Guantanamo Bay names released in response to FOI request

Guantanamo Bay names released in response to FOI request

The US defence department has released the names and nationalities of some of the inmates detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Some have been held in captivity for up to four years.

The names have been published in transcripts of tribunals in which the 500 detainees were screened and their combat status assessed. The files have been released as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Associated Press. Human rights groups say the release of the full transcripts is a significant blow against US government secrecy and will help in piecing together the personal histories of the detainees to judge how many of them actually pose a threat to the US as the US military insists they do.

Pentagon reveals Guantanamo names (BBC website, 4 March 2006)

See also: Suit leads to disclosure of 5,000 pages of transcripts from secret hearings (Scotland on Sunday, 5 March 2006)