Gitmo inmates to be sent to Illinois jail

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama has decided to transfer dozens of Guantanamo Bay detainees to an isolated jail in rural Illinois amid moves to close the notorious facility, officials said Tuesday.
The President has directed, with our unanimous support, that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the facility in Thomson, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates said in a letter.
But they stressed: The President has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States, adding that such a move is barred under current US legislation.
It was not immediately clear how many of the 210 inmates still held at the US military base in Cuba would be transferred to the Illinois jail, where they will be kept in a separate part of the prison from other detainees.
Gates has said 116 will be freed or extradited to their countries of origin. That would leave less then 100 - many of them considered too dangerous to be released but who cannot be tried because of a lack of evidence - still to be rehoused.
Not only will this help address the urgent overcrowding problem at our nations federal prisons, but it will also help achieve our goal of closing the detention centre at Guantanamo in a timely, secure, and lawful manner, the letter added.
The Department of Justice would acquire the prison primarily to house federal inmates, the letter said, adding more space was needed to address current overcrowding issues in the US prison system.
Second, the Defence Department will operate part of the facility to house a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo, it said.