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U.S. reveals names of detenus

Pentagon papers released after lawsuit

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE: After four years of secrecy, the Pentagon has handed over documents that contain the names of detenus held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. The release resulted from a victory by The Associated Press in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush 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 identities would violate the detenus' privacy and could endanger them and their families.

The names were scattered throughout more than 5,000 pages of transcripts of hearings at Guantanamo Bay released on Friday, but no complete list was given and it was unclear how many names the documents contained. In most of the transcripts, the person speaking is identified only as ``detenu.'' Names appear only when court officials or detainees refer to people by name.

In some cases, even having the name did not clarify the identity. In one document, the tribunal president asks a detenu if his name is Jumma Jan.

The detenu responds that no, his name instead is Zain Ul Abedin.

The men were mostly captured during the 2001 U.S.-led war that drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. — AP

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