December 5, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 10, 1424

WASHINGTON: On the eve of a military hearing, former Guantanamo Bay chaplain Capt James J. Yee’s civilian counsel told the United Press International that he wondered “whether the Department of Defence has a dual standard of treatment”.

Yee faces a hearing under Article 32 on Tuesday at Fort Benning, Georgia, on four charges: failure to obey an order, making a false official statement, conduct unbecoming to an officer and committing adultery. Yee was arrested at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., allegedly for storing classified materials in his computer and making a false statement, and was held until late last month in a military jail in Charleston, South Carolina.

Military sources disclosed that Col Jackie Duane Farr, 58, a reserve intelligence officer of the 384th Military Police Battalion, was charged with “wrongfully transporting classified material without the proper security container” on Oct 11. Later he was charged with making a false statement during the course of the investigation regarding his handling of the material.

But Farr, who was ending a six-month tour at the Guantanamo Bay naval base, was allowed to extend his time there and continue his duties while the military investigation was underway. Eugene Fidell, Yee’s civilian counsel, said there was “obviously a difference between a captain and colonel”.

There are other differences between the two men as well. Yee is of Chinese origin, a West Point graduate who studied Islam and became an army chaplain. He was an adviser to the commandant of the prison/interrogation team and counselled many prisoners. Farr, according to one source, was an evaluator of interrogation reports. After Yee was released, the army increased charges against him, claiming that it found pornographic material in his computer, and accused him of adultery as well. Fidell said the army seemed to be adamant on trying to punish his innocent client and added: “We’re going to do everything to try and stop them.” The case at Fort Benning is expected to last for several days.

The two cases are part of a tangled set of events that unfolded over the past five days at the armed service’s prison at Guantanamo. Key government sources confirmed that some 100 prisoners may return to their respective countries in the next few months, including three teenagers held from Afghanistan.

Among the returnees, one source told the UPI, is likely to be some or all of the nine prisoners who hold British passports. British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government wanted to try the British suspects in Briton, with no death sentence, an issue that became a sticking point with US authorities. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair discussed the matter in London last month and it is expected that Mr Bush will do as Mr Blair suggests.

The three teenagers are in a separate prison in a small area called Camp Iguana. These youngsters, according to The Washington Times, were abused by the Taliban. Officials told the UPI they are now under psychological care.

It is not clear what the fate of the 100 who may be released would be. They could be imprisoned in their home countries or released. There are 660 prisoners from 47 countries including some 12 from Kuwait, 58 from Pakistan and 24 from Saudi Arabia.