President Obama to sign an executive order which orders the shutdown of the U.S. Guantanamo prison in Cuba

Yahoo! News

By LARA JAKES and DAVID ESPO, Associated Press Writers

January 21, 2009 - 7:50 P.M.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order Thursday to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year and halt military trials of terror suspects held there, a senior administration official said. The executive order was one of three expected imminently on how to interrogate and prosecute al-Qaida, Taliban or other foreign fighters believed to threaten the United States.

The official said the president would sign the order Thursday, fulfilling his campaign promise to shut down a facility that critics around the world say violates domestic and international detainee rights. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the event has not yet been announced.