24 children held at Guantanamo, many as adults

The US military may have held up to 24 children at its “war on terror” prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facing the same conditions and interrogations as adult inmates, Time magazine reports.

Some still at the prison have claimed through their lawyers that they have been beaten or abused, Time said.

The number of prisoners under 18 could have been higher as date-of-birth data are imprecise, said Time magazine, which analyzed Defense Department data. A Pentagon spokesman told the magazine that no juveniles are currently held at the prison.

The weekly’s report comes after the London-based human rights group Reprieve said more than 60 minors, some as young as 14, have been held at the prison.

Time described one prisoner, Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, as “the most famous kid” at the detention center.

Captured in Afghanistan in 2002 when he was 15, Khadr faces a murder trial on charges that he threw a grenade that killed a US soldier, Time said. His lawyers are resisting the trial, saying Khadr was a child at the time of the alleged crime…{{link http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060529013837.89dvq0f7.html MORE}}

Send post as PDF to

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!