Guantanamo to become permanent prison

A permanent prison is being built at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre where hundreds of terrorist suspects are held, it emerged today.

The development of the hard-walled site, which will hold about 100 inmates, has fuelled speculation that suspects could be detained for many more years without charge.

Until now, the 660 prisoners most of whom were detained during the recent Afghanistan conflict – have been held in corrugated metal units at the base on the southern tip of Cuba.

The move comes just weeks after a senior Red Cross official labelled Guantanamo Bay “a legal black hole“.

Christophe Girod, head of the ICRC delegation in Washington, said: “The point is that the US authorities have put the internees in Guantanamo beyond the law.”

Military tribunals will hear the cases against the inmates who have been labelled unlawful combatants rather than prisoners of war by the US.

The new 100-capacity prison block, which will be completed by next spring, could house those who are sentenced to prison terms by the tribunals.

Officials told the New York Times that there were no plans to build an execution chamber at the US Navy site.

The prison camp recently suffered a major security scare.

Air Force interpreter, Ahmad al-Halabi, 24, was detained last month and accused of committing espionage by spying for Syria.

It is alleged that he tried to deliver to Damascus 180 messages from prisoners and flight schedules in and out of the camp.

A Muslim military chaplain at the base, Yousef Yee, 35, was also arrested last month as part of the security probe.

There are fears that a conspiracy to infiltrate the camp may have involved more people.