US opens up Guantanamo tribunals for first time

With his feet shackled to the floor and his wrists bound, an Afghan 'war on terror' detainee on Thursday got a chance to ask whether he would ever be released from the Guantanamo Bay US detention camp.
The camp, surrounded by walls of razor wire and a forest of cactus, has been his prison for two and a half years although he has not been charged or seen a lawyer.
But facing widespread criticism over the physical and legal conditions here, US military authorities have started tribunals to review whether the Afghan and 584 other remaining al Qaeda and Taleban inmates were properly classified as 'enemy combatants' when captured.
The Afghan's case was the first to be witnessed by the media, or any outside observer, in the cramped prefabricated hut in Camp Delta where the special tribunals have been held for the past week.
If it goes in their favour, the inmates from 40 countries including Britain, France, Australia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Morocco could be released.
But Navy Secretary Gordon England warned here on Wednesday that not many could expect to return home. Five of the first nine tribunal hearings have gone ahead without the inmates who boycotted proceedings.
The 31-year-old man, who cannot be named, admitted he had been with the Taleban in Afghanistan but said he would have been "crazy" to fight US forces.
"I surrendered myself to the Americans because I am believing that Americans are for human rights," he said speaking in Pashto, which was translated for the three member military panel.
Slightly built and with long black hair and a bushy beard, the man wore the orange outfit that has become a symbol of the Guantanamo detainees.
The tribunal was held in a windowless room about 6.2 metres (20 feet) by three metres (10 feet) that was converted from two old interview rooms.
There was just enough space for the detainee whose shackled feet were chained to a padlock in the floor, an officer who represents him, an interpreter and the three military tribunal members.
Three reporters were allowed in to watch as the Afghan kept his eyes on the ground as an Air Force officer put forth the case against him. He was then allowed to tell his side of the story.