"Court Ruling Could Halt Guantanamo Trials," by Ben Fox - AP (San Juan, Puerto Rico), 25 June 2006
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A former driver for Osama bin Laden may help decide the fate of dozens of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and perhaps all of them, as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on his legal challenge to the first U.S. war crimes trials since World War II.
The court, which is expected to rule as early as Monday, is considering a range of issues in Salim Ahmed Hamdan's case, including whether President Bush had the authority to order military trials for men captured in the war on terror and sent to the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Bush recently suggested the ruling will help him determine what should be done with all the prisoners at Guantanamo, where the U.S. holds about 450 men on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.
Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that Bush doesn't need a court decision to close the prison, which has drawn intense international criticism. The case has nothing to do with the prison itself, they said.
"Bush can close Guantanamo, but this (court) decision can't," said Ben Wizner, an ACLU attorney who monitors Guantanamo. "That's not a question before this court."
The ruling, however, could determine whether the government can proceed with military trials for Hamdan and nine other detainees who have been charged with crimes.
Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the chief Guantanamo prosecutor, said about 65 more detainees being held at the U.S. base are likely to be charged with crimes if the Supreme Court upholds the process....
[Hamdan's] military-appointed attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr Charles Swift, said the lawsuit is aimed at moving the case to the civilian court system or to a traditional military court-martial. Lawyers for several defendants contend the tribunals lack guidelines and favor the prosecution.
"This is about a fair trial, not a free pass," Swift said.
The Supreme Court was also asked to consider whether fair trial provisions of the Geneva Conventions apply to the military tribunals.
Another issue is whether the Supreme Court even has a say in the matter. The administration argues the Detainee Treatment Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by Bush on Dec. 30, strips the federal courts of much of their jurisdiction over Guantanamo detainees.
On Saturday, 14 Saudi Arabians were released from Guantanamo and transferred to their home country, leaving about 450 detainees at the prison, the Pentagon said.
One Saudi was released because U.S. officials determined the detainee was no longer an enemy combatant. The other Saudis were released after a review process determined they could be transferred....
"US Warns Against Expecting Swift Guantanamo Closing," AFP (Washington, DC), 23 June 2006
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House warned against "false optimism" that the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay will close soon after the US Supreme Court rules on the fate of those held there. "The process is going to take some time. But the president does want it shut down," spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.
But the US government was already looking at logistical issues ahead of the court's ruling on the legality of military tribunals for some of the roughly 460 detainees still inside the US Navy-run prison in Cuba, the spokesman said.
Snow said that the United States was "in a bit of a holding pattern" until the justices rule on the case brought by Salim Ahmed Hamdan -- probably "within the next week" -- and cautioned that things will go slowly even afterwards.
But Snow said he wanted to warn against "false optimism" once the Hamdan case is resolved, because there are still many other cases to deal with.
Snow said that the United States was "in a bit of a holding pattern" until the justices rule on the case brought by Salim Ahmed Hamdan -- probably "within the next week" -- and cautioned that things will go slowly even afterwards.
But Snow said he wanted to warn against "false optimism" once the Hamdan case is resolved, because there are still many other cases to deal with.
Snow said that those now held at Guantanamo were mostly from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Yemen, and warned of a likely outcry from human rights groups it they are repatriated....
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