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CNN Live At Daybreak

New Prison Nearing End of Construction in Guantanamo

Aired April 11, 2002 - 06:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Workers are finishing construction on a new prison for suspected Taliban and al Qaeda detainees being held in Cuba. And security for their transfer will be tight.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken reports from Guantanamo Bay.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 299 who have been imprisoned as long as three months here, since they were moved from Afghanistan, are about to be moved again, from X to D. From these outdoor cages at Camp X-Ray to the indoor cages here at Camp Delta, about three miles down the road. This is still a work in progress, a modular construction, maximum security penitentiary with 408 cells. It should be ready in a week, but it will take some time after that to prepare for the big move.

GENERAL RICK BACCUS, TASK FORCE COMMANDER: We will take a few days to review the new facility. We want to make sure that the military policemen are completely familiarized with the facility and make sure we've worked the bugs out on how it's going to work. And then we'll practice our procedures on moving detainees and then we'll actually conduct the moves.

FRANKEN: Security is the watchword. Secrecy about exactly when the transfer will take place to prevent anyone from planning an attack, and the larger concern, escape.

LT. COL. BILL CLINE, SECURITY COMMANDER: Protecting against any of them getting away, any of them getting hurt, any of my MPs getting hurt.

FRANKEN: Here in their new home away from home, the detainees will be held in cells slightly smaller than the cages at Camp X-Ray. There's no air conditioning, but a ventilation system will circulate stiff breezes off the ocean just a few yards away. There's indoor plumbing and much tighter security. The 408 cells will be ready this month, another 204 due by the end of May.

(on camera): There's room for more detainees and no idea how long they're going to be kept, but the new facility here is one that is designed to last up to five years.

Bob Franken, CNN, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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