A military judge presiding over the Sept. 11 terrorism case at Guantanamo Bay issued an order Friday allowing female guards to resume transporting the defendants despite their religious objections.
The order issued by Army Col. James Pohl is intended to end a controversy that has dragged on for more than 18 months at the U.S. base in Cuba.
The defendants say physical contact with women not related to them violates their strict Muslim faith. The issue caused several to refuse meetings with their lawyers, disrupting efforts to defend them in the death penalty case. It was only detainees in the high security unit known as Camp 7 who raised objections. Prisoners in the less restrictive sections of the detention center have little physical contact with guards on a regular basis.
Pohl issued a temporary order in January 2015 prohibiting women guards from escorting the Sept. 11 defendants to court or to meetings with lawyers while the judge considered arguments for a permanent ban. His ruling prompted criticism from officials in Washington, including Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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