“The United States is operating ‘floating prisons’ to house those arrested in its war on terror, according to human rights lawyers, who claim there has been an attempt to conceal the numbers and whereabouts of detainees. …
Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve’s legal director, said: ‘They choose ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their legal rights.
‘By its own admission, the US government is currently detaining at least 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and information suggests up to 80,000 have been ‘through the system’ since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are, and what has been done to them.’ “
– Duncan Campbell and Richard Norton-Taylor, “US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships,” TheGuardian.com, June 1, 2008