UN slams US over Guantanamo

2006-05-19 11:24

Geneva - The US should close its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and permit detainees access to judicial process or release them, according to a UN panel report released on Friday.

The United States should also ensure that no one is detained in secret detention facilities under its control, and disclose the existence of any such places, said the report by the UN Committee Against Torture.

"The state party should cease to detain any person at Guantanamo Bay and close the detention facility," said the 11-page final report, adding that detainees should not be returned to any state where they could face a "real risk" of being tortured.

The committee said it was concerned that detainees were being held for protracted periods with insufficient legal safeguards and without judicial assessment of the justification for their detention.

Secret prisons

The committee was also concerned about allegations that the United States has established secret prisons, where the international Red Cross does not have access to the detainees.

"The state party should ensure that no one is detained in any secret detention facility under its de facto effective control," the report said.

"The state party should investigate and disclose the existence of any such facilities and the authority under which they have been established and the manner in which detainees are treated."

- AP