U.N. expert says Guantanamo visit deepens concerns

GENEVA - A United Nations human rights investigator said his visit to the U.S. military facility in Guantanamo Bay last week left him wondering whether it would be possible for detainees' lawyers to mount an adequate defence.

Martin Scheinin visited the naval base in Cuba from December 3-7 at the invitation of the U.S. government, while a tribunal in the case of Salid Ahmed Hamdan, an accused guard for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was under way.

Scheinin did not address the details of that case in his remarks to the 47-state U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday. But he said: "The hearings provided graphic illustrations of the practical difficulties in providing fair trials at a distant military base."

He added they "confirmed the difficulties or even impossibility of the defence to provide evidence, as neither witnesses from abroad or high-value detainees from the Guantanamo facility next door could be heard, at least in this particular occasion."

The Finnish law professor, whose U.N. job title is special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, said he wanted better access to those detained at the Guantanamo prison.

The facility was opened in January 2002 after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"I still hope that a further follow-up visit will be possible for the purpose of conducting unmonitored interviews with detainees at places of detention, including Guantanamo Bay, despite the government's current position that it objects to such a request," he told the Council.

The United States responded by saying it was "disappointed" Scheinin had declined an offer to view the base on the same terms offered to other international observers, but did not specify what those terms were.

"We believe such a tour would have enabled him to provide the Council with a valuable perspective on the facility," Melanie Khanna, a U.S. legal adviser, told the Geneva session.

Khanna said Scheinin's remarks were "in part misleading about the facts of the process" and included "unfair and oversimplified criticisms of the United States."

"We hope that in future the work of the special rapporteur proceeds differently. In particular, we hope he will focus on less well-worn arguments under discussion elsewhere and more on practical solutions to common problems faced by the international community," she said.

Scheinin is scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon in Geneva, where the Human Rights Council is this week discussing issues in Myanmar, Sudan and other countries.