GUANTANAMO: USA NON CHIEDERANNO PENA DI MORTE PER 2 DETENUTI GB

Washington,  - Gli Stati Uniti hanno assicurato che non chiederanno la pena di morte per i due detenuti  britannici rinchiusi nella base di Guantanamo, accusati di appartenere ad Al Qaeda. Lo ha rivelato il ministro della Giustizia britannico, Lord  Goldsmith, precisando che, a seguito dell'incontro della settimana scorsa tra il presidente americano George W. Bush e il premier britannico Tony Blair, e' stato deciso che Moazzem Begg, 35 anni, e Feroz Abbasi, 23, non saranno condannati a morte se giudicati colpevoli.

I due cittadini britannici fanno parte del gruppo di primi sei detenuti che verranno processati da un tribunale militare. Entrambi, si legge in una dichiarazione di Lord Goldsmith diffusa a Washington, ''saranno adeguatamente rappresentati'' da un avvocato civile americano e da uno britannico, che avra' il ruolo di consulente.

Nella base navale di Guantanamo si trovano circa 600 prigionieri di 42 Paesi diversi, tutti catturati durante la guerra in Afghanistan: alcuni di loro, detenuti da 18 mesi, non hanno mai potuto parlare con un avvocato e contro di loro non e' stata ancora formulata alcuna accusa specifica.

TERRORISMO: GUANTANAMO; BRITANNICI NON RISCHIANO PENA MORTE

LONDRA,  I pm americani non chiederanno la pena di morte contro i due cittadini britannici detenuti nella base americana di Guantanamo, a Cuba.

Lo ha dichiarato il ministro della giustizia britannico Peter Goldsmith a Washington dopo essersi incontrato con responsabili statunitensi con i quali ha esaminato la vicenda di Moazzan Begg, 35 anni, e Feroz Abbasi, 23.

Domenica scorsa, il premier Tony Blair aveva dichiarato di essere favorevole a lascioare che un tribunale militare statunitense giudicasse i cittadini inglesi detenuti a Guantanamo, fermo restando che cio' non avvenisse in contraddizione con le norme giuridiche britanniche e che nessuna condanna a morte venisse pronunciata.  

2 Britons at Guantanamo Will Not Face the Death Penalty

Official Denies U.S. Is Dealing Out Separate Justice to Favorites

The United States assured Britain yesterday that U.S. prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against two British citizens facing possible trial on terrorism charges before military tribunals.

Lord Goldsmith, Britain's attorney general, reported the agreement following a meeting with Pentagon general counsel William J. Haynes II.

The United States has nine Britons in custody among the 680 prisoners from 42 countries being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in connection with the war in Afghanistan and the campaign against terrorism. Their detention has been a controversial issue in Britain and a source of political difficulty for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Blair's government has sought the repatriation of the Britons and, failing that, assurances of fair trials free of the prospect of the death sentence, which is outlawed in Britain. Expressions of concern in Britain rose to new levels this month after President Bush listed Britons Feroz Abbasi, 23, and Moazzam Begg, 35, among the 1st 6 prisoners eligible for military trial as early as this summer.

Pressed personally by Blair, who was in Washington last week, Bush announced that his administration would reconsider whether and under what circumstances to bring before American military tribunals Britons and at least one Australian captured in the Afghanistan war. But the move opens the president to criticism that he is showing favoritism to his allies and not dispensing justice equally in the war on terrorism.

A senior defense official confirmed the decision not to pursue the death penalty for the two Britons but said it reflected a review of the evidence, not a special favor for the British. "In this particular case, the evidence doesn't warrant the death penalty," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Goldsmith also reported "significant progress" in other areas, saying in a statement that U.S. officials had agreed to allow the British defendants to choose their own U.S. civilian lawyers, use British lawyers as consultants and speak confidentially with their attorneys. More contact with families and immediate visits by British officials were also promised, as were public trials, he said.

"These talks were constructive," Goldsmith said. "We are continuing to discuss the possible repatriation of British detainees to the U.K."

But lawyers acting on behalf of the families of Abbasi and Begg said that the talks had achieved little and that most of the points cited by Goldsmith simply restated the rules of the military tribunals.

"It says nothing at all," said Clive Stafford Smith, a British-born lawyer practicing in the United States who has been campaigning for the rights of the Britons at the request of their relatives.

Louise Christian, a British lawyer representing Abbasi's mother, said: "It's no good. It's still a military commission. It's still a trial in front of people who are not independent of the U.S. government."

She pointed out that British lawyers acting as "consultants" would not necessarily be able to see their clients or even the evidence firsthand.

Said Begg's father, Azmat, from his home in Birmingham, England: "This has improved things a little, but not much." He added that he had not expected his son to face the death penalty.

Separate talks underway over the future of a 3rd man assigned for military trial -- Australian citizen David Hicks, 27 -- are due to continue today between administration officials and Australia's minister for justice, Senator Chris Ellison.

The talks have raised concern among some legal experts and representatives of other countries that the treatment of the detainees may rest as much on the relationships of their governments with the United States as on the evidence against them.

"This is going to get incredibly untidy if separate deals are cut," said Eugene Fidell, president of the private National Institute of Military Justice.

"We believe that whatever is being done has to be done on a non-discriminatory basis. That's the rule of law," said Asad Hayauddin, press attach� at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. "There should be a uniform set of procedures followed."