Washington Condemns First Suicides By Guantanamo Inmates As 'a PR exercise'
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Three prisoners at Gunatanamo Bay in Cuba - two Saudis and a Yemeni - killed themselves over the weekend - the first successful suicides at the US prison camp since it opened in 2002 and the latest incident to highlight the fierce controversy over its continued existence.
President George Bush has defended Guantanamo Bay as a necessary means of holding men who would do "grave harm to American citizens" while an increasing number of critics believe the prison's ongoing operation and the Bush administration's refusal to place the prisoners before the courts represents a stain on the nation's reputation.
The debate continued yesterday as military authorities investigated how the prisoners - Manei al-Otaibi, Yasser al-Zahrani and a third detainee whose name has not yet been made public - were able to use their clothes and sheets to hang themselves.
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Three prisoners at Gunatanamo Bay in Cuba - two Saudis and a Yemeni - killed themselves over the weekend - the first successful suicides at the US prison camp since it opened in 2002 and the latest incident to highlight the fierce controversy over its continued existence.
President George Bush has defended Guantanamo Bay as a necessary means of holding men who would do "grave harm to American citizens" while an increasing number of critics believe the prison's ongoing operation and the Bush administration's refusal to place the prisoners before the courts represents a stain on the nation's reputation.
The debate continued yesterday as military authorities investigated how the prisoners - Manei al-Otaibi, Yasser al-Zahrani and a third detainee whose name has not yet been made public - were able to use their clothes and sheets to hang themselves.
