Sunday, July 4, 2010

A federal appeals court has sided with a Guantánamo prisoner

Guantánamo remains a real test for Obama -- likely one the administration would like to forget -- but this decision will force action of some sort.

http://tinyurl.com/2eq9zh6

Appeals Court Sides With Detainee

By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: July 04, 2010

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court has sided with a Guantánamo prisoner whose case prompted a major internal argument among Obama administration legal advisers last year over how broadly to define terrorism suspects who may be detained without trial.

Belkacem Bensayah, an Algerian who was arrested in Bosnia in 2001 and accused of helping people who wanted to travel to Afghanistan and join Al Qaeda, cannot be considered part of the terrorist organization based on the evidence the government presented against him, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled.

"The government presented no direct evidence of actual communication between Bensayah and any Al Qaeda member, much less evidence suggesting Bensayah communicated with" anyone else to facilitate travel by an Al Qaeda member, Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg wrote in a 17-page opinion that was declassified late last week. Parts of the ruling were censored by the government.

2 comments:

James Bowie said...

Are the rules of evidence unique for each prisoner? I seem to remember Khadr's lawyers being served with new rules on the eve of a hearing.

James C Morton said...

Alice in Wonderland?