Hearings for terror suspects before US military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are going ahead despite a US Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the detainees have a right to challenge their detention in a civilian court.
Legal experts had described the court’s decision as the death knell of the special tribunals created by US President George W. Bush and his Republican allies in Congress to try “war on terror” suspects.
But Justice Department chief Michael Mukasey said the controversial tribunals at the US naval base in Guantanamo would continue their work and last week, two preliminary hearings were held as scheduled.
The hearings focused on Omar Khadr and Mohammed Jawad, a Canadian and Afghan both detained in Afghanistan for having allegedly thrown grenades when they were still teenagers.
The new judge overseeing the Canadian’s case, Colonel Patrick Parrish, who replaced another military judge who was forced to step down, announced that the trial for Khadr would start on Oct. 8.
Jawad reportedly used his hearing to denounce his treatment, alleging during a two-week period US guards changed his cell every two hours to prevent him from sleeping, a technique dubbed the “frequent flyer-program.”
Meanwhile a three-judge panel in federal court on Friday declined to intervene in the Khadr case in an appeal that focused on a procedural dispute. The decision though does not preclude federal judges from wading directly into the tribunal trials in Guantanamo in the aftermath of the high court’s ruling, which rejected the government’s assertion that the detainees lack habeas corpus rights.
The US Court of Appeals for the US capital on Monday ruled that Chinese prisoner Huzaifa Parhat, of the Chinese Muslim Uighur minority, is not an enemy combatant and has the right to seek his release from custody at Guantanamo.
Parhat’s release, however, was not expected any time soon since the appeals court said the Pentagon could hold a new tribunal on his status.
Although no trial has begun in earnest at the Guantanamo naval base, 19 detainees have been charged and “there will be more coming in the not too distant future,” said Joe DellaVedova of the office of military commissions.
“The military commissions process continues to move forward, in a fair, open and transparent manner,” he said.
Among those already charged are several suspects who allegedly planned the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as al-Qaeda militants accused of having fired rockets in the vicinity of US troops in Afghanistan.The first tribunal trial is scheduled to start on July 21.
The fallout from the Supreme Court’s ruling is still unclear. The justices concluded that the Guantanamo base, officially on Cuban territory, can be treated as US territory where rights enshrined in the US Constitution must be respected.
But it remains an open question if inmates enjoy all rights named in the Constitution or only certain fundamental rights.
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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