U.S. lawmakers agree to Guantanamo prisoner transfer (Reuters)

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Reuters - U.S. lawmakers reached an agreement on Wednesday that would allow the Obama administration to bring more terrorism suspects from the Guantanamo Bay prison to the United States to face trial.

The agreement removes one of many roadblocks the administration faces as it tries to empty the internationally condemned prison by January.

The measure will face a tough vote in the House of Representatives, which voted last week to keep suspects held at the detention center at the U.S. naval base in Cuba off U.S. soil entirely.

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In this photo, reviewed by the U.S. military, a journalist walks past a row of tented sleeping quarters, at Camp Justice, the site of the U.S. war crimes tribunal compound, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, in the late hours of July 14, 2009. REUTERS/Brennan Linsley/Pool

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The measure would also allow the Pentagon to block the release of photos showing the abuse of terrorism suspects, which have figured prominently in several scandals.

Under the measure, the administration would be required to present a risk assessment and give 14 days' notice before bringing any of the 223 detainees remaining in the facility to the United States to face charges in American courtrooms.

Not all of those remaining will face criminal prosecution. Some could be tried instead in military tribunals, while others who have been cleared of wrongdoing could be resettled in countries willing to take them.

Obama ordered the controversial detention camp closed on his second day in office in January and gave administration officials a year to do it, but they have run into numerous legal, political and diplomatic hurdles.

Guantanamo prison, long condemned by human rights groups, opened in 2002 under President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.



This photo, reviewed by the U.S. military, shows a U.S. soldier at Camp Justice, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. Lawmakers overcame sharp divisions Wednesday and agreed for the first time that Guantanamo detainees could be sent to U.S. soil for trial, in a boost to the U.S. administration. (AFP/Pool/File/Brennan Linsley)