U.S. drops limits on Gitmo lawyer visits

U.S. drops limits on Gitmo lawyer visits
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published May 12, 2007

WASHINGTON -- After criticism that it was undermining fair trials, the Bush administration dropped its plan to limit the number of times defense attorneys could visit terrorism detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The government had sought to limit lawyers to three visits, but in a motion filed Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Justice Department said the limits no longer were necessary.

"Based on a current evaluation of resources and needs at Guantanamo, the [government] has decided this provision is no longer warranted," Justice Department attorneys wrote in the 6-page motion.

The government also said it would allow defense counsel to send mail to detainees once they establish and prove an attorney-client relationship. Initially the Justice Department charged that the lawyer-detainee mail system "was misused" to inform detainees about terrorist attacks, military operations in Iraq, activities of terrorist leaders, efforts in the war on terrorism, the Hezbollah attack on Israel and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The proposed policy was roundly criticized last month by the American Bar Association as a violation of constitutional rights to a fair trial.

An ABA spokeswoman did not have an immediate comment on the government's reversal Friday.