102 | Towards the Closure of Guantanamo assertion of national security grounds made during a secret hearing. The judge’s decision establishing that the Government can withhold the information is not subject to review. 247. In the case of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the military commission has established that classified information includes, among others: information that would reveal or tend to reveal details surrounding the capture of an accused other than the location and date; information that would reveal or tend to reveal the foreign countries in which the accused was detained from the time of the capture; the names, identities, and physical descriptions of any persons involved with the capture, transfer, detention, or interrogation of an accused; the enhanced interrogation techniques that were applied to an accused; and descriptions of the conditions of confinement. 299 The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, has described these restrictions as “particularly egregious.” In this regard, the Special Rapporteur stated that the military commissions at Guantanamo: treat evidence confirming the torture of “high-value detainees” by the CIA as “classified information” on the spurious ground that the accused, having been subjected to waterboarding and other forms of torture, are thereby privy to information about classified CIA interrogation techniques which they cannot be permitted to reveal, in any proceeding open to the public, even to the extent of preventing their attorneys from providing the accused with government classified materials about the ill-treatment to which they were subjected. 300 248. Further, the IACHR has received information regarding the denial of access to consular assistance. In a public hearing held at the IACHR, military defense counsel alleged that Mr. al Hawsawi, a Saudi “high value detainee” has attempted to communicate with the Saudi Government to no avail. The Saudi Government has also reportedly requested to meet with Mr. al Hawsawi. The Chief Prosecutor for Military Commissions allegedly took the position that Mr. al Hawsawi should not have access to representatives of his Government pursuant to the Vienna Convention for Consular Assistance because the Government of Saudi Arabia could instead watch the process on television. 301 249. The right to adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense is one of the basic components of the right to a fair trial that cannot be justifiably suspended. In defining this non-derogable guarantee, the IACHR has stated that the “right to 299 300 301 Amended Protective Order #1 to Protect Against Disclosure of National Security Information, para. 2(g)(4)-(5), February 9, 2013. Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emerson: Framework Principles for securing the accountability of public officials for gross or systemic human rights violations committed in the context of State counter-terrorism initiatives, A/HRC/22/52, March 1, 2013, foot note 94. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/regularsession/session22/a-hrc-22-52_en.pdf IACHR, Human Rights Situation of Persons Deprived of Liberty at the Guantanamo Naval Base, United States, 154 Period of Sessions, March 16, 2015. Organization of American States | OAS