4 Ex-Gitmo Inmates Demand US Recompense for Captivity
MONTEVIDEO (PRESS TV) – Four former inmates at the US military’s notorious Guantanamo Bay prison have spent a second night outside the US Embassy in Uruguay’s capital to demand compensation for the injustice they suffered.
The peaceful protest action, by the inmates who were released late last year after 12 years of captivity without charges, began Friday night at the American embassy in Montevideo.
The protest continued into Saturday with no response from embassy staff, but they pushed ahead with their demands for recompense from Washington for having been mistreated despite their innocence.
The former inmates, who include four Syrians, one Tunisian and one Palestinian, were set free from the Cuba-based Guantanamo military camp in December 2014 and have since been housed in a four-bedroom home in the Uruguayan capital.
As a humanitarian gesture, the men were invited to resettle in the poor South American country of 3.3 million people by President Jose Mujica, who has since left office.
The four, who were released along with two others, have been complaining about their living conditions.
Every one of them currently receives nearly USD 600 per month to cover food, clothing and other items.
"I want to live here and bring my family here. How am I supposed to pay for gas and water bills and food with only 15,000 pesos?” asked Tunisian Adel El Ouerghi.
The four have appreciated Uruguay's hospitality, but noted that living there would be impossible without more financial help.
The former detainees were taken captive by US forces back in 2002 but never indicted until they were cleared in 2010. However, they were unable to go back to their home countries for security reason and had to remain in prison until Uruguay agreed to host them.
The protest continued into Saturday with no response from embassy staff, but they pushed ahead with their demands for recompense from Washington for having been mistreated despite their innocence.
The former inmates, who include four Syrians, one Tunisian and one Palestinian, were set free from the Cuba-based Guantanamo military camp in December 2014 and have since been housed in a four-bedroom home in the Uruguayan capital.
As a humanitarian gesture, the men were invited to resettle in the poor South American country of 3.3 million people by President Jose Mujica, who has since left office.
The four, who were released along with two others, have been complaining about their living conditions.
Every one of them currently receives nearly USD 600 per month to cover food, clothing and other items.
"I want to live here and bring my family here. How am I supposed to pay for gas and water bills and food with only 15,000 pesos?” asked Tunisian Adel El Ouerghi.
The four have appreciated Uruguay's hospitality, but noted that living there would be impossible without more financial help.
The former detainees were taken captive by US forces back in 2002 but never indicted until they were cleared in 2010. However, they were unable to go back to their home countries for security reason and had to remain in prison until Uruguay agreed to host them.