UN experts 'have reliable accounts' of Guantanamo torture

UN human rights experts seeking to visit the US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba said today they have reliable accounts of torture of suspected terror detainees being held there.

The four experts said the US had not responded to their numerous requests to check on the conditions of terror suspects at the US Naval base.

They said their request for a visit was “based on information, from reliable sources, of serious allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, arbitrary detention, violations of their right to health and their due process rights.”

“Many of these allegations have come to light through declassified (US) government documents,” they said.

The experts, who report to UN bodies on different human rights issues, said they had yet to hear back from Washington on their latest request – made in mid-April – to visit the detention facility.

A US spokeswoman said the request was still being reviewed in Washington.