U.S. plan on closure of Guantanamo prison on track: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison by Jan. 20 is still on track, said a top defense lawyer on Friday.

Jeh C. Johnson, the Defense Department general counsel, told the House Armed Services Committee in a prepared statement that an interagency group assigned to reviewing the cases of about 240 detainees has made recommendations on more than half, and approved the transfer of more than 50 detainees to other countries.

"Additional reviews are ongoing, and the process is on track," Johnson said. "We remain committed to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within the one-year time frame ordered by the president."

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered to close the controversial prison in Cuba by the end of his first-year administration.

His executive directives issued on Jan. 22 created two task forces to review file by file each detainee at Guantanamo Bay and make decisions about how to render justice consistent with U.S. laws and values.

Earlier this week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told a press conference that the group, including officials from the departments of Justice, Defense, State, and Homeland Security, and from the U.S. military and intelligence community, has requested for a six-month extension for its report on interrogation policies, but the delay would not change the deadline for the closure of the prison.

"The task forces and the president believe we continue to make progress and can meet the goal of closing Guantanamo Bay in a year," he said.