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July 10, 2009

Some Guantanamo Bay Detainees May Be Held Indefinitely
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Obama administration official's comment draws criticism from Democrats,
human rights groups 
An Obama administration official told Senators Tuesday that some
detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility will most likely be
held indefinitely if they pose a threat. The official spoke at a Senate
Armed Services Committee hearing. The comments drew criticism from
Democrats and human rights groups. In pool photo, reviewed by US
military, Guantanamo detainee speaks with guards, inside Camp 6
detention facility, 31 May 2009It is one of America's most controversial
prisons. The Guantanamo Bay facility holds the self-proclaimed
mastermind of the September 11 attacks as well as other terror suspects.
During his first week in office, President Obama signed an executive
order to close the prison in January 2010."This is me following through
on, not just a commitment I made during the campaign, but I think an
understanding that dates back to our Founding Fathers, that we are
willing to observe core standards of conduct," President Obama said.
President Obama's plan was to try some detainees in federal court and
others in military commissions while transfering some abroad. But at a
Senate hearing, Defense Department lawyer Jeh Johnson described one
group of prisoners that will remain behind bars."There will be at the
end of the review a category of people that we in the administration
believe must be retained for reasons of public safety and national
security, and they're not necessarily people that we'll prosecute,"
Johnson said. Johnson also said any detainee, even if acquitted, could
be held indefinitely. "And we've gone through our review period and
we've made through the assessment the person is a security threat....I
think it's our view that we would have the ability to detain that
person," Johnson said. Jo Becker is a Deputy Director of Human Rights
Watch. "It's taking the new administration down the same road that Bush
traveled, and it's not going to end up in a better place," Becker said.
The international community criticized!
  President Bush for holding terror suspects without trial. Some said i
t weakened U.S. credibility. President Obama himself has said the U.S.
must hold true to the constitution and American values. He also said the
administration would work with Congress and the courts to come up with a
plan for indefinite detention. "We will safeguard what we must to
protect the American people, but we will also ensure the accountability
and oversight that is the hallmark of our constitutional system," the
president said. Like President Bush before him, Mr. Obama says military
commissions will try some of the detainees. But, according to the White
House, information obtained under torture will not be allowed as
evidence and detainees will have greater access to lawyers. Human Rights
Watch says military trials are still unacceptable."These commissions are
fatally flawed. You can't fix them to create a credible system that is
going to have legitamacy in the eyes of the world," Becker said.229
detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay. It is unclear how many will be
released, tried in court or held without trial.