Closing Spruced-Up Gitmo Would Be a Waste

(NEWSER) - President Obama's task forces on the detention and interrogation of terror suspects will miss today's deadline for reporting their findings, the Washington Post reports. The review on detention policy has been given a 6-month extension, raising fears that the Guantanamo Bay prison may not be closed in January next year as promised. The task force on interrogation of future detainees has been given another two months. More»

Prison camp staff will offer more activities to distract detainees

(NEWSER) - Art class at Guantanamo Bay? Yes, it's in the works—along with geology class, Game Boys, access to newspapers, and more movie nights. The prison staff wants to keep prisoners "stimulated," Guantanamo's cultural adviser told the Miami Herald. "Once they are engaged and busy, they leave the guards alone." English classes are also planned, despite fears that they may help detainees eavesdrop on guards. More»

Six Algerian prisoners are first to contest detention by US

(NEWSER) - A federal judge opened the first habeas corpus hearing for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay yesterday, five months after the Supreme Court ruled that they may challenge their detention in court. The judge closed the court after opening statements were made, saying that the evidence was classified, the New York Times reports. More»

Justices rebuke Bush and restore one of the nation's founding principles

(NEWSER) - Today's Supreme Court decision giving Guantanamo Bay prisoners the right to challenge their detention "will be one of the most celebrated landmark rulings of this generation," Glenn Greenwald writes in Salon. By upholding habeas corpus—a rebuke to the Bush administration and complicit pols of all stripes—the court rescued one of the nation's most important principles. More»

Prisoners held far from courts and scrutiny, human rights group charges

(NEWSER) - The US has detained terror suspects on some 17 naval ships that have been used as secret "floating prisons" around the world since 2001, according to a study by the human rights organization Reprieve. At least 50 prisoners were held on a single ship and delivered to unknown locations, reports the Guardian. More»