Camp X-ray prisoner talks set to resume
Talks between the USA and the UK over the eventual fate of several British men being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are set to resume today.
A legal team representing the USA’s defence department will be arriving in the UK for talks with Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General. They will discuss further arrangements for the trial of two British men at a secret location following claims that a possible British trial is still on the agenda.
It has been rumored that the option of returning the men to England had been ruled out, though this has been denied. Such a move is made difficult because the UK government does not have the power promise that a prosecution would take place because of the historic separation of powers.
Prisoners at the base were captured during the Afghanistan war that saw the Taliban deposed and Al Quaeda training camps destroyed. They have been held without charge since the base was first brought into use, and returned to the front pages in the UK recently when trials started to be arranged.
Those held are accused of being ‘illegal combatants’ by the American government, though many fear this term was used to avoid granting them the rights afforded to prisoners of war. The trials will apply only to those considered ‘suitable’ by the American government, a classification that has been applied to two British men.
Although the Geneva Convention protects prisoners of war from public trial so as to avoid show trials, human rights campaigners, and a number of politicians in the UK have called for the accused British ‘illegal combatants’ to be given a public rather than military trial.
There was also concern that the men would face the death sentence in the USA, and would not be afforded the full rights of American law because Guantanamo Bay is not on USA soil.
Campaigners representing the men, opposition politicians and the newspapers called on Tony Blair to use his new found influence in Washington to ensure that the rights of these men were upheld. This prompted him to discuss the issue with George W Bush, and legal talks were agreed.
Since then discussions involving the Attorney General have reached several agreements. One is that the men will not face the death penalty if found guilty at any trial. Another is that British consultant can assist each mans defence counsel.
