Gitmo standards deemed humane

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has concluded that the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, meets the standards for humane treatment of detainees established in the Geneva Conventions accords.

In a report for President Obama on conditions at Guantánamo, the Pentagon recommended some changes — primarily providing some of the most troublesome inmates with more group recreation and opportunities for prayer — according to an administration official who has read the report and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The lengthy report was done by a top Navy official, Adm. Patrick Walsh, in response to Obama's Jan. 22 executive order to close the facility within a year.

Some of the most dangerous inmates at the naval facility in Cuba have been barred from meeting with other prisoners for prayer or socialization; instead they are kept in their cells for up to 23 hours a day.

Obama has criticized the detention center, and human-rights advocates have condemned it as violating the Geneva Conventions, established to protect the rights of those held in detention by other countries, including in times of war.

Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday appointed a senior Justice Department official, Matthew Olsen, to head a task force looking into how to close Guantánamo and deal with the more than 200 men being detained there.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration said Friday it is not ready to extend legal rights to the prisoners held at the U.S. air base in Afghanistan.