[JURIST] Human rights groups are concerned about US President-elect Barack Obama's intentions to keep the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detention center open for at least 100 days after taking office, according to a Monday report in the Miami Herald. On Sunday, Obama told ABC news in an interview [ABC transcript] that he would close the base but that doing so would be complicated [JURIST report]. American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] (ACLU) executive director Anthony Romero disagrees, saying [press release]:

While the next steps might be politically charged and require courage, they are not fundamentally complicated. Each detainee's case must be reviewed by the new Justice Department. If there is evidence of criminal conduct...detainees should be prosecuted in our traditional courts, which are the best in the world and fully capable of handling sensitive national security issues without compromising fundamental rights. If there is not, detainees should be repatriated to countries that don't practice torture.