Pentagon fails to provide due process at Guantanamo, judge rules.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Carol Rosenberg

MIAMI _ A federal judge Monday cleared the way for dozens of captives in Guantanamo Bay to sue for their freedom, saying the Pentagon has failed to provide due process to suspects held at the prison for up to three years.

U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green in Washington specifically cited torture allegations that have emerged since Guantanamo captives won the right to consult attorneys.

At issue was whether a Navy-run review panel set up last year to evaluate each prisoner's status as an "enemy combatant" satisfied a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that detainees deserve a case-by-case review.

In a blow to the Pentagon, Green said it did not.

"Although this nation unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the Commander in Chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats," Green wrote in a 75-page ruling, "that necessity cannot negate ... most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over 200 years."

The decision is the latest in a mosaic of federal rulings that have chipped away at Pentagon protections for its premier terror prison in southeastern Cuba.