Southern Command Probe Gitmo Charges

Marine Corps Sgt. Heather Cerveny talks about the allegations of abuse at Guantanamo Bay during an interview with the Associated Press at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Calif. Friday, Oct. 13, 2006. Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a "hotline" complaint last week, attaching a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, 23. In it, Cerveny described comments made by several guards in a bar at Guantanamo Bay. Several of them bragged about beating detainees and described it as common practice. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy) (Denis Poroy - AP)

"The Joint Task Force will cooperate fully with Southcom to learn the facts of the matter and will take action where misconduct is discovered," said Navy Cmdr. Rob Durand, spokesman for the detention center, in an e-mail to the AP from the base.

He insisted that his group's mission "is the safe and humane care and custody of detained enemy combatants. Abuse or harassment of detainees in any form is not condoned or tolerated."

The Inspector General receives 14,000 tips on misconduct each year via the hotline, and opens 3,000 cases each year as a result, Comerford said.

There are now 454 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to Vincent Lusser, a spokesman for the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Red Cross just completed a two-week visit to the prison, meeting the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and 13 other high-profile detainees who were transferred there weeks ago from CIA custody.

Guantanamo Bay began receiving prisoners, most of them captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in January 2002. Only 10 of the detainees have been charged with crimes.

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Associated Press Writer Thomas Watkins in San Diego contributed to this report.