'GUANTÁNAMO NOT A LEGAL BLACK HOLE' SAYS EURO MP, AS COURT CHALLENGE APPROACHES

12.00.00am GMT Tue 4th Dec 2007

As the US's tarnished human rights image faces a stern test tomorrow with the US Supreme Court hearing illegal detainees' appeals against their continued detention, a Liberal Democrat MEP has reiterated her objection to the prison camp and the inmates' lack of legal rights.

Liz Lynne MEP, Member of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights has welcomed this week's legal challenge as it emerged a military judge had ordered defence lawyers for detainee Omar Khadr not to tell anyone, including Omar, the identity of the witnesses against him. They argue that this will seriously hamper the defence as the truth of any testimony cannot be easily tested.

Liz Lynne, who has long campaigned for the closure of the detention centre, said:

"Contrary to what many think, Guantánamo Bay is not a legal black hole: it is under US control, and therefore the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Torture Convention both apply. The US is obliged under international law to respect fundamental rights and observe due legal process.

"I hope that the Supreme Court hearings this week will uphold the rights that prisoners are normally entitled to, and find the 2006 Military Commissions Act unconstitutional. This would give further confirmation that the inmates have habeus corpus rights and remove another part of the US government smokescreen.

"Interest in the UK has waned somewhat since the British detainees were released, but we must take this opportunity to say to the US government that it must close Guantánamo Bay immediately, and either bring the remaining detainees to trial, or release them without further delay.

"Guantánamo Bay, ghost detention and torture represent an open sore on the human rights record of the US and remain a blatant act of defiance of the rule of law."

Ends

Notes to Editors:

Liz Lynne MEP is a long time campaigner on human rights and has regularly spoken out against the US detention centre at Guantánamo Bay since it opened in early 2002. In 2006 Liz co-authored a European Parliament resolution which called for the immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay.

For more information on the Omar Khadr trial please see: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/us/nationalspecial3/01gitmo.html?ref=todayspaper