US asks top court to dismiss Guantanamo case

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Bush administration urged the
U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to dismiss a challenge to
President George W. Bush’s power to create military tribunals
to put Guantanamo prisoners on trial for war crimes.

The administration’s argument was based on a law signed by
Bush on December 30 that limits the ability of Guantanamo
prisoners caught in the president’s war on terrorism to
challenge their detentions in federal courts.

Administration lawyers said the new law applied to the
Supreme Court case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni accused of
being Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard and driver.

He had challenged the military tribunals before his actual
trial, but administration lawyers said that under the new law
he could bring a court appeal only after the commission
proceedings against him had been completed.

The Hamdan case is considered an important test of the
administration’s policy in the war on terrorism. The tribunals,
formally called military commissions, were authorized by Bush
after the September 11 attacks and have been criticized by
human rights groups as being fundamentally unfair.

There are about 500 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban
prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Charges have been brought against nine people, including
Hamdan. Pretrial hearings were held in two cases this week.

The administration cited the same new law in moving last
week to dismiss more than 180 cases in U.S. district court in
Washington involving Guantanamo inmates who have challenged
their detention.

The legislation signed by Bush on December 30 bans cruel
and inhumane treatment of prisoners. The anti-torture law also
curbs the ability of prisoners being held at the U.S. Naval
Base in Cuba to challenge their detention in federal court.

HAMDAN LAWYERS SAY CASE CAN GO AHEAD

One of Hamdan’s attorneys, Neal Katyal, had no immediate
comment on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case.

Hamdan’s lawyers previously told the high court the new law
did not prevent the justices from considering the merits of his
claims.

They also filed a request for habeas corpus relief directly
with the Supreme Court in a bid to get around the
jurisdictional problems and make sure the case can go forward.

It was not known when the court would decide whether to
dismiss the case.

Justice Department lawyers told the Supreme Court that
Hamdan’s appeal should be dismissed without reaching the merits
of the issue because of a lack of jurisdiction.

“Under well-settled principles, Congress’s decision to
remove jurisdiction over this action and others must be given
immediate effect,” Solicitor General Paul Clement said in
23-page motion filed with the Supreme Court.

“By establishing an exclusive review procedure for military
commission challenges, Congress has made plain its judgment
that judicial review of military commission proceedings should
occur only after those proceedings have been completed,” he
said.

Department lawyers said Hamdan under the new law may seek
review in the U.S. appeals court in Washington of any final
decision rendered against him by a military commission.

(Additional reporting by Deborah Charles)