Guantanamo prisoners named

Offering a glimpse into the top-secret world of Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon has released the names and home countries of many detainees who have been held at the isolated military prison for up to four years.

A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by The Associated Press forced the Department of Defence yesterday afternoon to turn over some 5,000 pages of transcripts from closed-door hearings on the detainees, most of whom were accused of having links to the Taliban or al-Qaida.

While the Pentagon has not provided the full roster of detainees, the transcripts give the most detailed picture to date of who has been held at the prison on a US base in eastern Cuba, which has become the focus of international criticism in part because of the government’s shroud of secrecy.

Jamie Fellner, director of the US programme for Human Rights Watch, said the disclosure represents a “major breach” in that secrecy.

“It will add to our understanding of who is there and what are the reasons that the US alleges they are there for,” Fellner said.

The Pentagon released the documents after a federal judge rejected arguments by the administration of US President George Bush that releasing names, home countries and other information would violate the detainees’ privacy and could endanger them and their families.

The documents contain the names of some known former prisoners, like Moazzam Begg and Feroz Ali Abbasi, both British citizens. A hand-written note shows Abbasi pleading for prisoner-of-war status.

Documents released last year – also because of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the AP – included transcripts of 317 hearings, but had the detainees’ names and nationalities blacked out.

The current documents are the same ones - this time, uncensored.

A US military spokesman in Guantanamo Bay said the Pentagon was uneasy about handing over the transcripts.

About 490 prisoners are being held at Guantanamo Bay, but only 10 of them have been charged with a crime.

A Pentagon lawyer delivered the documents – 60 files on a CD-ROM – about 20 minutes after the deadline at the close of business yesterday. But within minutes, an officer returned and took back the CD-ROM, which contained letters from relatives of some of the prisoners that were not intended for release. A new version was provided an hour later.