Washington - Two foreign prisoners at the United States "war on terror" detention camp at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have asked the US Supreme Court to rule on their legal rights under the US Constitution.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen and Omar Khadr of Canada have asked the nation's highest court to decide their status, according to a court document filed late on Tuesday and obtained on Wednesday.
Both men are among the first three Guantanamo prisoners the US government intends to prosecute this summer in special military courts, known as military commissions. Concerned the courts will not respect defendants' rights, the plaintiffs are seeking to be able to contest that issue before they go to trial.
Continues Below ↓
"As the war on terror enters its sixth year, this court's guidance is needed on whether the judiciary can be summarily removed from its traditional role in safeguarding liberty and preserving the balance of power," said the prisoners' petition filed with the Supreme Court.
The nine-justice Supreme Court twice has ruled in favour of Guantanamo detainees, finding in 2004 and 2006 they could use the US court system, but each time with only a single-vote majority.
The court's decision on whether it will address the latest petition was expected in the coming weeks.
A related Supreme Court petition was expected by early next week at the latest, concerning dozens of Guantanamo detainees the government does not expect to bring to trial, at least for the moment.
The federal appeals court in Washington last week ruled that the 390 Guantanamo detainees could not challenge their detention in the US court system as a violation of the US Constitution.
The appeals court said the law conformed with the US Constitution because the detainees were not US citizens and were not held on US soil.
Last June the Supreme Court, responding to a petition by Hamdan, invalidated the first special military commissions established by President George Bush, saying the president did not have the authority to set them up without the explicit agreement of Congress.
In the autumn, a law created new military commissions and barred so-called "enemy combatants" from using the civil justice system.
The Supreme Court petition filed for Hamdan and Khadr said: "If the constitution truly does not constrain these trials, with the eyes of the world upon them and with the very life of these men at stake, such a pronouncement must come from this court, and in advance of trial so that the litigants can plan accordingly."
The government intends to prosecute between 60 and 80 of the Guantanamo detainees in special military trials slated to begin this summer.
The Pentagon on Tuesday said it had scrapped a plan to build a court complex at the naval base to accommodate the proceedings.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates, testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, called "ridiculous" the cost of such a project, estimated at more than $100-million.
For a tenth of that cost, the Pentagon said it could use temporary facilities for the courtrooms and accommodations for the hundreds of lawyers and journalists expected to attend. - Sapa-AFP
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
