MIDDELBURG, 02/03/06 - European Affairs State Secretary Atzo Nicolaï expressed strong criticism yesterday of the way in which the US treats prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

The US has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks, but if this right does not survive this battle untarnished, it will become a Pyrrhic victory, Nicolaï argued in a lecture to students of the Roosevelt Academy in Middelburg.

The Americans often hold terrorist suspects in Guantánamo Bay in Cuba for years without a clear charge. The cabinet earlier pressed them to adhere to the Geneva Conventions. The concept of 'illegal fighters' that the Americans use for the prisoners is "a vague accusation, which has no basis in national or international law," according to Nicolaï.

The state secretary said principles are not negotiable. This applies both to freedom of speech concerning the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and to the principles of law in Guantánamo Bay.