Russian held at Guantanamo says soldiers there desecrated Quran in toilet

A Russian formerly held at Guantanamo camp said Tuesday that soldiers there regularly desecrated the Quran by putting it in a toilet. Airat Vakhitov staged a news conference in Moscow.

Vakhitov, as well as other six Russians, was released from Guantanamo in March 2004. On returning to Russia he and the six others were held for three months, then released last June.

"In Cuba, they used to throw the Quran in the toilet bowl. This happened regularly and was intended to provoke us," AP quoted Vakhitov as saying.

Vakhitov had been held by U.S. forces at Kandahar in Afghanistan, where many detainees were held before being sent to Guantanamo.

"In Kandahar, they tore up copies of the Quran and even put it in a bucket of feces," he said.

Vakhitov also said detainees were abused through sleep deprivation. He also claimed that forces used unspecified gas and one time allowed dogs to attack the prisoners.

Details on Vakhitov’s story and Guantanamo tortures you can read here.