JURIST - Paper Chase: Gitmo detainee review panels may use evidence obtained by torture

[JURIST] US military panels reviewing the detention of 550 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay may use evidence obtained by torture in deciding whether the detainees are enemy combatants, the US government has said. Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle said the practice was allowed during a Thursday hearing at a district court reviewing the detention of some foreigners at the US naval base in Cuba. Statements obtained by torture have been barred from admission in US courts for about 70 years. Attorneys for the detainees argued that the use of such evidence violated due process and fundamental fairness, but Boyle argued that the detainees were not protected under the constitution. The review panels are allowed to use evidence that is determined to be reliable, Boyle said. Earlier this week the International Committee of the Red Cross issued a report finding that the US had used tactics "tantamount to torture" on detainees at Guantanamo. The challenges to the detentions are being heard by District Judge Richard J. Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. JURIST's Paper Chase has ongoing coverage of developments at Guantanamo Bay. AP has more.

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