If ever there was a ‘detention camp’ for Muslims, it would be Guantanamo

Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday called Guantanamo Bay prison "a dark page in the history of human rights" and said if ever there was a "detention camp" for Muslims, it would be the Guantanamo Bay.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks when asked to comment on a statement made by a group of independent human rights experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. The statement condemned the continued operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility as a site of "unparalleled notoriety" and "a stain on the US Government's commitment to the rule of law," ahead of the 20th anniversary of the facility that falls on Tuesday.

For the past 20 years, the US' scandal of the abuse of Guantanamo prisoners has been repeatedly reported and aroused great outrage from the international community. The US has been pledging to close the prison, but 20 years later, 39 men remain at Guantanamo, of whom only several people have been charged or convicted, said Wang.

In fact, the US operates secret prisons all over the world, and Guantanamo is just the tip of the iceberg, Wang noted, referring to reports that the US set up a large number of secret prisons in Afghanistan and in its ally countries, as well.

The Guantanamo Bay prison and other "black prisons" of the US are a constant reminder of the US' human rights abuses and crimes, said Wang.

The country should immediately close Guantanamo Bay and other secret prisons, stop arbitrary detention and abuse of prisoners and other atrocities, and make an apology and compensation to the victims, he said.

Anonymous