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Judge: US Must Reveal Charges Vs. Gitmo Prisoners

By the Associated Press

Posted Jun 1, 2009 2:15 PM CDT

(AP) – A federal judge today ordered the US to publicly reveal unclassified versions of its allegations and evidence justifying the continued imprisonment of more than 100 detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Justice Department had been filing unclassified versions of its legal documents under seal, so that they could only be seen by judges, attorneys and government officials.

Department officials described the practice as necessary to protect national security after they discovered that some unclassified records initially filed publicly mistakenly contained classified information. Saying the public has a right to access the records, District Judge Thomas Hogan ordered DoJ to publicly file its unclassified records or show the court what specific information it wants to keep protected, with a colored highlighter, by July 29.

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A detainee walks inside the open-air yard at the Camp Four detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo)

A Guantanamo detainee paces inside the exercise yard at the Camp Five detention facility. (AP Photo)

The sun rises over the Guantanamo detention facility. (AP Photo)

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As long as public access does not come at the expense of the litigation interests of petitioners or national security, the court believes the public has a common law right to access the returns. - Judge Thomas Hogan

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