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Obama has repeatedly vowed to close the notorious detention center.
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WASHINGTON — A few hours after being sworn in, US President Barack Obama has asked prosecutors to seek a suspension of Guantanamo military trials, a decision welcomed by the world as a first step towards its closure.
"In the interests of justice, and at the direction of the president of the US and the secretary of defense, the government respectfully requests the military commission grant a continuance of the proceedings," said prosecution documents cited by Agence France Presse (AFP).
Obama wants all pending cases, including the trial of five on charges of plotting 9/11 and Canadian Omar Khadr for allegedly killing a US soldier in Afghanistan, suspended for 120 days.
"[This would] permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases currently pending before military commissions, specifically."
Military judges will decide on Obama's request later on Wednesday, January 21.
The special military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees were established in 2006 by the Bush administration to try them under separate rules from regular civilian or military courts.
The Bush administration has declared the hundreds of detainees held at Guantanamo as unlawful enemy combatants to deny them legal rights under the American legal system.
Twenty-one people have been charged and 14 out of an estimated 245 remaining prisoners have appeared before judges.
The Pentagon had refused to unveil the body of evidence to justify the prisoners' continued detention, claiming it would endanger national security.
Obama has vowed to close the notorious detention center.
His attorney general designate Eric Holder said this month that the military commissions did not provide enough legal protections to the defendants and that the Obama team was already taking steps to close Guantanamo.
Welcomed
Obama's suspension request draw immediate praise from across the globe.
"The decision is very positive. President Obama very quickly made good on his promise," UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak told AFP.
"The investigation will now determine to what extent these military courts meet international standards in regard to human rights. From my point of view, the answer is clear: they don't," Nowak said.
"I assume they'll be suppressed and the people concerned will be quickly handed over to the US to be tried by real, civilian courts and where they'll enjoy their full rights, including preparing their defense with a lawyer."
EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot hailed the Obama move.
"I am delighted that one of the first acts of President Obama has been to turn the page on this sad episode of Guantanamo prison," Barrot said in a statement.
"For me it is a very strong symbol. In a lawful state everyone must be afforded the right of defense."
Amnesty International, which had been campaigning against Guantanamo for years, also welcomed the move.
"The move to suspend military commission trials at Guantanamo is a step in the right direction, but must be promptly cemented into a permanent abandonment of these unfair proceedings," it said in a statement.
"Charges under the Military Commissions Act should be dismissed in all cases. Any future trials of Guantanamo detainees should be conducted in the existing US federal courts."
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