WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has concluded that the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay meets the standards for humane treatment of detainees established in the Geneva Convention accords.
In a report for President Obama on conditions at Guantanamo, the Pentagon recommended some changes -- mainly providing some of the most troublesome inmates with more group recreation and opportunities for prayer -- said an administration official who read the report and spoke on condition of anonymity, citing its confidential nature.
The lengthy report was done by a top Navy official, Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, in response to Obama's Jan. 22 executive order to close the U.S. military detention facility in Cuba within a year.
The report, which has not officially been released, "has been completed and will be delivered to the White House in accordance with the president's executive order," said a Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Jeffrey D. Gordon.
Some of the most dangerous inmates at the naval base have been prohibited from meeting with other prisoners for prayer or socialization; they are kept in their cells for as long as 23 hours a day. That includes self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other self-styled Al Qaeda leaders charged with overseeing the 9/11 attacks, who would be likely to be affected by the proposed reforms.
Obama has criticized the detention center, and human rights advocates have condemned it as violating the Geneva Convention, a series of international rules established to protect the rights of those detained by other countries, including in times of war.
The administration official said the report's primary conclusions supported the Department of Defense's long-standing contention that Guantanamo was in compliance with the global convention, including Article 3, which requires the humane treatment of prisoners taken in unconventional armed conflicts, such as the war on terrorism.
"The bottom line is that the report found that Guantanamo is in compliance with the Geneva conventions, which we have maintained for several years. So the report essentially validated our procedures and processes," the official said.
Human rights groups are planning to take issue with Walsh's finding that Guantanamo complies with Geneva requirements.
