Obama to restart military tribunals, with more rights

May 15, 2009|Lara Jakes, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Obama will restart Bush-era military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees, reviving a fiercely disputed trial system he once denounced but with new legal protections for terror suspects, officials said yesterday.

Obama criticized the tribunals during his campaign and suspended them within hours of taking office in January, ordering a review but stopping short of abandoning President George W. Bush's strategy of prosecuting suspected terrorists.

Obama's decision to resume the tribunals is certain to face criticism from liberal groups, already stung by his decision Wednesday to block the court-ordered release of photos showing US troops abusing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan - a reversal of his earlier stand on making the photos public.

Officials spoke about the military commission decision only on condition of anonymity, saying some of the details were not final.

An announcement was expected today.

The tribunal system - set up after the military began sweeping detainees off the battlefields of Afghanistan in late 2001 - has been challenged by human rights and legal organizations because it denied defendants many of the rights they would be granted in a civilian courtroom.

An administration official familiar with Obama's decision said between 10 and 20 of the 241 detainees currently at the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be tried by military commissions. Thirteen other detainees already have been moved into the system and are expected to be tried there.

The rest of the detainees would either be released, transferred to other nations, or tried by civilian prosecutors in US federal courts, an official said. It's also possible that some could continue to be held indefinitely as prisoners of war with full Geneva Conventions protections, according to another senior official.