Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is home to the U.S. naval base that has held terror suspects since January 2002. Early in the war on terror, the Bush administration argued these detainees were "enemy combatants" who didn't have the protections accorded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Click through for a look inside the controversial facility. Pictured: A detainee stands at an interior fence at Guantanamo Bay in October 2009.
(CNN) -- A photo of a listening device in a room where attorneys met with terror detainees at Guantanamo Bay caused a stir this month, but a senior military official says it is a relic from the days when interrogations occurred in the facility.
A military judge hearing the case against the September 11, 2001, terror mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others ordered the photo released earlier this month.
The device baffled defense lawyers who speak with their Guantanamo clients in the room where the device, which looks like a smoke detector, was hanging.
One of the top military lawyers for the Gitmo detention facility said he looked into the matter and found no one was listening in on privileged conversations, The Miami Herald reported.
A top U.S. commander, who oversees the detention camp and U.S. military operations in the base in southeast Cuba, confirmed the device is not being used to listen into attorney-client conversations. But a video camera in the units watches the conversations.
"Years ago, that particular facility was used for another purpose, and that purpose required not only audio devices, but visual devices," Gen. John Kelly, commander of the U.S. southern command, told a Senate panel.
"It was not used for attorney-client rooms. The mission down there has morphed over time, so the room that they were using for attorney-client discussions still had equipment. But that equipment was not energized, it was not used and I can tell you that without question, we have not violated their rights by listening in," Kelly said Wednesday.
He said the audio portions of the devices were removed this week, but the video part of the mechanism will remain.
"Some of these men, arguably are dangerous," Kelly said in response to a question of why the video cameras would remain.
"And although you would think that their defense attorneys would be safe, I have a responsibility to protect the defense attorneys, as well, as I do the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) that visits and the 5,700 non-DOD people that have visited Guantanamo since the beginning," he said.
"They weren't listened to. Yes, the video devices will remain -- temporarily, at least, and the attorneys will understand that," he told the Senate panel inquiring about the devices.
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A Navy sailor surveys the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in October 2009. Shortly after his first term began, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay within a year, but the 
U.S. military guards move a detainee inside the detention center in September 2010. At its peak, the detainee population reportedly exceeded 750 men at Guantanamo.
Muslim detainees kneel during early morning prayers in October 2009. Cells are marked with an arrow pointing in the direction of Mecca, regarded as Islam's holy city.
A soldier stands near a placard on the fence line of the detention facility in January 2012.
A Quran sits among a display of items isssued to detainees in September 2010. The suspects are given a prayer mat and a copy of the Muslim holy book as well as a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and clothing.
A U.S. military guard walks out of the maximum security section of the detention center in September 2010.
A German shepherd police dog undergoes training exercises in October 2009 at Guantanamo Bay.
A camp librarian views artwork painted by detainees in September 2010.
A detainee rubs his face while attending a "life skills" class inside the Camp 6 high-security detention facility in April 2009.
A seat and shackle await a detainee in the DVD room of the maximum security Camp 5 detention center in March 2010.
U.S. Marines join in martial arts training at the U.S. naval base in September 2010.
Members of the military walk the hallway of Cell Block C in the Camp 5 detention facility in January 2012.
Guards move a detainee from his cell in Cell Block A of the Camp 6 detention facility in January 2012.
A detainee waits for lunch in September 2010. The cost of building Guantanamo's high-security detention facilities was reportedly about $54 million.
Marines get an early-morning workout at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in October 2009.
A bus carries military guards from their night shift at the detention center in September 2010.
A military guard puts on gloves before moving a detainee within the detention center in September 2010.
Members of the U.S. Navy move down the hallway of Cell Block C in the Camp 5 detention facility in January 2012.
A U.S. military guard holds shackles before preparing to move a detainee in September 2010.
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