Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

US admits more juveniles held at Guantanamo

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A spokesperson for the Pentagon acknowledged on Sunday while speaking to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that the US held 12 juveniles at the Guantanamo Bay prison. The announcement came in response to a study released last week by the Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas (CSHRA). In May, the US reported to the CRC that only eight juveniles were detained in the prison. The study was based on information available through the American military and diplomatic sources. Other sources, including former detainees, the Red Cross and international sources, indicated to the Center that the number of juveniles could potentially be higher. Eight of the 12 juveniles listed in the study have been released from the prison. Included in the study was Omar Khadr, the 21-year-old Canadian, who has admitted to being trained by al Qaeda and killing a US solider in Afghanistan. Khadr was detained by US forces in 2002 as a 15-year-old. In 2007, Khadr was formally charged with supporting terrorism, conspiracy, and spying in "violation of the law of war." Khadr has filed an affidavit saying he was threatened and abused as an inmate.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 17, 2008 (boomark / email).