50 Shades of Grey Finds Fans at Gitmo

Forget Inspire, erotic bondage and sadomasochism are among favorite reading subjects at the U.S. naval base's high-security camp

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Copies of the book "Fifty Shades of Grey
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Copies of the book "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E. L. James are seen for sale at the Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC, August 3, 2012.

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) made an interesting discovery on a recent congressional delegate tour of the controversial U.S. navel base and prison camp Guantanamo Bay. Even the world’s most sought-out terrorists have a soft spot for trashy novels.

Moran, who visited one of several camps at Gitmo, Camp Seven, first told the Huffington Post that the popular erotic novel series “Fifty Shades of Grey” is among the highest read material at the base’s high-security facility. Camp Seven, which is where what is referred to as the base’s “high-value” prisoners are detained, includes Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four others alleged to be architects of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade  Center in 2001.

(MORE: Mos Def, a.k.a. Yasiin Bey, Submits to Gitmo-Style Force-Feeding)

The small group of inmates have read the entire series, according to Moran’s interview, which was confirmed with his spokeswoman by Reuters. “I guess there’s not much going on, these guys are going nowhere, so what the hell.”

The military has not corroborated Moran’s statement, although he says he was accompanied by the base commander, deputy base commander, the head medical official and the officer in charge of that camp. Prison camp spokesman Lt. Colonel Samuel House said they do not discuss specifics of high-value detainees or claims made by members of Congress.

Journalists are prohibited from visiting certain parts of the camp, but have access to the prison library, where Reuters reports copies of Agatha Christie mysteries, “The Odyssey” and Star Trek novelizations are among the books, magazines and DVDs available to the 166 prisoners. Librarians often censor salacious reading material, including sexualized images of women in sports magazines, but apparently “Fifty Shades of Grey” evaded screening.

Moran, who is a proponent of closing Gitmo, said the high-security facility is comparable to that of a maximum-security federal prison. These captives, according to Moran, were not participating in the highly-publicized hunger strike that sparked worldwide public outcry on closing the prison base.

MORE: Guantanamo’s Starving Students