None of them is mistreated, nor is anyone tortured, he said.
Instead, Gifford said, the prisoners are well-fed and have access to a variety of recreational activities.
"They can play soccer or basketball," Gifford said, and prisoners can
also listen to their own native music.
The detainees have access to a full library, and they can watch videotapes, in particular those of professional games played overseas, he noted.
The prisoners each receive a copy of the Quran, and they are free to recite daily prayers without interference.
And prisoners are allowed to communicate with their families.
Beyond creature comforts, Gifford said, prisoners awaiting trials are afforded the full protection of their legal rights, sometimes exceeding what is offered in U.S. civilian courts.
For instance, he said, each prisoner has all the evidence against him, including classified materials, at his disposal. Prisoners are also provided defense attorneys.
Their cases are heard by a jury of 12 military officers "who are highly educated and take their (jury) oaths quite seriously," Gifford said.
Those who are convicted have a four-step appeal process, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, he said.
Gifford also noted that the trials are open to the press.
So far only a couple of trials have taken place at Guantanamo, but 20 more are planned soon.
At present, the bulk of the 270 prisoners held at Guantanamo are combatants captured in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
However, other prisoners held there, according to Gifford, include terror suspects linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, those suspected in U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa, and those suspected in the attack on the USS Cole, one of whom has been charged in that crime.
Gifford noted that three dozen detainees who have been released from Guantanamo have already "popped up" in the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
