The 14, who include alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be treated like other captured terrorist suspects that the US is holding at the naval base in Cuba, base commander Rear Admiral Harry Harris told reporters.
The new arrivals are allowed to worship, have access to the Koran in their native languages and can send and receive mail, Harris said. Reading material and physical exercise are also allowed, and a Muslim imam will bless their meals if desired, he said.
'They arrived earlier this week and were formally transferred to Department of Defence control,' Harris said in a video conference from Guantanamo. 'They arrived safely and all appeared to be in good condition.'
US President George W Bush said Wednesday that the 14 suspects had been moved from the once-secret CIA prisons to Guantanamo Bay, but gave no details on the timing.
Bush said they include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who the US believes was the key planner of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and alleged September 11 paymaster Ramzi Binalshibh.
Other detainees are suspected of planning the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole naval ship and the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Bush said.
Media revelations last year that the Central Intelligence Agency was keeping terror suspects in secret prisons abroad sparked outrage and set off investigations in Europe into reports that some European governments hosted the prisons.
Harris refused to say whether the 14 suspects were being held separately from the rest of the more than 450 Guantanamo detainees. They could still face interrogation in the future, he said.
He said the 14 have been registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which oversees the Geneva Conventions. They have had physical and dental examinations and will have access to health care, Harris said.
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