Prison meets Geneva rules, report says

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon says the Guantanamo Bay prison meets the standard for humane treatment laid out in the Geneva Conventions, according to a report for President Obama, who has ordered the detention center closed within a year.

The report recommended some changes, including an increase in group recreation for some of the camp's more dangerous or less compliant prisoners, said a government official familiar with the study.

The report also suggested allowing those prisoners to gather in groups of three or more, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not officially been released.

Some of the hard-core prisoners are not currently allowed to meet with other prisoners for prayer or socialization and are kept in their cells for 23 hours a day. Accused Sept. 11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammed is among the prisoners who could be affected by the change. Prolonged social isolation has been known to harm the mental health of prisoners.

The report by Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, the US Navy's second in command, was written in response to Obama's Jan. 22 order to close the facility in Cuba.