Attorneys for prisoners held at the US military prison at Guant\u00c3\u00a1namo Bay say they have had to purchase shoes, clothes, personal hygiene products and other basic items for detainees they represent. They accuse the prison of “pinching pennies.”<\/p>\n
The 114 detainees left at\u00a0Joint Task Force Guant\u00c3\u00a1namo<\/a> in Cuba are walking around in ragged clothing and shoes held together with duct tape, several attorneys told the Miami Herald<\/a>. The detention center, which has cost more than\u00a0$5 billion<\/a> since it opened in 2002 and boasts a staff of more than 2,000 people, increasingly leaves detainees without adequate clothing, attorneys said. Shampoo, toothpaste and other personal hygiene items are too cheap to be effective, they added.<\/p>\n \u201cStuff\u2019s just not getting replaced,\u201d<\/em> said lawyer George Clarke, who recently purchased new shoes, sandals, T-shirts and towels for his two clients, at a cost of about $300. \u201cThey say the stuff they get is crap. Or they\u2019re not getting it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A Gitmo spokesman insisted standards “have not changed,<\/em>” but refused to comment on whether the situation is based on budget cutbacks or new prison policy.<\/p>\n “Any reports of shortages are baseless,”<\/em> Navy Captain Christopher Scholl, public affairs officer at the prison, told the Herald. “The JTF [Joint Task Force Guant\u00c3\u00a1namo] is committed to ensuring detainees are kept in a safe, secure and humane environment. The physical and mental well-being of detainees is our primary responsibility, and their security is of vital importance to our mission.”<\/em><\/p>\n The International Committee of the Red Cross would not indicate whether it had raised any issues with the prison regarding basic prisoner provisions.<\/p>\n