ICRC meets top al-Qaeda inmates

2006-10-13 10:28

Washington - Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have interviewed 14 top al-Qaeda prisoners at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including the alleged mastermind of the 9/11, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Thursday.

"I can confirm that they did meet with the detainees," said Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Gordon.

"They had access to the 14 high value detainees just like all the other detainees."

The 14, who were transferred to Guantanamo on September 5 after the closure of the CIA's secret prisons, include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

'Orientation'

Gordon said the interviews were conducted individually, but would not say when they occurred, how long they lasted, or whether the ICRC had raised any issues with authorities at the Guantanamo detention centre.

The interviews began after the prisoners went through a 30-day "orientation" after their arrival at the detention centre which is located on a US naval base on the southeast tip of Cuba.

It was unclear whether the prisoners had been separated from each other or from the roughly 450 other detainees being held as enemy combatants at the facility.

"They are in a secure and modern facility under the control of joint task force Guantanamo," Gordon said, referring to the military unit that runs the detention operations.

- AFP