All detainees held in the most secret facility of Guantanamo prison – “Camp 7” – were transferred to another unit. This was reported on April 4 by the Associated Press.
The existence of Camp 7, also known as Camp Platinum, was kept under wraps for two years after its creation in 2006. It is noted that there were “especially valuable prisoners” in this camp.
According to a statement from the US Southern Command, prisoners from Camp 7 have been transferred to neighboring Camp 5. Now all Guantanamo detainees are held in only two facilities, before there were three. It is emphasized that the changes “do not jeopardize the protection of the forces and their safety or the mission of ensuring the safe, lawful and humane treatment” of prisoners. The command did not disclose how many prisoners were held at Camp 7.
According to the Associated Press, the military for a long time refused to even acknowledge the location of Camp 7 at the base and never allowed journalists to enter the facility.
On February 13, White House press secretary Jen Psaki spoke about the US administration’s intention to close the special prison at Guantanamo Bay.
In January 2017, the previous US President, Donald Trump, announced the decision to reverse the order of his predecessor Barack Obama to close the facility.
The special prison is located at a naval base leased by the Americans since 1903 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 15 km from the city of the same name. In the 1990s, it housed a filtration camp for refugees from Haiti and Cuba trying to move to the United States. The decision to create a special prison on the territory of the naval base was made by the Pentagon as part of the anti-terrorist program of the administration of President George W. Bush. In total, 775 prisoners passed through Guantanamo, most of them never appeared before a court. Currently, only 40 prisoners remain there.