According to U.S. Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va.), the notorious "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy is among the most popular reading materials for "high value" prisoners at Guantanamo prison, Reuters reported.
Last week, Representative Moran was among a group of congressional delegates who toured Camp 7, a part of Guantanamo that harbors "high value" prisoners - including five men charged with plotting the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Moran was joined by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and William Lietzau, the Pentagon's chief of detainee policy, who just announced he's leaving.
Moran, who favors shutting the prison, told The Huffington Post, "Rather than the Koran, the book that is requested most by the (Camp 7 detainees) is 'Fifty Shades of Grey.' They've read the entire series. I guess there's not much going on, these guys are going nowhere, so what the hell."
While touring the facility with base commander, deputy base commander, head medical official, and officer in charge that day, Moran said he learned about the trilogy's popularity. However, a military spokesperson denied specific comment when asked about Moran's assertion:
"We don't discuss our high-value detainees except in the most generic terms. Further, we do not discuss the assertions made by members of Congress," Lieutenant Colonel Samuel House, Guantanamo spokesman, said.
All 166 detainees in Guantanamo have access to a library full of books, magazines, and DVDs. A Guantanamo librarian mentioned that in addition to "Fifty Shades of Grey", the equivalently popular "Hunger Games" series is in high demand as well. During their visit last week, Reuters personnel noticed a wide-ranging choice of material, from Agatha Christie novels to stress reduction workbooks.
Moran last visited Guantanamo in 2006 and said conditions have improved since then:
"In 2006, I didn't get the sense they had their act together like they do now, they anticipate every question that's going to be asked, the facilities look fairly clean, they're ready to show you everything that's been discussed outside the prison in terms of force-feeding, isolated confinement versus communal living, etc. and we were able to see the communal living," Moran said.
