'They'll get their day in court'

2006-05-07 22:01

Berlin - United States President George W Bush says he would like to close the US-run prison at Guantanamo Bay but was awaiting an American supreme court ruling on where suspects held there might be tried.

Human rights groups have accused the US of mistreating Guantanamo detainees through cruel interrogation methods, a charge denied by the US government.

They also criticise the indefinite detention of suspects, captured since the military prison was opened in 2002, as part of the Bush administration's declared war on terrorism.

On Sunday night, Bush was asked by the German public television station ARD how the US could restore its human-rights image following reports of prisoner abuse.

Bush said: "Of course Guantanamo is a delicate issue for people. I'd like to close the camp and put the prisoners on trial.

"Our top court must still rule on whether they should go before a civil or military court. They will get their day in court.

"One can't say that of the people they killed. They didn't give these people the opportunity for a fair trial."

'Torture is widespread'

The US supreme court is expected to rule on whether military tribunals of foreign terrorist suspects can take place by the end of June.

The US has 480 detainees at Guantanamo and has freed or handed over 272 to their home governments.

The Pentagon has said it has no interest in holding anyone longer than necessary but it has been unable to arrange for some to return to their home countries.

According to the Pentagon, the detainees come from 40 countries and the West Bank. Most of the detainees are from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen.

In a report for the UN committee against torture last week, Amnesty International said torture and inhumane treatment were "widespread" in US-run detention centres, including Guantanamo Bay.

The US defended its treatment of foreign terrorism suspects in a hearing before the committee in Geneva on Friday, saying it backed a ban on torture.

- Reuters