US to transfer Gitmo detainees to Illinois
WASHINGTON:
Detainees at the US military jail in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be transferred
to a prison the federal government will acquire
in the northern state of Illinois, an administration official said today.
“Today, the administration will announce that the president has directed that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the Thomson Correctional Centre in Thomson, Illinois to house federal inmates and a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” the official said.
“Closing the detention center at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of Al-Qaeda,” the same official added.
“Today’s announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives.” The Chicago Tribune earlier reported that the facility would house between 35 and 90 detainees to be transferred from the controversial detention camp located on a US naval base in southeastern Cuba. The decision has been months in the making, as the administration works to close the Guantanamo facility, fulfilling one of President Barack Obama’s campaign promises.
Obama has acknowledged he will miss a self-imposed January 2010 deadline for closing the facility, as
his administration has struggled to find a way to deal with the 210 detainees still held at the facility.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates said earlier this month that the administration is ready to transfer 116 detainees from Guantanamo, but it has proved difficult to find third countries to provide asylum to prisoners who could face persecution in their home countries.
