Gitmo Prisoners Granted Phone Call to Family

"Unlawful enemy combatants" detained at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will be allowed to phone their families one a year, Reuters reports. But the military task force in charge of managing the prison has yet to work out the details. As it stands, Gitmo inmates can send and receive letters—subject to military censorship—but otherwise are permitted no contact with the outside world.

"I have no projected timeline for implementation, but it is currently being developed,"
said a prison spokesman. Similar plans have been implemented at other detention centers holding suspects in the war against terrorism, including one negotiated by the International Red Cross in which prisoners at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan can call their families via videophone. (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)