86 | Towards the Closure of Guantanamo 199. The proceedings of the military commissions are open to the public. The Department of Defense and the Office of Military Commissions allocate a limited number of seats for news media aboard military chartered aircraft for travel from Andrew Air Force Base, Maryland, to Guantanamo Bay, to cover military commission proceedings. Hearings are televised via closed circuit television from a media work center in Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Media desiring to travel to Guantanamo or to view the hearings must send a request to the Department of Defense. 229 200. The change in the hearsay rules was one of the most substantive amendments. The 2009 MCA evidentiary rules allow the admission of hearsay evidence in trials if it would be admitted under the rules of evidence applicable in trial by general courtsmartial. 230 In evaluating whether a hearsay statement would be admitted, the judge is instructed by the rules to consider “the degree to which the statement is corroborated, its indicia of reliability within the statement itself, and whether the will of the declarant was overborne,” 231 and whether the witness is available as a practical matter. Therefore, both the prosecution and the defense are allowed to use hearsay evidence as long as a military judge finds that the witness is not available to testify, and that the hearsay itself is reliable, material, probative, and that admission of the hearsay statement into evidence best serves “the general purposes of the rules of evidence and interest of justice.” 232 Thus, the burden for the introduction of hearsay was placed on the proponent of the evidence, contrary to the provision in the 2006 MCA. 201. Further, the 2009 MCA repealed an exception that existed concerning coerced statements of the accused, prohibiting the admission of statements obtained under torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The rules provide, however, an exception to the voluntariness rule which applies when the statement was made “incident to lawful conduct during military operations at the point of capture or during closely related active combat engagement.” 233 With regard to classified information, the 2009 MCA includes rules essentially similar to the ones that apply in the federal district courts under the Classified Information Procedures Act, except when they are “inconsistent with the specific requirements of [Subchapter V of the 2009 MCA].”234 202. Discovery of the information is regulated in Rule 701 of the Rules for Military Commissions. The defense has the right to be provided with any exculpatory, impeaching or mitigating evidence that the prosecution has, either in its possession 229 230 231 232 233 234 Expert Meeting on the situation of detainees held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Washington DC, October 3, 2013. See also, U.S. Department of Defense, Press Advisory, Military Commissions Media Invitation Announced for United States v. Abd al-Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu Al-Nashiri and Unites States v. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed et al., September 23, 2014. Available at: http://www.defense.gov/advisories/advisory.aspx?advisoryid=3656 2012 Manual for Military Commissions, Part II. Rules for Military Commissions, Rule 803(a). 2012 Manual for Military Commissions, Part II. Rules for Military Commissions, Rule 803(b)(2). MCA 2009, 10 U.S.C. § 949a(b)(3). MCA 2009, 10 U.S.C. § 948r(c), 49a(b)(3)(B). MCA 2009, 10 U.S.C. § 949p-1(d). Organization of American States | OAS