Three appear before tribunals

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Two alleged members of the ousted Taliban regime and a man accused of links to the al Qaeda network appeared Saturday before review tribunals at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an official said.

All three men spoke at their hearings, but the military has provided no transcripts of statements made at the review tribunals. No names or nationalities were released.

The first prisoner, a 36-year-old member of Taliban security forces, was accused of passing messages between senior al Qaeda members, said Navy Lt. Gary Ross, a spokesman for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. He also allegedly attended meetings with top-level al Qaeda members.

The tribunals also heard from a 21-year-old member of the Taliban accused of forcing others at gunpoint to fight against U.S. and Afghan forces, Ross said. The prisoner allegedly tried to throw a hand grenade at U.S. forces to escape capture.

A 31-year-old prisoner accused of belonging to a terrorist organization with ties to al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden also appeared before a tribunal, Ross said. The military did not provide details on the terrorist group.

The hearings are intended to decide whether the approximately 550 prisoners being held at Guantanamo have been correctly labeled as “enemy combatants,” or whether they should be released. So far, one Pakistani prisoner has been freed and 143 prisoners have been ordered held. Some 278 cases are pending. Almost 130 prisoners have yet to go before the tribunals.

Prisoners classified as “enemy combatants” are afforded fewer legal protections than those considered prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

Human rights groups and defense lawyers have criticized the proceedings as unfair, in part because prisoners are not allowed to have lawyers present.

The government says the tribunals are administrative.