Should Guantanamo Bay Now Be Closed, And If So What Should Be Done Regarding It's Prisoners?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35643961

[jackthehat]

Yes.
They should be shipped home, if appropriate, or sent to US prisons (contrary to whatever Mr Rubio thinks) if that's appropriate.

[Peter Pedant]

yes it should be closed
no it should never have been opened

when asked about torturing prisoners there
the Americans dont even try " What ? that is a war crime how dare you ? "
they just whimper - the lawyers at the time said we could

there were plenty who said they couldnt

Steve Kleinman got it in the neck for supposedly designing suitable buildings in which to do it
He wrecked his career by showing a congressional committee that his thesis was being misused and he had clearly in the thesis said they could NOT be used for enhanced interrogation as it was clearly against the law and had been in WW2

( the thesis was on design and manning of debrief centres )

Military "Intelligence" are sure that the final ninety have 'done something' but have no idea at all what it is / was

and what do you do about the people who have been incarcerated without trial for fifteen years ? No idea
At least the British had the decency to FRAME the irish non-bombers
and subject them to a show-trial

[Cloverjo]

Yes, it should be closed. I'll probably be accused of being a muesli munching liberal, but keeping people locked up without trial and possibly tortured should not happen in a civilised country.
Close the place, put the inmates on trial if there's enough evidence and send them to other prisons if appropriate.

[youngmafbog]

As JTH says.

[jim360]

There's something very incongruous about the support for Guantanamo Bay Republicans in particular seem to show. It could be seen as the ultimate expression of "big Government" -- randomly locking up people it doesn't like based on no evidence, or at least none it's prepared to allow to be tested in open court. Why do so many people regard the people in there as necessarily guilty, because some unidentified intelligence officer says they are? In many cases these are (presumably) the same people who got the intelligence surrounding WMDs in Iraq so clearly wrong. While that's not enough to say that they are wrong in calling the detainees guilty also, it should at least be enough to prompt doubts. But from Rubio, or anyone working at Fox News, or Republican politicians in general, we see none. No doubt whatsoever. That cannot be reasonable.

Yes, it should be closed, and the people inside brought to trial. It cannot be acceptable that some people are locked up indefinitely -- not to mention subject to alleged torture and other "cruel and unusual punishments" -- just because some person who either cannot be or is not held to account says they should be.

[youngmafbog]

Jim you know very well most evidence on such people can never be given in open court. I cant see why a closed court was not used though.

[jim360]

ymb -- it might be worth regarding the "open court" as a drafting error. Should just read "tested in court".

[youngmafbog]

Ah that explains it. Sounded odd for you.

[Peter Pedant]

// I'll probably be accused of being a muesli munching liberal, but keeping people locked up without trial and possibly tortured should not happen in a civilised country. // Clove

here Habeas Corpus act 1689 I think ( could be 1677 )

American Bases are off limits to american law of the free
unlike British Bases abroad where the Queens writ runs as normal

( the american case was decided by their supreme court when japs were in the wire and they got a bit flustered. And they basically said you can shoot anyone. The british case was decided in peace time and the judges said 'of course we should be allowed in...'

[Peter Pedant]

// Jim you know very well most evidence on such people can never be given in open court. I cant see why a closed court was not used though.//

absolute ruuuubbish !

and whaaaat is wrong with public justice ?

Oh it is so secret we cant tell you was tried in R v Ponting and it was shown that the prosecution was not secret - - - they were lying .....

yes her mahesty's counsel was LYING in court to deceive everyone

Ponting acquitted.... and that was 1972

[Cloverjo]

Torturing people and holding them without trial is not far from what some backward countries do to women who have been accused of adultery but have actually been raped.
The "law" that PP mentions should be torn up and QB closed.

[jackthehat]

R v Ponting was 1985.......or is this a different R v Ponting you are referring to?

[anotheoldgit]

Cloverjo

/// The "law" that PP mentions should be torn up and QB closed. ///

Agreed the facility should be closed but what to do with it's prisoners?

America doesn't want them on their soil and we certainly don't want them, although saying that, there are some who might.

I suggest that they open up Alcatraz and intern the dangerous ones and any future ones there.

[jackthehat]

Until they are tried in a court, who's to say who the dangerous/guilty one actually are?

[andy-hughes]

I recall President Obama saying he would close Guantanamo the day after he was elected ... perhaps his watch stopped.

[EDDIE51]

The prisoners should be tried in open court if there is sufficient evidence to do it. Otherwise they should be set free.Guantanamo Bay is against all that 'civilisation ' and 'justice' stands for.
A 'secret' trial can never be a fair trial.

[anotheoldgit]

jackthehat

I doubt that even the Americans pick up any innocent bystander and lock them up in such an establishment.

[anotheoldgit]

EDDIE51

Even so would you care to have them dropped in your back-yard?

[Islay]

//I doubt that even the Americans pick up any innocent bystander and lock them up in such an establishment.//

But they have - they had the british detainee for years and he was innocent until proven guilty - they could not prove him guilty as they had no evidence!

[EDDIE51]

Yes I would be happy to have them near me, and 'Yes' it has been proved that the Americans do pick up innocent bystanders and lock them up!