The International Committee of the Red Cross released a report that called the handling of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, 'tantamount to torture' and accused the U.S. of using both psychological and physical coercion on prisoners there.

The Red Cross sent inspectors to the prison in June and issued a report to the U.S. administration in July. A spokeswoman for the ICRC said, 'We have voiced concern including in public that there are significant problems which need to be addressed at Guantanamo Bay in terms of conditions and treatment of the persons there.'

The United States almost immediately rejected the group's findings. A spokesman for the Pentagon issued a statement saying, 'The United States operates a safe, humane and professional detention operation at Guantanamo that is providing valuable information in the war on terrorism.'

According to the Red Cross, however, the U.S. was attempting to break the will of prisoners by using 'humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, use of forced positions.' The report continued, 'The construction of such a system, whose stated purpose is the production of intelligence, cannot be considered other than an intentional system of cruel, unusual and degrading treatment and a form of torture.'

The United States is holding over 500 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay almost all of whom were captured during the fighting in Afghanistan or as part of the 'war on terror.' The Bush Administration has declared them 'enemy combantants' and claims that they are not entitled to the protections offered prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

In addition, most of the detainees have been held without charge for over three years and have been denied the right to speak to lawyers or have their attorneys represent them during questioning or hearings. Only now are prisoners being given individual hearings in an attempt to formally decide their status.