Three inmates die at Guantanamo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5068228.stm

Three inmates die at Guantanamo

Three detainees at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have died in what appears to have been a joint suicide pact, officials said.

It was not immediately clear when the inmates - two Saudis and a Yemeni - died, the US military said.

They "were found unresponsive and not breathing in their cells by guards".

The US holds about 460 men at the facility on suspicion of links to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation and the Taleban ex-leaders of Afghanistan.

They are the first deaths reported at the detention centre.

"Medical teams responded quickly and all three detainees were provided immediate emergency medical treatment in attempts to revive them," the Joint Task Force which runs the camp said in a statement.

"The three detainees were pronounced dead by a physician after all lifesaving measures had been exhausted."

Unrest

It is not first time detainees have attempted to commit suicide since the camp was set up four years ago.

Forty-one attempts have been made by 25 prisoners since then.

President George W Bush has been notified of the incident and the Pentagon is expected to issue a statement about the deaths.

Some detainees have been involved in on and off hunger strikes since last August to protest at their continued detention and conditions, although according to authorities the number dropped to 18 last weekend from a high of 131.

On Friday, Mr Bush responded to growing calls for the prison to be shut down, by saying: "We would like to end the Guantanamo - we'd like it to be empty."

"There are some that, if put out on the streets, would create grave harm to American citizens and other citizens of the world. And, therefore, I believe they ought to be tried in courts here in the United States," he added.