A group of former Guantanamo Bay detainees has strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s executive order to expand detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay for undocumented migrants.
For those who once lived behind its barbed wire, Guantanamo is more than just a prison—it is a place where justice is denied, dignity is stripped away, and suffering is hidden from the world. They recall the relentless clang of metal doors, the weight of shackles, and the silence of a global community that chose to look away. Many of them were held without charge, without trial, and without hope.
Now, the very system that took years from their lives is being revived to imprison migrants—individuals seeking safety, only to be sent to a place that operates outside the law, designed to strip them of their rights. Guantanamo does not simply allow abuse; it institutionalizes it. This executive order, they argue, does not just permit injustice—it ensures it.
By detaining migrants at Guantanamo, the US government is once again creating a legal limbo, denying detainees constitutional protections and leaving them vulnerable to the same inhumane treatment that former prisoners endured. Those who suffered in its cells firsthand understand what happens when a system is built to break people. This is not about national security, they assert, but about power, control, and concealing yet another human rights violation behind Guantanamo’s walls.
The failure to close the prison and confront its grim legacy has not only allowed these injustices to persist but has now set the stage for their expansion. Guantanamo should have been shut down long ago. Instead, it is being repurposed to hold new victims.
Determined to prevent others from suffering the same fate, these former detainees refuse to remain silent. They insist that no one deserves to be thrown into a system built to erase them. They vow to continue speaking out, advocating for justice, and ensuring that the world does not forget what Guantanamo represents.
Their message is clear: Guantanamo must be closed. Indefinite detention must end. This executive order must be stopped.
They are not just survivors—they are witnesses. And they will not allow history to repeat itself.
Signatories:
Mansoor Adayfi (GTMO441)
Moazzam Begg
Ahemed Errachidi
Lakhdar Boumediene
Ghaleb Al Bihani
Hisham Sliti
Abdul Latif Nasr
Sufyian Barhoumi
Hussein Yafai
Abdul-Almalik Abud
Ayoob Mohammed
Tarek Dergoul
Mohsin Alaskari
Djamel Ameziane
Hammami Hedi
Omar Deghayes