistreated at the hands of their home countries despite “diplomatic assurances” of humane treatment made to the U.S. government, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.
The report, titled “Ill-fated Homecomings: A Tunisian Case Study of Guantanamo Repatriations”, focuses on two men, Abdullah al-Hajji Ben Amor and Lotfi Lagha, who were sent home to Tunisia after serving approximately five years in Guantanamo — without ever being charged — only to face torture and abuse.
“Closing Guantanamo provides the United States one of the best opportunities to help rebuild its moral authority and international good will,” said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel for Human Rights Watch (HRW), referring to the increased pressure to close the facility. “Washington should not squander that chance by forcibly repatriating detainees to countries with known records of torture and abuse.”
)Original Article)