Gitmo closing angers families of Sept. 11 victims

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — Families of people killed in the Sept. 11 terror attack on the U.S. urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to reverse his order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

They expressed fear the closure would further delay the long-stalled effort to prosecute the men who have claimed responsibility for the plot.

A contingent of nine relatives of Sept. 11 victims traveled to the U.S. Navy base in Cuba to observe pretrial hearings for several detainees, including five charged in the attack. All said they were impressed with proceedings that seemed fair — perhaps too fair — to the accused.

Diane Fairben of Floral Park, N.Y., whose paramedic son, Keith, died at the World Trade Center, noted the presence of more than a dozen lawyers, a mix of active-duty military and civilians, to assist the five defendants even though three are serving as their own attorneys and the other two have asked the court for clearance to do the same.

“These people are being afforded the best legal representation and they are getting a fair shake,” Fairben told reporters. “I ask the president to give us a fair shake. We’ve been shunted to the side for too long, and it’s getting to be a bit much.”

This is the third time that families of Sept. 11 victims have been brought to Guantanamo to observe the Military Commissions. The relatives, who are chosen at random by the government, met with detention-center officials and guards but did not see the inside of the prison camps.