Reporter Lucas Wagmeister: “Of the nearly 800 detainees held at the height of the Guantanamo Bay prison, it has become clear that many of them had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or terrorism. They were held on vague suspicions, without charge or a proper trial against them. They are.”
That’s why, according to Wagmeister, many people have eventually been released over the years, or ways have been designed to try them in other countries. Why is Guantanamo Bay still closed? “There are two important reasons for this,” Wagmeister says. “The first reason is that officially there are still a number of lawsuits pending against people who are still in custody. But they are progressing very slowly, because there is no evidence, or because the evidence was obtained through torture methods, or because there are negotiations with countries of origin which should handle the lawsuits.”
The second reason has to do with politics. “While the realization here in Washington has long been that Guantánamo was a bad idea, clear recognition of it is still difficult for both parties. Because among Republicans, Guantánamo Bay was conceived and opened, so it’s hard for them to say it was a mistake. And it’s hard. On the Democrats because they fear being accused of soft policy toward terrorists. So, politically speaking, it is not yet possible to admit wrongdoing and draw conclusions from it.”
