Personal Injury Law

Pentagon study finds Guantanamo meets Geneva Convention standards

By Edward Bills

The Pentagon has concluded that the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay meets the standards for humane treatment of detainees established in the Geneva Convention accords.

In a report for President Obama on conditions at Guantanamo, the Pentagon recommended some changes — mainly providing some of the most troublesome inmates with more group recreation and opportunities for prayer.

Some of the most dangerous inmates at Guantanamo have been prohibited from meeting with other prisoners for prayer or socialization; they are kept in their cells for as long as 23 hours a day. That includes self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other self-styled Al Qaeda leaders charged with overseeing the 9/11 attacks, who would be likely to be affected by the proposed reforms.

Obama has criticized the detention center, and human rights advocates have condemned it as violating the Geneva Convention, a series of international rules established to protect the rights of those detained by other countries, including in times of war.

The administration official said the report’s primary conclusions supported the Department of Defense’s long-standing contention that Guantanamo was in compliance with the global convention, including Article 3, which requires the humane treatment of prisoners taken in unconventional armed conflicts, such as the war on terrorism.

Full post as published by Bodily Injury Blog on February 21, 2009 (boomark / email).