Leaks highlights 'original sin' of Gitmo

WASHINGTON: Innocent bystanders locked up for no reason, Al-Qaeda militants released to commit new atrocities: WikiLeaks has poured light on the "original sin" of Guantanamo, activists and experts say.

Documents released by the whistleblowing website show a system riddled with errors and botched assessments that have helped lead floundering efforts to shutter the facility on the southern tip of Cuba into a legal quagmire.

"These documents are remarkable because they show just how questionable the government's basis has been for detaining hundreds of people, in some cases indefinitely, at Guantanamo," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said.

"The one-sided assessments are rife with uncorroborated evidence, information obtained through torture, speculation, errors and allegations that have been proven false," the rights group said.

"The documents are the fruit of the original sin by which the rule of law was scrapped when Guantanamo detainees were first rounded up."

For military justice expert Eugene Fidell, the documents prove not only that the detentions were unjust, but also that they were ineffective militarily.

"What becomes clear is the amateur quality of the interrogations and the chaotic nature of the work that was done during interrogations," he said.

"They would have been a lot better off had they done what the Geneva conventions require in case of doubt, which is hold an inquiry, hold a so-called competent tribunal on or near the battlefield."

Now, for the 172 inmates who remain, "the damage is done," Fidell said. "(Officials) are doing the only things they can do, they are taking a very hard look at the people who are left." (AFP)