By Christopher Newton
Associated Press
Aug. 01, 2002
WASHINGTON - A federal judge ruled Wednesday that suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters held in Cuba do not have a right to U.S. court hearings, allowing the military to hold them indefinitely without filing charges.

The 600 men held at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are not in the United States and do not fall under the jurisdiction of federal courts, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said.

Some legal experts said Wednesday's ruling was the first significant legal support for the government's detainment policy.

"This is a federal court weighing in, saying that those people detained at U.S. bases outside the country are, in essence, not being held in the United States," said Justin Willard, a constitutional lawyer in Washington. "There is no reason why this tactic couldn't be used indefinitely. Why bring a suspected terrorist to Washington when you can put them in Cuba and never have to answer questions about who they are or what they've done?"

The ruling involved Britons Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal and Australian David Hicks, who are being held at Guantanamo. They were captured while fighting with Taliban and al-Qaida forces, U.S. officials say.

The men's families hired lawyers in the United States who sued the Bush administration, demanding that the men be allowed to argue their cases before a federal judge.

But Kollar-Kotelly ruled that courts have no jurisdiction because the nation's "leased military bases abroad, which continue under the sovereignty of foreign nations, hostile or friendly" are not U.S. territory.

The judge also rejected the relatives' argument that the detained men should have the same right to U.S. courts as Cuban citizens who have requested political asylum and gained entry into the United States.

"The crucial distinction in their rights as aliens is that (they) had been given some form of process by the government of the United States," the judge wrote in her opinion. "It is undisputed that the individuals held at Guantanamo Bay do not seek to become citizens."

The judge pointed out that the men have not been charged with any legal offenses and, thus, are not being deprived of due process.

Barbara Olshansky, a legal director for the civil rights group representing the men, said the judge based her decision on "irrelevant and ill-reasoned" precedents.

"We find the decision extremely troubling," said Olshansky, who works for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

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