Report slamming Guantanamo legal conduct to be released

Washington: A report compiled by two lawyers has found that the US military breached several rules of conduct when determining that hundreds of men detained at Guantanamo Bay were "enemy combatants".

The report found that the military called no witnesses, withheld evidence from detainees and often reached decisions within a day.

The analysis of transcripts and records found that hearings that determined whether a prisoner should remain in custody gave the accused little opportunity to contest allegations against him.

Mark Denbeaux, an attorney and Seton Hall University law professor, compiled the report with his son Joshua and over 20 law students. He said, "These were not hearings. These were shams."

They provided an advance copy of the report to The Associated Press on Thursday and plan to release it on the internet on Friday.

Their report, based on an analysis of records of military hearings of 393 detainees, comes as the US government seeks to severely restrict detainee access to civilian courts.

Navy Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, dismissed the findings as "recycled allegations," and noted the tribunals gave each detainee an opportunity to contest their designation as an enemy combatant.

He said, "It is not a criminal trial and is not intended to determine guilt or innocence. Rather, it is an administrative process ... to confirm the status of enemy combatants detained at Guantanamo as part of the Global War on Terrorism."