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Ireland open to accepting released Guantanamo detainees

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

[JURIST] Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said Monday that Ireland would likely accept detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay military prison if US President-elect Barack Obama closed the facility. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Martin said that Ireland supports closure of Guantanamo and that there is a "logical follow-through" for Ireland to accept the detainees in order to assist in the facility's closure, though he added that no detainees with terrorist ties would be accepted. He also said that Ireland's final decision on whether to take in Guantanamo detainees would fall on the Irish cabinet. Obama has long indicated that he would close the military prison at Guantanamo bay if elected, raising concerns about where to relocate the released prisoners. Rights groups have urged closure of the controversial military prison upon Obama's inauguration in January, with the ACLU launching an ad campaign calling for Obama to end military commissions on his first day in office. Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered the Pentagon to draft a proposal for shutting down the prison in preparation for a possible order from Obama. Germany, France, and Portugal have said they would consider taking in released Guantanamo detainees, and have encouraged all EU member states to cooperate in formulating a plan for accepting prisoners who cannot be returned to their homelands because of risk of torture. Britain and Australia have said they would consider accepting detainees on a case-by-case basis. Poland and Spain have expressed reservations about accepting Guantanamo detainees, while the Netherlands has said it will not accept any. Obama and his advisers have yet to reach a firm decision on the closure of the facility.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 29, 2008 (boomark / email).