US:US military authorities are investigating the apparent suicide of a Saudi detainee at Guantánamo Bay amid renewed calls from human rights groups for the prison to be shut down.
The US southern command did not release the name of the dead man, who is the fourth inmate at Guantánamo to apparently commit suicide.
"The detainee was found unresponsive and not breathing in his cell by guards. The detainee was pronounced dead by a physician after all lifesaving measures had been exhausted," the command said.
When two Saudis and a Yemeni hanged themselves with their clothes at the camp last June, Rear Admiral Harry Harris, former commander of the Joint Task Force Guantánamo, described the action as aggression. "This was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetric warfare committed against us," he said.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is still investigating those deaths but officials yesterday adopted a more gentle tone about the latest incident.
"The remains of the deceased detainee are being treated with the utmost respect. A cultural adviser is assisting the joint task force to ensure that the remains are handled in a culturally sensitive and religiously appropriate manner," the command said.
The latest death comes eight days after new commander Rear Admiral Mark Buzby took over the running of the camp from Rear Admiral Harris.
Amnesty International said news of another suicide was not surprising in view of the circumstances in which detainees are held. "When you look at the conditions that people are in, so many people are in isolation, so many people held without any kind of certainty. It's a really extreme result of what's a really extreme situation. I don't know how many more indications need to be there that Guantánamo is not a good idea," said Jumana Musa, Amnesty's advocacy director.
Few candidates in next year's presidential election have called for Guantánamo to close.
Republican hopeful Mitt Romney said this month it should be doubled in size.