http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0306gitmo0306.html

Archbishop: Guantanamo set bad example

Associated Press Mar. 6, 2006 12:00 AM

LONDON - The Church of England's senior clergyman said in comments broadcast Sunday that he is worried that the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has set a dangerous precedent in international law.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in a televised interview that the detention camp in Cuba went against legal norms. He said Guantanamo created a new category of custody, with prisoners held without proper legal assistance and without being found guilty of specific crimes.

"Any message given, that any state can just override some of the basic habeas corpus-type provisions, is going to be very welcome to tyrants elsewhere in the world, now and in the future," he said.

Nine British citizens detained at Guantanamo were released in 2004 and 2005. Only a handful of detainees have been charged since the camp opened in January 2002.