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Guantanamo prisoners' favorite novel? 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia, who recently toured a top-secret area of the Guantanamo prison, said the most-requested books are the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' series by E.L. James.

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Brennan Linsley/AP
A guard looks out from a tower at the detention facility of Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

The blockbuster “Fifty Shades of Grey” series by E.L. James has some new fans: prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Virginia congressman Jim Moran, who was part of a group of members of Congress who recently toured the high-security section of Guantanamo known as Camp 7, said that the most-requested books for prisoners in that area are the “Fifty Shades of Grey” novels.

“Rather than the Koran, the book that is requested most by the (Camp 7 detainees) is 'Fifty Shades of Grey,’” Moran said, according to the Huffington Post. “They've read the entire series. I guess there's not much going on, these guys are going nowhere, so what the hell.”

The Camp 7 area holds prisoners known as “high-value” detainees, which includes several men who have been charged with planning 9/11.

The military does not acknowledge Camp 7 in any way and so would not talk about Moran’s comments.

“We don't discuss our high-value detainees except in the most generic terms,” Lieutenant Colonel Samuel House told Reuters. “Further, we do not discuss the assertions made by members of Congress.”

Before now, those in charge at Guantanamo have stated they check books or magazines for sexual content before giving them to the prisoners. 

A Reuters reporter who toured the library which provides books to the prisoners also noted the availability of “Star Trek” novels, instructional books for getting rid of stress, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, and “The Odyssey” by Homer.

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