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Guantanamo prison may remain open until 2011: reports

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

[JURIST] The military prison at Guantanamo Bay may have to remain open until 2011 to allow an Illinois prison time to prepare for the arrival of the detainees, according to Wednesday reports. A spokesperson for Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that the government's plan to purchase the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois and refit it will take months to complete, rendering President Barack Obama's original promise to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January 22, 2010, impossible. In addition, Congress would have to change a law that prevents Guantanamo detainees from being transferred to the US except for prosecution, and pass a bill approving funding for the project. There have been protests from both sides of the aisle and from Illinois residents against bringing the remaining detainees, who number under 200, to the prison. The commission that will recommend to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn whether to sell the prison to the federal government will not make a decision until the middle of January. Attorney General Eric Holder has said that buying the facility in Illinois will speed the closure of Guantanamo Bay, suggesting that the facility could be closed as early as next fall. In October, Holder announced that the Obama administration may miss its January deadline for closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, echoing prior statements by top administration officials. US President Barack Obama originally issued the executive order to close Guantanamo within a year last January 22, two days after taking office.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 24, 2009 (boomark / email).