gitmo Mug

Guantanamo Bay. The US military abbreviation of the base located there is GTMO, which is pronounced either "gee-tee-em-oh", or "Gitmo". On this base is located Camp X-Ray. The land is on lease from Cuba to the US, which means that it is not technically US soil; this is used as a loophole to allow activities in camp X-Ray that would in the US be against the letter of the constitution, such as detaining people without pressing charge or giving them access to a lawyer. Whether these practices are permissible is the source of hot debate, as they are clearly against the *spirit* of the constitution. Because of this lack of legislation, Camp X-Ray is the place where the US holds people suspected of terrorism. Apart from the aforementioned lack of rights, it is also reported that inmates are maltreated and abused, both physically and mentally. Access to Guantanamo Bay is very limited: human rights organisations and members press have hardly any access, and the same goes for those few lawyers that have clients there. (The majority of inmates does not have access to an attorney.) In summary, Guantanamo Bay is a place where the US government does not deem itself bound by any law, and it appears to use that fact to abuse inmates away from the prying eyes of the world.