Conditions in the
"It appears that detainees are being placed inextreme lock-down conditions not because of their individual behavior butbecause of harsher camp operating procedures," reads the report posted onAmnesty's website.
"A new facility that opened in December 2006, knownas Camp Six, has created even harsher and apparently more permanent conditionsof extreme isolation and sensory deprivation."
The report, "
It notes that a further 100 detainees are being heldin solitary confinement in Camp 5, another maximum security facility.
Twenty others are being held in solitary confinementin
"Detainees are confined for 22 hours a day toindividual, enclosed, steel cells where they are almost completely cut off fromhuman contact.
"The cells have no windows to the outside oraccess to natural light or fresh air," said the international watchdog.
"In some respects, they appear more severe thanthe most restrictive levels of "super-maximum" custody on the
Amnesty has branded
Travesty
Kate Allen, Amnesty's
"With many prisoners already in despair atbeing held in indefinite detention... some are dangerously close to full-blownmental and physical breakdown," Allen told the BBC News Online.
"The
Amnesty accused the Bush administration of using thecloak of national security to justify human rights violations.
"Perhaps President Bush needs to think again,because the voices calling for the closure of this disgrace to American valuesare only getting louder," said Larry Cox, the executive director ofAmnesty International USA.
The group urged the Bush administration to takeimmediate steps to alleviate the harsh conditions at the detention facility.
"Such steps include ensuring that no detaineeis subjected to prolonged solitary confinement in conditions of reduced sensorystimulation," it said.
Detainee should also be allowed more association andactivities as well as regular contact with their families with opportunitiesfor phone calls and visits.
"While the
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