This is the Guardian.

Today, on its 20th anniversary,

can the notorious prison at Fontanamo Bay ever be closed?

Just a warning before we begin.

This episode contains some descriptions of torture.

The first time I went to Fontanamo, it was January 25th, 2002,

so two weeks after the first detainees had been flown in,

and it looked like something out of a Second World War movie.

It looked like something out of the bridge of the river, Quai.

Julian Borgia is the Guardian's World Affairs Editor.

There was all wire mesh cages, barbed wire,

and then these six guard posts made of timber and plywood

with snipers, each of them looking down on the camp.

We were only allowed to go within 100 yards of it

and sort of peer through binoculars,

and we could see occasional flashes of the orange jumpsuits

sort of slumped in their cages,

trying to hang up sheets to block out the very hot afternoon sun.

And it really felt a little bit like being observers at a zoo.

When Fontanamo Bay took in its first prisoners on January 11th, 2002,

on a US naval base on the coast of Cuba,

there were growing concerns worldwide.

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