6 Gitmo Uighurs Arrive in Palau

Administration ends 2-year military prosecution freeze

(NEWSER) - President Obama today reversed a two-year freeze on military prosecutions against Guantanamo Bay detainees, the AP reports. In an executive order, the president restarted the process of trying the high-risk detainees—the latest acknowledgment of the political difficulties of fulfilling his campaign promise to close the Cuban detention facility. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will also rescind his January 2009 ban on new prosecutions. More»

Brothers detained since 2001 to be resettled in Alpine region

(NEWSER) - Two Chinese Uighur brothers will soon be swapping Guantanamo Bay for the Swiss Alps. Switzerland officials have decided to accept the men for resettlement on humanitarian grounds. Authorities believe that Bahtiyar and Arkin Mahmud pose no security risk and should be able to find jobs in their new homes in Jura in northwestern Switzerland, the BBC reports. More»

Pres tells Fox's Major Garrett prison will close after Jan 2010

(NEWSER) - Guantanamo Bay prison won't close by the January deadline he set when he took office, President Obama admitted today, but he still hopes to shut it next year. Obama is "not disappointed" in missing the deadline, he says in a FoxNews interview airing this morning, since closing the facility is "technically hard" and people are understandably "fearful after a lot of years where they were told that Guantanamo was critical to keep terrorists out," the Washington Post reports. More»

Federal, Military prosecutors fight for rare testimony

(NEWSER) - Federal and military prosecutors looking to convict Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainees are competing with each other to offer plea bargains to lower-profile inmates in exchange for testimony. Some detainees have remained at Gitmo because they are considered too difficult to prosecute, and the evidence against some of them is so thin that in one case, a prosecutor asked a defendant to suggest a charge he’d be willing to cop to. More»

(AP) - The Supreme Court will hear a new case about the rights of Guantanamo detainees, this time involving prisoners who remain in custody even after the Pentagon determines they're not a threat to the United States, the court said today. Last year, the court said in a 5-4 ruling that federal judges could ultimately order some detainees to be released, depending on security concerns and other circumstances. More»