Guantanamo Bay news stories on Newser

Was This Pic of 9/11 Suspect Smuggled Out of Gitmo?

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:12:00 CDT

US officials are at a loss to explain how apparently recent photos of the suspected 9/11 master plotter ended up on a jihadist website . They fear the photos may have been taken and smuggled out of Guantanamo Bay. The photos show a calm, often smiling Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other...

9/11 Victim's Spouse Goes to Gitmo to Save Plotters' Lives

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:07:07 CDT

The husband of a 9/11 victim opposes the death penalty in all cases—and he went to Guantanamo to fight for his beliefs. Blake Allison won one of 10 slots in a 9/11 mourners' lottery, allowing him to visit the island for the arraignment of admitted mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed....

Tomorrow: 9/11 Case Back On at Gitmo

Matt Cantor — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:47:05 CDT

It's been three years since President Obama paused the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged planners of the 9/11 attacks. Tomorrow, the case resumes in a military tribunal at Guantanamo after efforts to move the proceedings to a civilian court failed . Things could be a little different...

Death Penalty Trial to Resume for KSM

Kevin Spak — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:29:37 CDT

The long-delayed effort to put alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed on trial lurched forward today, when the Pentagon approved a death penalty trial for Mohammed and his four alleged co-conspirators, the Washington Post reports. The trial will be conducted by a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, with an arraignment...

16% of Gitmo Detainees Return to Terrorist Life

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:50:05 CST

Of the 600 detainees who have left Guantanamo Bay, just under 16% of them have re-engaged in terrorist activities—and the director of National Intelligence yesterday pointed out that's a smaller figure than the 27% a Republican congressional report cited last month. That's because the earlier report combined the confirmed...

Gitmo Prisoners' New Perk: $750K Soccer Field

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:34:10 CST

For those in the US wailing about wasteful government spending and/or the Obama administration's failure to close Guantanamo Bay, cue the outrage: Gitmo detainees are getting a new soccer field, which will cost taxpayers $744,000. The field is just about finished and was shown to reporters during a tour...

Al-Qaeda Magazine Found in Gitmo

Rob Quinn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:45:00 CST

A copy of al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine somehow found its way into a terror suspect's cell at Guantanamo Bay. The security breach was revealed at a hearing yesterday by a prosecutor defending the prison camp's plan to review mail between prisoners and their attorneys, the Miami Herald reports. The magazine, launched...

Time for US to Give Gitmo Back to Cuba

John Johnson — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:17:23 CST

With the 10th anniversary of the opening of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay upon us, Harvard lecturer Jonathan M. Hansen suggests a way to mark the occasion: Give the whole military base, prison included, back to Cuba. The US forced Cuba to lease the base to us in 1901...

Guantanamo Bay Turns 10

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:52:36 CST

Today is a birthday, but probably not one you want to celebrate: Guantanamo Bay is turning 10, an anniversary that will be marked by protests here and abroad. Ten years ago, the first 20 detainees were flown to the detention facility in chains. Several of those 20 remain at Gitmo...