Review of Guantanamo detainees begins

Review of Guantanamo detainees begins


Protesters dressed as detainees call for closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A review of evidence against the prisoners begun this week is a step toward closure and a decision on whether Obama will end Bush’s detention policies.
NICHOLAS KAMM, AFP/Getty Images

By Julian E. Barnes
February 14, 2009


Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration has begun the process of reviewing files of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to determine who can be prosecuted and who can be transferred to other countries, officials said Friday, a crucial first step toward closing the prison.

The review, begun this week, is also key to a decision on whether the administration can turn the page completely on the Bush administration's detention policies.

"We think it essential that these files get looked at with a completely new eye by the new administration," said Devon Chaffee, advocacy counsel for Human Rights First.

But depending on the outcome of the review, the Obama administration may decide it has to retain some form of the controversial military commission system begun under President Bush.

Administration officials also could decide they must continue holding some prisoners without trials, relying on the same powers under the law of armed conflict that the Bush administration used to detain "enemy combatants."

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gitmo14-2009feb14,0,1394765.story