US Senator Says Guantanamo Has 'Too Many Empty Beds and Cells’

The United States should be sending more terrorists to Guantanamo for further interrogation, US Senator said.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A greater number of terrorists should be interrogated and sent to Guantanamo Bay, US Senator Tom Cotton said Thursday at a congressional hearing on the detention center's issue.

“In my opinion the only problem with Guantanamo Bay is that there are too many empty beds and cells there right now. We should be sending more terrorists there for further interrogation to keep this country safe,” Cotton told Principal Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy Brian McKeon. “As far as I’m concerned, every last one of them can rot in hell. But as long as they don’t do that, then they can rot in Guantanamo Bay.”

US President Barack Obama has pledged to close the Guantanamo detention facility, but lawmakers had expressed concern inmates could reengage in terrorism if released.

The US authorities opened the Guantanamo prison in 2002 in the wake of 9/11 terror attacks on the United States. Since, human rights advocates have repeatedly criticized the practices at Guantanamo, citing inhumane conditions of confinement, torture, and the lack of legal due process.

In 2009, President Obama issued an executive order to review the status of all individuals imprisoned at Guantanamo. US authorities nearly cut in half the number of detainees at Guantanamo since 2009, but more than 100 detainees still remain imprisoned.