Gitmo prisoner talks of mental torture in US military jail

A Somali inmate at the notorious US military prison in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay has spoken of mental torture there.

Hassan Guleed, an alleged al-Qaeda member since his 2004 capture, told a military judge Thursday that he experienced intentional noises and vibrations inside a high-security section of the prison known as Camp 7.

The sounds and vibrations as well as chemical odors, said Guleed, were "a kind or pressure" to make detainees cooperate with authorities.

The Somali prisoner contrasted the abuse with his previous experience of torture by the CIA at the US spy agency’s overseas prisons known as black sites, saying, "We have mental torture in the Camp 7. In the black site there was physical."

Guleed said several other prisoners have also experienced the same sounds and vibrations, including Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian who was the first prisoner to be subjected to brutal CIA interrogation techniques, AP reported.

Guleed, who has never been charged with a crime, faced aggressive questions from federal prosecutor Ed Ryan. The judge reportedly attacked the prisoner who denied involvement with al-Qaeda.

"You are lying to us right now aren't you sir?" Ryan asked. The defendant said he was not.

Twice, courtroom monitors cut the sound feed so that spectators could not hear information deemed classified.

US President Barack Obama had promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison during his 2008 presidential election campaign, citing its damage to the US reputation abroad.

However, the president backed away on his campaign promise later on due to stiff opposition from Congress.

As many as 775 detainees were brought to the prison, which was set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks. There are still several dozen inmates left at the prison.

Washington says the prisoners are terror suspects, but has not pressed charges against most of them in any court. Many detainees have been on hunger strike for months to draw attention to their deteriorating conditions.

The Obama administration has transferred most detainees to other countries, but there is a small number of detainees who the administration says it would like to detain in a US facility for national security reasons.

The Pentagon has proposed transferring the remaining prisoners to their home countries or to US military or civilian prisons.

According to US officials, the Pentagon plan would call for sending detainees, who have been cleared for transfer, to their homelands or third countries and bringing the other detainees to US soil.

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