Guantanamo prisoners demand only male guards

MIAMI – Some prisoners in the highest-security unit of the Guantanamo Bay detention center have launched a protest against what they consider the religiously offensive use of female guards to move them around the U.S. base in Cuba, lawyers for the men say.

The men are devout Muslims and their religious beliefs include a prohibition against physical contact with women who aren’t related to them. Marine Corps Maj. Derek Poteet, who represents accused 9/11 terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, said his client refused a meeting Thursday because of the use of female guards for escort duty, a practice that was halted in 2007 but recently resumed.

The protest is confined to Camp 7, a section of Guantanamo thought to hold about 15 of the so-called high value detainees. It is not publicly known how many are involved or how often they have refused to leave their cells for legal, medical or other appointments that would require an escort. The U.S. holds a total of 149 prisoners.