Obama Admin buys prison in Illinois to shift Gitmo detainees

“The announcement today that the President has instructed the Bureau of Prisons to begin the purchase of the Thomson facility in Illinois is a big step in that process of closing Guantanamo Bay,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters at his daily news conference.

While the White House would not give the number of prisoners who would be shifted to this new facility in Illinois,Senator Richard Durbin put the figure at 100.

The new facility in Illinois would be run by same people who are operating Guantanamo Bay.

“I think if there are concerns for security reasons,I would hope some of those people would address why they think the military can do what they’re doing at Guantanamo and can’t do it at Thomson,” Gibbs said.

Referring to the frequent recruiting videos of senior al-Qaeda leaders in which they use Guantanamo Bay as a clarion call to bring extremists from around the world to join their effort,Gibbs said: “Closing Guantanamo Bay makes this country safer.”

Earlier,a senior Administration official told reporters that Obama has made it clear that closing detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is essential to protect US national security and helping its troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al-Qaeda.

“This is supported by the nation’s highest military and civilian leaders who prosecuted the fight against global extremists and al Qaeda under the previous administration and continue to do so today,” he said.

“The President has no intention of releasing any detainees into the US. Current law effectively bars the release of Guantanamo detainees on US soil,and the federal government has broad authority under current law to detain individuals during removal proceedings and the pending execution of final removal orders,” he said.

“Detainees do not get visits from friends or family. They get visits from their attorneys,law enforcement officials,and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They will be housed separately within the facility from other federal inmates,” he said.

The official said the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois was built in 2001 to maximum security specifications by the State.

“It’s a 146-acre reservation. It’s got dual-sided electric stun fencing,hundreds of cameras on a fibre optic surveillance network,armed outer and perimeter towers,so it’s already built to maximum security,” he said,adding the defence department would add security measures to make it the most secure facility in the nation.

Just shifting Guantanamo inmates wont’s solve problem : HRW

A human rights body on Wednesday expressed doubts over the recent announcement by Obama Administration to shift Guantanamo detainees to a correctional facility in Illinois and voiced concerns about the lawful treatment of the prisoners.

“While closing Guantanamo is important,simply transferring detainees to the US will not solve the problem,” the Human Rights Watch counter-terrorism director,Joanne Mariner,said in a media release.

Shifting of Guantanamo detainees hardly a meaningful step: ACLU

A US civil liberties organisation has termed “hardly a meaningful step forward”,the announcement of the Obama Administration to shift the Guantanamo detainees to a federal prison in Illinois.

“Shutting down Guantanamo will be nothing more than a symbolic gesture if we continue its lawless policies onshore,” said D Romero,Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union.