Military Tribunals at Guantanamo to Resume

Guantanamo detainees stand side by side during midday prayers

The Obama administration is expected to announce Friday that it will revive the military-run trials of some of the suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

U.S. President Barack Obama suspended the trials shortly after taking office in January pending an official review, but he did not rule out restarting the tribunals.

The administration is expected to announce a series of changes in the tribunals that would guarantee greater rights for the suspects, including restrictions on the use of hearsay, or unproved, evidence against them. Military prosecutors would also not be able to use evidence obtained by harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding.

The military tribunal system was created under former President George W. Bush to hear cases against so-called "enemy combatants" captured by the U.S. military since 2001.

But civil rights advocates denounced the tribunals for denying the detainees basic legal rights. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled three times against the Bush administration on the issue of the Guantanamo detainees. The high court ruled last year the detainees can challenge their detention in civilian courts.

Mr. Obama's decision is likely to draw fire from civil rights advocates and his Democratic supporters, who are already upset over his decision Wednesday to block the release of photos depicting detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hands of U.S. troops.