UN rights expert says all Guantanamo prisoners should be freed or tried in U.S., rejects military tr

[AnOhioan]

Source: Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS -- All prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay prison should be freed or transferred to U.S. federal courts for trial by the Jan. 22 deadline set by President Barack Obama, a U.N. human rights investigator said Monday.

Martin Scheinin, who reports on the protection of human rights in the war on terror, said the U.S. Navy-run prison in Cuba should not be closed by trying to prosecute detainees through military commissions, which he said do not meet international human rights standards despite "small fixes."

The prison was created by former President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as a detention center for suspected al-Qaida, Taliban and foreign fighters captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere. But it has since become a lightning rod of anti-U.S. criticism around the globe because of reports of torture during interrogations and lengthy detentions without trial.

Guantanamo now holds about 223 men, and according to a list released in late September at least 75 have been cleared for release.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2009/10/un_rights_expert_says_all_guan.html

[defendandprotect]

1. Rightly so -- !!!