Art Classes Coming to Gitmo

Prison camp staff will offer more activities to distract detainees
By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 23, 2008 7:49 PM CST
Art Classes Coming to Gitmo
In this image reviewed by the U.S. Military, a U.S. Military guard passes a container of food to a Guantanamo detainee.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Art class at Guantanamo Bay? Yes, it's in the works—along with geology class, Game Boys, access to newspapers, and more movie nights. The prison staff wants to keep prisoners "stimulated," Guantanamo's cultural adviser told the Miami Herald. "Once they are engaged and busy, they leave the guards alone." English classes are also planned, despite fears that they may help detainees eavesdrop on guards.

Prisoners already have access to books and rely on the so-called "Detainee News Network"—information passed on by guards and lawyers. As for art class, some prisoners already draw with crayons in their cells, often making greeting cards or illustrating weapons. Weapons? ''They draw whatever they want,'' a US contractor said. "You can't stop a detainee from thinking.''
(More War on Terror stories.)

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