“Compliant” detainees—those who obey the camp rules—are housed in Camp 4, where they enjoy special privileges, including the right to mingle together and exercise for 12 hours a day. They have access to a library of more than 5,000 books in 19 different languages; can watch videos and play sports such as volley-ball, pingpong and football; and can even get extra loo paper, on request. Unlike their more unruly colleagues, they are also provided with a mattress, sheets, a prayer rug, earplugs and underwear. Most detainees now have access to a lawyer.

Indeed, a checklist drawn up by the JTF, comparing a prisoner-of-war's 25 basic rights under the Geneva Conventions with those of an alleged “enemy combatant” in Guantánamo, finds few big differences. The Guantánamo detainees generally have less freedom of movement, have all their correspondence screened, are not allowed to keep any personal belongings and, if charged, will be tried before a special military commission rather than a regular court-martial.

But unlike ordinary POWs, many are released before the end of hostilities; well over half Guantánamo's 778 detainees have already returned home. Furthermore, although the detainees may be asked any question, they “aren't required to answer”, the JTF insists. Nor are they penalised for staying silent.