ABA Journal - Law News Now

Guantanamo/Detainees

5 Gitmo Detainees Held Unlawfully, Federal Judge Says

Posted Nov 20, 2008, 01:30 pm CST
By Martha Neil

Ruling from the bench, a federal judge has found that five Algerian men were held unlawfully for nearly seven years at the U.S. military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and ordered that they be released "forthwith."

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon also urged the government not to appeal his decision, reports the New York Times. The judge, who heard the evidence against the men in a closed courtroom, is the first to hold hearings on whether Gitmo prisoners were lawfully detained.

Leon told a packed courtroom in Washington, D.C., that the government did not meet its burden of showing that the five were enemy combatants, recounts Bloomberg. "The proceedings were heard live via teleconference… Continue reading...

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