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| 38 Guantanamo inmates are no longer considered enemy combatants |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 04/04/2005 |
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Thirty-eight detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been declared not to be "enemy combatants" and are therefore eligible for release, the Pentagon said last Tuesday. That was an increase of five from the last time the Pentagon released results of its reviews, which were concluded in January but took additional time to obtain final approval. The people held at Guantanamo are mostly Afghans, Pakistanis and others captured after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. They were labeled "enemy combatants," which the U.S. administration decided did not afford them status as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. Navy Secretary Gordon England, who is overseeing this and another related review of the detainee cases, told a Pentagon news conference that five of the 38 have been sent to their home countries. The 33 others are still at the U.S. navy base at Guantanamo Bay awaiting transportation. In all, 558 cases were reviewed, although presently there are only 540 detainees at Guantanamo Bay; some were released for other reasons during the six months it took to complete the reviews. Some have been there for more than three years; only four have been charged with crimes. The Pentagon defines "enemy combatant" as "an individual who was part of or supporting the Taliban or al-Qaida forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners." It includes "any person who committed a belligerent act or has directly supported hostilities in aid of enemy armed forces." |
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