|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
Torture and Big Money |
|
November 17th,
2006 - U.S. Military Plans New Compound for Trials |
|
U.S. Military Plans New Compound
for Trials Associated Press November 17, 2006 San Juan, Puerto Rico - The
U.S. military said it plans to build a US$125-million compound at the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base where it hopes to hold war-crimes trials for terror
suspects by the middle of next year. The compound, designed to
accommodate as many as 1,200 people, would include dining areas, work spaces
and sleeping accommodations for administrative personnel, lawyers,
journalists and others involved in trials at the isolated prison camp in
southeastern Cuba. It would create a total of
three courtrooms on the base to allow for simultaneous trials and a separate
high-security area to house the prisoners on trial. "We need to build more
courtrooms and we want to do multiple trials," Pentagon spokesman U.S.
navy Lt.-Cmdr. Chito Peppler said Friday. He said the government hopes to
begin construction as soon as possible to be ready for trials no later than July
1. Human rights groups and
foreign governments have called on the U.S. administration to close
Guantanamo, saying prisoners are being held illegally but the planned
construction of new facilities underscores its permanence. "This is a huge waste
of taxpayer money," said Michael Ratner, president of the New York
City-based Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents hundreds of
Guantanamo prisoners. "They've been trying to
try people for five years and until they try somebody according to the
Constitution, nothing's going to happen there." Larry Cox, executive
director of Amnesty International U.S.A., described the compound proposed by
the Pentagon as "a permanent homage to its failed experiment in
second-class justice." The project, which has not
yet been submitted for congressional approval, represents one of the largest
upgrades to the prison camp since it began taking in suspected enemy
combatants in January 2002. Among the terror suspects
expected to face war crimes trials at Guantanamo are 14 "high-value"
prisoners who were recently transferred from secret CIA custody. They include
Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks and Abu Zubaydah, believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and
many al-Qaida cells. Plans for the compound are
provided in a "presolicitation notice," dated Nov. 3 and posted on
the Internet for potential government contractors. It was first reported by
the Miami Herald newspaper. The contractor will be
required to complete work by July on the compound including "a secure
perimeter," a garage for 100 government vehicles and a closed-circuit
video-transmission centre, the notice said. The new compound will be located
in a field overlooking the bay and near the existing courtroom, which sits on
a hill. The U.S. government is
drafting new rules for the trials under the Military Commissions Act, which
President George W. Bush signed last month. The U.S. Supreme Court declared
previous efforts to try Guantanamo prisoners unconstitutional. Previously, 10 prisoners
were charged with crimes. A total of some 70 prisoners are expected to be
charged under the new law, military officials said. There are currently some
430 prisoners at Guantanamo. Defence lawyers have
challenged the validity of the new law, which bars prisoners from using the
civilian court system. If a U.S. appeals court or the Supreme Court rules in
their favour, it could strike down the military trials. External link:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/War_Terror/2006/11/17/2404173-ap.html |