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Plea by detenus in Guantanamo rejected

Ewen MacAskill

Ruling is a victory for Bush

Washington: Detenus in Guantanamo Bay suffered a major setback on Tuesday when a U.S. appeals court rejected their pleas to have claims against unlawful imprisonment heard. The U.S. Justice Department, as a result of the ruling, will seek to have hundreds of cases from prisoners pending in Federal courts dismissed.

The decision is a victory for the Bush administration, which has had to fend off legal challenges, including a Supreme Court judgment, since the first of the prisoners began arriving in 2001.

``We're disappointed,'' said Shayana Kadidal, a spokeswoman for the Centre for Constitutional Rights. ``The bottom line is that according to two of the Federal judges, the President can do whatever he wants without any legal limitations as long as he does it offshore.'' The appeals court, in its 59-page judgment, supported draconian legislation passed by Congress last year and backed by Mr. Bush that took away the right of the Guantanamo prisoners to make their case before U.S. Federal judges.

The appeal judges, who voted two to one, rejected a plea against the new legislation by defence lawyers on behalf of about 60 Guantanamo prisoners. The court ruled that aliens declared to be enemy combatants had no right to habeas corpus.

Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, a lawyer representing several of the detenus, said: ``The court of appeal has said it is perfectly legal to lock men up for ever without even a hint of due process. The conclusion would seem to violate most principles that most Americans believe are fundamental.''—

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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