顶面法院不会决定关塔那摩囚犯呼吁

詹姆斯Vicini

它不会决定在星期一的严密分开的最高法院认为关塔那摩囚犯是否有挑战权他们的禁闭在美国之前。 联邦法官，避免乔治· W.总统测试。 布什的力量在反恐怖战争中。在三正义强烈措辞的持异议，高等法院认为它在的一部分的合宪性不会统治布什去年穿通过国会的反恐怖主义法律。 法律拿走权利外国恐怖分子嫌疑犯在美国。 prison in Cuba to have a judicial review of their detention.

The justices declined to hear two appeals by prisoners seeking to overturn a lower court ruling in February. The lower court decision said lawsuits challenging the prisoners’ detentions must be dismissed.

The Supreme Court in 2004 and 2006 rejected the Bush administration’s position that Guantanamo prisoners cannot sue in U.S. courts.

Although the court did not give any explanation for its action, two justices said the Supreme Court could consider the issue later, if the congressionally approved proceedings involve unreasonable delays or some other injury for the prisoners.

The two, John Paul Stevens and Anthony Kennedy, issued a statement saying rejection of the appeals at this time “does not constitute any opinion on the merits” of the dispute.

There are about 385 detainees at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The first prisoners arrived more than five years ago after the United States launched its war on terrorism in response to the September 11 attacks.

The indefinite detention and allegations of prisoner mistreatment at Guantanamo, which the U.S. military denies, have tarnished the United States’ image abroad and a chorus of allies have urged Bush to shut down the camp for foreign terrorism suspects.

Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. The prisoners fell one vote short of the four required to grant an appeal.

“I believe these questions deserve this court’s immediate attention,” Breyer wrote. “Immediate review may avoid an additional year or more of imprisonment.”

Attorneys for the prisoners had said the ruling by a U.S. appeals court upholding the law conflicted with decisions by the Supreme Court in 2004 and 2006 that said the detainees could get a hearing before a federal judge.

Their attorneys said the prisoners have been unlawfully detained for more than five years, without a fair hearing or any meaningful way to challenge their detention.

The attorneys said the cases involved a “watershed challenge” to Bush’s authority. The Bush administration argued that the appeals should be rejected.

Prisoners receive a military proceeding, called a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, to determine if they have been rightfully deemed “an unlawful enemy combatant.”

Under the law, prisoners cannot challenge their detention before a federal district court judge. But they can get a more limited review of the tribunal’s decision before a U.S. appeals court.

The Bush administration told the Supreme Court that review before the appeals court should be allowed to go forward — an argument the Supreme Court appeared to accept.

One appeal involved 39 prisoners, nearly all of whom have been at Guantanamo for more than five years without any charges. The other appeal involved six Algerians captured in Bosnia and held at Guantanamo since January 2002.

Comment on 'Top court won’t decide Guantanamo prisoner appeal' :

RSS TrackBack URL

Related News: