relevant international human rights standards. Past torture and other prohibited acts may also impact on the admissibility of subsequent statements, as future statements may be tainted by past abuse. Failure of states’ authorities to investigate the circumstances under which such evidence has been gathered as well as to ascertain the veracity of allegations of torture and ill-treatment may also amount to a violation of the CAT. 72. Plea agreement must be entered into voluntarily. The privilege of self-incrimination is also of relevance in that regard. The indefinite detention of individuals at Guantánamo with no or limited prospect of release, the risk of an unfair trial before the military commissions and the impact of past and present treatment are all incentives for detainees to plead guilty. It is questionable whether any of the plea agreements have been entered into voluntarily and whether the privilege against self-incrimination has been violated in these agreements. Fair trial guarantees and the death penalty 73. International law requires the full and strict compliance with fair trial standards of any trial leading to the imposition of the death penalty. The charges against the five 9/11 suspects and Al-Nashiri may lead to the imposition of the death penalty. As military commissions are not in full compliance with all essential judicial guarantees, carrying out a death sentence following a conviction by such military commissions would be a violation of the right to a fair trial, the right to life and would contradict OSCE commitments. Should international humanitarian law be applicable to any of these capital cases, carrying out the death penalty would amount to a war crime. TOWARDS THE CLOSURE OF THE GUANTÁNAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY Release of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo 74. Challenges to the closure of Guantánamo. President Obama committed to close Guantánamo when he took office in 2009 and, subsequently, on a number of occasions. However, 116 detainees are still held in Guantánamo as of 31 August 2015. 75. The US Congress has played a significant role in preventing the closure of Guantánamo, by repeatedly adopting restrictive National Defense Authorization Acts (NDDA) since 2010 which have denied funding for transferring detainees to the United States and for constructing or modifying facilities in the United States to house Guantánamo detainees, and have made it difficult to transfer detainees to third countries. However, the restrictions on transfers to third countries have gradually eased since 2011. In particular, the current legislative provisions do provide reasonable opportunities for transfers that the US government has not taken full advantage of. Ongoing discussions on the NDAA 2016 give rise to serious concerns as its current version – not yet adopted by the Congress – foresees to extend the existing restrictions and impose additional ones on the transfer of detainees from Guantánamo, unless the Congress approves a “comprehensive plan on the disposition of detainees” held at Guantánamo, to be submitted by the US government. 21