JURIST - Paper Chase: UK AG blasts new US detainee rules, renews call for Guantanamo shutdown

[JURIST] UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith [official profile] on Monday decried the new rules governing US military detainee trials contained in the Manual for Military Commissions [text, PDF; JURIST report] released late last month. Speaking to the Amercian Bar Association [official website] House of Delegates at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Miami, Goldsmith reiterated [ABA statement; ABA video] his call [JURIST report] during a previous US visit to shut down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] due to concerns about the legality of the detentions and the ensuing military commissions. Goldsmith first publicly urged Guantanamo's closing in May 2006 [JURIST report] during a UK policy address.

Last week, lawyers for three Guantanamo detainees recharged under the new rules [JURIST report] renewed their condemnation [JURIST report] of the regulations claiming that the tight deadlines established by the rules will prevent extended investigation into the reliability of the evidence brought against their clients. The manual, which allows terror detainees to be convicted solely on hearsay or coerced evidence and prevents defendants from using classified evidence without government approval, was released [JURIST report] by the US Defense Department in January. AP has more.

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