E/CN.4/2006/120 page 13 35. The Military Order limits the right to be tried in one’s presence. Also, the right of the accused to defend himself/herself in person or through legal assistance of his/her own choosing is violated since, as noted above, the Military Commissions provide for a defence counsel to be appointed directly by the Appointing Authority, and for the possibility of his/her removal by the same authority “for good reason”. Under the Military Order the accused may retain the services of a civilian attorney of his own choosing, but that attorney has to satisfy a number of requirements, including being determined eligible for access to classified information, signing confidentiality agreements regarding the procedures and the cases he or she is involved with, travelling to Guantánamo at his own expenses, and agreeing not to leave the base without authorization. In addition, certain information and evidence may be kept from the civilian lawyer and he or she may be excluded from the hearing for reasons of national security. All of these requirements imperil the right to a fair trial under article 14 (1) of ICCPR and specific “minimum guarantees” set forth in article 14 (3) (b) and (d): to be allowed to adequately prepare one’s defence, with the assistance of counsel of one’s own choosing, and to test evidence adduced against one. They further clearly violate the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.40 36. The right adequately to prepare one’s defence (ICCPR, art. 14 (3) (b) and the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers),41 which includes access to documents and other evidence and to examine witnesses against oneself and have witnesses examined on one’s behalf is not guaranteed, since the Military Order provides that “[t]he Accused may obtain witnesses and documents for the Accused’s defense, to the extent necessary and reasonably available as determined by the Presiding Officer”.42 The grounds for denying the accused and the defence counsel of his choice access to “protected information” remain excessively broad also under Revised Military Commission Order No. 1 of August 2005, which brought some improvement to the Military Order of March 2002 in this respect. However, by virtue of the Detainee Treatment Act of December 2005 a United States Court of Appeals now has jurisdiction to assess whether the commission provided the defendant a “full and fair trial”, and whether the admission of evidence the accused has not seen was compatible with his right to a fair trial. Nonetheless, the Chairperson of the Working Group and the Special Rapporteur remain highly concerned that the right adequately to prepare one’s defence is insufficiently protected in proceedings before military commissions. 37. The Chairperson of the Working Group and the Special Rapporteur are also concerned about the conditions under which information is obtained from detainees at Guantánamo Bay. They have been informed by former detainees that the power to mitigate the harsh conditions of detention is in the hands of interrogators and depends on the degree of “cooperation” with them. Detainees are subjected to regular interrogations and put under strong pressure to confess that they are members of Al-Qaida and/or to incriminate other persons. The gathering of evidence in such conditions affects the credibility of any charges brought against them or against other persons. 38. The right to be tried without undue delay (ICCPR, art. 14 (3) (c)) relates both to the time by which the trial should commence and the time by which it should end.43 Out of a total of more than 500 detainees presently held at Guantánamo Bay, fewer than 10 have so far been