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Gates says Gitmo unlikely to be closed

18 February 2011 03:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says chances of shutting down the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention center are "very, very low", APA reports quoting Press TV

Gates stated this during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, citing opposition in Congress, the Associated Press reported.

When asked where high-profile terrorist suspects would be kept if Guantanamo is closed, Gates responded by saying, "I think the honest answer to that question is we don’t know.â€

Gates told Congress that about one-quarter of those released from Guantanamo return to terrorist activities, although the source for this statistic was not cited in reports.

US lawmakers are reluctant to allow moving the detainees to US soil for trial or detention. Last month, US President Barak Obama signed a bill into law, which bars terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo from being tried in the United States.

Obama had pledged to close the detention camp within a year of taking office. In 2009, Obama stated that in some cases, the â€œprolonged detentionâ€ of suspects is acceptable.

Around 170 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay detention center.