47 Guantanamo detainees to be held indefinitely

ABC News Jan 23, 2010

Two unnamed US officials say 47 Guantanamo Bay detainees will be held in prison indefinitely, without charge.

They are reportedly too dangerous to be released, but cannot be tried either because the evidence against them is too flimsy or was extracted by coercion.

The outcome will dismay civil liberties groups who hoped US President Barack Obama would end the practice of detention without trial.

Moazzam Begg was a Guantanamo detainee and now directs a prisoner rights organisation, 'Cage Prisoners'.

Mr Begg says he is dismayed but not surprised by the committee's findings.

"The reality is that although they're talking about holding these 47 prisoners without charge or trial, the sad reality is they've been held for eight years without charge or trial," he said.

"So it's not as if they're going to be entering into any new arena, there's no new discussion or dialogue. The whole talk about the change has come to America was simply a lie."

The Presidential taskforce has recommended 35 of the 196 detainees left at Guantanamo Bay face prosecution.

They could be heading to the United States be trialed in either a federal court or a military commission.

US Attorney General Eric Holder has already said five of them, including the alleged September 11 mastermind, will go on trial in New York.

Today marks Mr Obama's self imposed one-year deadline to shut down the prison camp, although he conceded last year that it would be missed.

C'mon Amos, pass out the pitchforks and light up the torches. This guy needs to be impeached.