A controversial "disciplinary" cell block at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility will be demolished by the U.S. military, Politico is reporting.
The 24-cell building, called Camp Five Echo, was used to keep prisoners in solitary confinement for long periods of time and had been kept secret for several years after it was built in 2007, according to Politico.
The building, which has been vacant since 2014, was the target of criticism from human rights groups and lawyers representing the detainees, the website reported.
"This was a horrible, horrible cell block," said detainee lawyer David Remes. "This was really the worst place they could put a detainee at the time."
However, the decision to bring down the building appears to have been made as a result of the decline in prisoners at the facility, which once held 684 men, but now just has 41 inmates.
Built in its place will be a structure where detainees can meet privately with their attorneys and Red Cross representatives, Rear Admiral Edward Cashman, commander of the prison, said
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has frequently defended the use of the overall Guantanamo detention facility and has called it a "very fine place," The Hill noted.