GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — A U.S. Army officer on Tuesday defended her decision to use female guards at Guantanamo Bay's top-secret Camp 7, where Muslim prisoners say contact with unrelated women violates their religion.
The officer told a court at the base in Cuba that she started to use women to transport prisoners in 2014 due to a shortage of guards. She said that a Muslim cultural adviser said it would be OK because guards were touching male prisoners as part of their duties.
The officer's name was not disclosed as she testified in a pretrial hearing for five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks. Defense lawyers say the prisoners won't attend legal meetings to avoid being handled by women. A judge has issued a temporary ban the military is seeking to lift.
