By: After four years of secrecy, the Pentagon released documents on Friday that have the names of detainees at the American military prison at Guant?namo Bay.
The Bush administration had hidden the identities, home countries and other information about the men, who were accused of having links to the Taliban or Al Qaeda. But a federal judge rejected administration arguments that releasing the names would violate the detainees' privacy and could endanger them and their families. The release resulted from a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by The Associated Press.
The names were scattered throughout more than 5,000 pages of transcripts of hearings at Guant?namo Bay, but no complete list was given, and it was not immediately clear how many names the documents contained. In most of the transcripts, the person speaking is identified only as "detainee." Names appear only when court officials or detainees refer to people by name.
The documents also have the names of former prisoners, including Moazzam Begg and Feroz Ali Abbasi, both British citizens.
The men were mostly captured in the 2001 American-led war that drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan and sent Osama bin Laden deeper into hiding.
Most of the Guant?namo Bay hearings were held to determine if the detainees were "enemy combatants." That classification, Bush administration lawyers say, deprives the detainees of Geneva Convention prisoner-of-war protections and allows them to be held indefinitely without charges.
Documents released last year, also because of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by The A.P., had the detainees' names and nationalities blacked out.
An American military spokesman in Guant?namo Bay said the Pentagon was uneasy about handing over the transcripts.
"Personal information on detainees was withheld solely to protect detainee privacy and for their own security," Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler said.
He said the Department of Defense was concerned that disclosure "could result in retribution or harm to the detainees or their families."
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