Obama orders Guantanamo Bay closure on first day

President Obama has signed orders stating that the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison camp and all overseas detention centres for terror suspects shall be enforced within the next year.

Obama’s review of the policies enshrined by Guantanamo will also extend to a review of military trials of terror suspects and a ban on harsh interrogation methods, which critics say amount to torture. Mr Obama has requested that military judges suspend several of the trials taking place at Guantanamo Bay so that the legal process can be reviewed.

The President signed the three executive orders that shall call these policies into effect on Thursday. The introduction of these measures so soon after Mr Obama’s inauguration will emphasise the distance of this new administration's policies from those of George W. Bush. However, Mr Obama stated that the Unites States would maintain its ongoing battle against terrorism and violence but said that: “We are going to do so vigilantly, we are going to do so effectively, and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and ideals.”

Before coming to power President Obama had repeatedly promised that he would close Guantanamo Bay prison where 250 inmates, accused of having links to terrorist networks are currently being held, and 21 cases are pending. The legal process at this controversial institution has come under scrutiny and criticism as it allows the US military to act as jailer, judge and jury.

Following Obama’s official promise of the closure of Guantanamo Bay within a year, questions remain over where those charged will be tried and where those freed can be sent safely. One of the captives whose future has been called into question is the Canadian born Omar Khadr.

Omar Khadr was detained by US forces in Afghanistan in July 2002 and was transferred to Guantanamo Naval Base in October 2002. Khadr is accused of killing an American soldier with a hand grenade during combat with US forces, planting mines to target US convoys, and gathering surveillance at an airport in Afghanistan. Khadr was only 15 years old when he was taken to Guantanamo and he has now spent more than a quarter of his life there. He has alleged that he has been subjected to torture and cruel treatment since being taken captive and his contentious detention has drawn much attention from human rights groups.

On Monday 12 January 2009, Human Rights First, along with four other human rights groups, sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, urging him to drop the military commission charges against Khadr and either repatriate him to Canada or prosecute him in US federal courts.

After facing three military judges, having three teams of US lawyers represent him, and having his charges dropped and reinstated three times, Khadr’s long legal saga may finally have reached its solution with Mr Obama’s request to halt his trial for 120 days and review the charges against him.

Khadr’s lawyers believe it to be unlikely that the Obama administration will transfer Khadr’s case to US federal or military courts, due to his age and the fact that the evidence has been tainted by accusations of torture. International law protects juveniles under the age of 18 captured in armed conflict and Khadr’s trial would have set a precedent for the first war crimes prosecution of a child soldier.