US Military Agrees to Release Identities of Guantanamo Detainees

By VOA News
26 February 2006

The U.S. Defense Department says it will comply with a federal judge's order to release the identities of hundreds of terror suspects being held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A Pentagon spokesman says the military is working with the U.S. Justice Department to release uncensored transcripts of military tribunal hearings at Guantanamo by a court-ordered deadline of March 3.

The judge's order last month was part of a ruling issued in favor of the Associated Press, which filed a lawsuit to obtain the transcripts to determine whether detainees had been properly classified as enemy combatants.

The military released hundreds of transcripts last year, but blacked out the names and nationalities of detainees.

The Pentagon is strongly opposed to releasing the identities, but has ultimately decided not to appeal the order.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.