Chapter4 Access to Justice | 103 assistance of counsel is in turn intimately connected with the right of a defendant to adequate time and means for the preparation of his or her defense, which requires that all arrested, detained or imprisoned persons shall be provided with adequate opportunities, time and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult with a lawyer, without delay, interception or censorship and in full confidentiality.” The defendant must also “be afforded access to documents and other evidence under the possession and control of the authorities necessary to prepare his or her case.”302 Further, the IACHR reminds the United States that, for the purpose of evaluating the State’s compliance with a foreign national’s due process rights under Articles XVIII and XXVI of the American Declaration, it considers the extent to which a State party has given effect to the requirements of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention. 303 250. The IACHR notes with deep concern that the attorney-client privilege is not respected at Guantanamo Bay. Prison authorities have access to private legal mail, certain topics are prohibited in conversations between defense counsel and their clients, and military defense counsel is not allowed to have telephone conversations with their clients. Further, the IACHR is extremely concerned over the fact that strict classification rules could lead the prosecution to withhold key evidence, and that unreasonable classification rules put the burden on the defense to demonstrate the discoverability of evidence. Based on the aforementioned standards, these restrictions clearly constitute a violation of the right to an adequate defense. This in turn not only affects the detainees’ confidence in the military commissions but also public confidence in the system. B. Right to periodic review of detention 251. Following the Supreme Court’s decisions in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush referred to above, on July 7, 2004, the Department of Defense issued an order creating the Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) establishing an administrative review process to determine whether the detainees at Guantanamo were properly classified as “enemy combatants.” Each tribunal was composed of three mid-level officers of the U.S. Armed Forces. The procedure allowed the Government to use hearsay evidence and evidence derived from torture. Detainees were not allowed to see classified evidence. 304 302 303 304 IACHR, Report on Terrorism and Human Rights, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.116.Doc.5 rev.1, October 22, 2002, paras. 233, 237, 238, 247. IACHR, Report No. 44/14, Case 12.873, Report on Merits (Publication), Edgar Tamayo Arias, United States, July 17, 2014, para. 136. For information on the procedure, see Deputy Secretary of Defense, Memorandum for Secretaries of the Military Departments, July 14, 2006. Available at: http://www.defense.gov/news/aug2006/d20060809csrtprocedures.pdf Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR