NY Times: Pentagon to Build Second Secret Guantanamo Courthouse for Small Cases
Photo: Wikipedia
By 2023, the Pentagon will build a second secret courtroom to deal with minor criminal cases at Guantanamo Bay. This is necessary in order for the judges to be able to conduct two trials at the same time, according to The New York Times.
At the same time, there will be no place for the press in the new hall. Its construction will cost the US government four million dollars.
Other, more high-profile criminal cases – for example, on charges of terrorism – will be conducted in a hall that has existed since 2008. There are places for the press – they can watch the meeting on the broadcast. At the same time, it is known that the broadcast is shown with a delay of 40 seconds, and this time is enough to turn off the sound (if, for example, the defendant said something provocative).
Although it costs US taxpayers billions of dollars to maintain Guantanamo, it is increasingly shrouded in secrets. The US Department of Defense has banned funding of Guantanamo Bay from its budget after September 30, 2022. Thus, the administration of President Joe Biden wants to permanently close it.
The first attempt to close the prison was made by former US President Barack Obama, having signed a corresponding decree in January 2009. This decision was not enforced due to the resistance of the Republican congressmen. In 2018, the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, issued a prison preservation order, overturning the order of his predecessor.
