A defense lawyer for one of the Guantanamo inmates charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks claims that the prison camp is in violation of basic human rights required by the Geneva Conventions, and plans to file a motion challenging the conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conditions of confinement do not meet the standards for
\npreventative detention under the laws of war,\u201d<\/i> Pentagon
\ndefense attorney James Connell said after gaining access to a
\ntop-secret section of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba,
\naccording to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
Connell spent 12 hours inside Camp 7, a secret compound whose Connell said he took hundreds of photos of the top-secret camp, The lawyer said the conditions of confinement amount to pretrial If Camp 7 is indeed found to be in violation of the laws drawn up
\nlocation within Guantanamo remains classified. This camp holds
\n\u201chigh-value\u201d detainees, including the men charged in the
\nSept. 11<\/span> attacks. Connell was prevented from seeing
\nhow he was transported to Camp 7, and is also prohibited from
\nspeaking about what he saw. Together with two experts, the
\nPentagon attorney spoke with his client, Ammar al Baluchi, the
\nnephew of the mastermind behind the Sept. 11<\/span>
\nterrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
\nwhich are now in the hands of intelligence officials. The
\nattorney is not allowed to discuss specifically what he
\nwitnessed, but said he saw \u201ca number of things that concerned
\nus\u201d<\/i> and plans to file a motion with the prison commander. If
\nthe commander refuses to comply, he said he would file a second
\nmotion with the chief war court judge.<\/p>\n
\npunishment, which military regulations prohibit. Pretrial
\npunishments can sometimes lead<\/a>
\nto a reduced sentence.<\/p>\n
\nat the Geneva Conventions, it would put the Pentagon into an
\nuncomfortable position. In 2009, a Pentagon review ordered by
\nPresident Barack Obama concluded that Gitmo prisoners were being
\ntreated humanely, in accordance with the standards demanded by
\nthe Geneva Conventions. However the US has already come under
\nscrutiny this summer for force-feeding<\/a>
\ninmates during the holy month of Ramadan, which many considered a
\nviolation of the rights ensured by the conventions.<\/p>\n