Cuban President Fidel Castro says the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay is occupied 'illegally' and the US must hand it over to Cuba.

According to international laws, the United States' occupation of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in the southeast of Cuba is illegal and unacceptable, Fidel Castro told reporters on Friday. Castro called the base a constant center of crisis, which threatens Cuba's security.

Turning to the issue of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960's between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba, Castro said that in a five-article statement, the US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and the UN Secretary-General had agreed to remove their nuclear missiles from Cuba.

Castro also emphasized remarks made by Cuban officials in 2000 that "any part of Cuban soil occupied by foreign countries should be returned".

More than 400 people from 40 countries have been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay detainment camp since 2002. They are accused of being al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives. These prisoners have been jailed under inhumane conditions without facing any official trial, which clearly shows a sign of blatant violation of human rights.

MHR/AA/KB