WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Bush Pentagon tried to find loopholes in the Geneva Conventions for its `` ghost detainee '' program in Iraq and to delay the release of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to avoid bad press , three human rights groups contend . The Pentagon considered delaying the release of detainees from Guantanamo Bay because of criticism . Pentagon documents discuss CIA and Pentagon detention activities earlier this decade and indicate coordination between agencies in hiding internees from the Red Cross . Amnesty International USA , New York University 's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice , and the Center for Constitutional Rights obtained the material through a Freedom of Information Act request and released it Thursday . `` It 's obvious that Defense officials engaged in legal gymnastics to find ways to keep detainees off the books , '' said Meg Satterthwaite , faculty director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice . `` A full accounting of all agencies ' responsibilities must now take place to ensure that these abuses do n't continue under a different guise . '' President Obama has signed an order closing the Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba and prohibiting CIA prisons . However , the order allows the CIA to detain people temporarily . It is not known whether the Pentagon or the CIA still holds `` ghost detainees , '' Satterthwaite said , referring to people housed at secret facilities . The Pentagon issued an information paper May 28 , 2004 , on the `` applicability of the Geneva Conventions to 'Ghost Detainees ' in Iraq . '' Its purpose was to clarify the law about such detainees . The Geneva Conventions spell out international humanitarian law and authorize the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit prisoners during armed conflicts . The Pentagon 's information paper said that if `` absolute military security '' requires it , the conventions permit the holding of persons `` who participated in activities hostile to the security of the occupying power . '' Specific examples would be `` spies and saboteurs , '' the paper said . Although the Red Cross must be notified of such detentions , `` persons who have committed such acts are considered to have forfeited the rights of communication , '' the paper said . `` Normally the ICRC has the right to go to all places where protected people are detained , '' the paper said . But , it added , such visits can be denied temporarily `` for reasons of imperative military necessity . '' A February 17 , 2006 , e-mail showed that a State Department foreign policy adviser urged the Pentagon to consider delaying by a month and a half the release of Guantanamo prisoners who were scheduled to be sent home in order to avoid bad press . This came amid worldwide furor over the Guantanamo detention facility , photos of prisoners being mistreated at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq , and sharp criticism on the streets and in blogs toward U.S. detention policies . `` We may need to definitely think about checking with SouthCom to see if we can hold off on return flights for 45 days or so until things die down , '' the adviser wrote to Gen. Norton Schwartz , then head of the U.S. Transportation Command . `` Otherwise we are likely to have hero 's welcomes awaiting the detainees when they arrive , and we will have problems getting overflight and landing clearance for the flights anyway . It would probably be preferable if we could deliver these detainees in something smaller and more discreet than a T tail '' -- apparently referring to a large transport plane like the giant C-5 Galaxy . SouthCom is the U.S. Southern Command , the American military command covering Latin American and the Caribbean . Schwartz is now the Air Force chief of staff . The letter appeared to be an e-mail reply to a State Department `` hot issues '' memo that said the United States was getting `` creamed on human rights '' and `` taking a big hit on the issues of human rights and respect for the rule of law . '' It pointed to news stories about a U.N. Guantanamo report and coverage highlighting calls from officials to close Guantanamo . It cited criticism of the United States in blogs and discussion boards . `` America has lost its prestige , '' a blogger from Yemen wrote . `` Every year the world waits for the annual U.S. State Department report on human rights . Today , it is America that awaits the world 's opinion of its human rights policy . From Gitmo , to Abu Ghraib , to secret prisons in Europe , the world accuses America of not respecting human rights . '' Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday that he had not seen the documents and was n't aware of the story . He did elaborate on the factors taken into account when transferring detainees from the Guantanamo facility . `` It has to do with their threat , '' Whitman said . `` It has to do with ... whether or not we think they have information that is important to our intelligence efforts . `` And there are also considerations given to ensure that the [ transferred detainees ] will be treated appropriately and that in cases where continued detention is necessary , that the appropriate conditions are met for that , too . `` It has been U.S. policy not to return detainees if we thought they would be mistreated by their country of origin , '' he said .
Military tried to justify detention practices , human rights groups say . Groups present Pentagon documents to support accusations . Groups : Pentagon also sought to delay Guantanamo releases to avoid bad press . Communications came amid criticism over Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq .