Attorney general seeks justice for Guantanamo suspects
The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, is today holding talks with the US defence department regarding the nine British detainees behind held at Guantanamo Bay.
Lord Goldsmith has travelled to Washington to try and clarify the position of the British men, after the decision was made to try two of the suspects – Feroz Abbasi and Moazzam Begg – by secret military tribunal.
Legal action has been suspended following the Prime Minister’s discussions with President Bush last week, but the future for the two men is still unclear.
And Lord Goldsmith has also asked for the other seven Britons alleged to have been members of the Taleban or the al-Qaeda terrorist network, to be given access to legal advice.
The men are being held at the US naval base in Cuba with over 600 other detainees, classed by the US as “unlawful combatants”.
They are being detained indefinitely in wire cages, despite not having been charged with any crime. If the military tribunals go ahead the judge, prosecutor, and even the defence counsel will be from the US military.
If they are found guilty they could face the death penalty, with no right of appeal.
“My objective in these discussions is to ensure that the British detainees held at Guantanamo Bay are assured of fair trials that meet international legal standards, wherever those trials take place,” said Lord Goldsmith in a statement.
Amnesty International has welcomed the decision to halt plans for the military trials of the two Britons.
However, the organisation’s UK director, Kate Allen, commented: “The fundamental facts are that no-one at Guantanamo Bay should face a military tribunal, no-one should be held without charge or access to a lawyer and no-one should be held indefinitely.”
“There needs to be justice for all the hundreds of detainees held in legal limbo.”
