He promised to shut it down- but it is still there. A prison where people have been taken from all over the world, often after being kidnapped on foreign soil. Once there, they are held in inhuman conditions, tortured and often given no hope of release.

Even when told that they can now be released, there is no guarantee. Years go by whilst people are waiting for the doors to be opened- including British nationals.

How can American people (and their foremost allies, the British) allow this to continue? What justification is there for such flagrant breach of the rule of law?

The official line concerns itself with depicting these men as dangerous terrorists, with information that is fundamental to fighting the ‘war on terror’. Perhaps some of the men were indeed involved in terror groups. What is now certain is that many were not. They were just like you and me, apart from their religion and the colour of their skin. This is what happens when knee jerk fear driven politics are given free reign rather than being made subject to the rule of law.

The stories of what happens to people at Guantanamo have trickled out. A few years ago I wrote a review of a book written by one of the inmates, another British man, Moazzam Begg.

Today we hear from official sources some confirmation of tactics Begg described being used to try to break the spirits of the inmates.

Small wonder that they are driven to making the only protest left open to them- refusing to eat. The Guardian had this on their website today;

In March 2013, reports of a hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay, the US detention camp in Cuba, began to surface. Details were sketchy and were contradicted by statements from the US military. Now, using testimony from five detainees, this animated film reveals the daily brutality of life inside Guantánamo. Today there are 17 prisoners still on hunger strike, 16 of whom are being force-fed. Two are in hospital.