US to build war trials compound at Guantanamo

The US military is planning to build a $125 million (€97m) compound to hold war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

The elaborate facility, scheduled to be completed by July, represents one of the most significant upgrades at the isolated base in southeast Cuba since it began taking in detainees in 2002.

The design for the compound, to be constructed near an existing courtroom, includes residential quarters for as many as 1,200 people, dining areas and work spaces for those involved in the trials. The proposal would have to be submitted to Congress, which must approve the expenditure.

Among the suspects facing war crimes trials at Guantanamo are 14 “high-value” detainees recently transferred from secret CIA custody, including Abu Zubaydah, believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and many al-Qaida cells, and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.