Guantanamo’s indefinite detainees, held without charge or trial, will die there unless court intervenes: lawyers

A new legal challenge seeks to end indefinite detention without trial at Guantanamo Bay, as lawyers for 11 men who have been held at the military facility for up to 16 years argue that their imprisonment has gone on too long.

The motion, filed at federal District Court in Washington on Thursday, asserts that the detention of 11 prisoners, none of whom have been charged during their decade and a half at Guantanamo, violates US and international law.

The group represents a large share of the detainees remaining who are not facing trial in a military court process at the prison, which us President Donald Trump has promised he will keep open and potentially use to house new terrorism suspects.

Wells Dixon, a senior staff lawyer at the Centre for Constitutional Rights, which was involved in putting forward this week’s action, said the Trump administration had opened itself up to a legal challenge because it appeared to intend to leave inmates at Guantanamo for the foreseeable future, even those who face no charges.

The motion argues “really for the first time, that the men who remain at Guantanamo simply have been held for too long,” Dixon said. “These men will likely die in Guantanamo unless the courts intervene.”

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment, saying officials were reviewing the filing.