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Obama directs prosecutors to seek Guantanamo military commissions delay

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama on his first day in office Tuesday directed military prosecutors to pursue a 120-day continuance in military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay against five alleged 9/11 co-conspirators, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The motion cites the new administration's desire to evaluate the detainees' cases and determine the proper forum for future prosecution. Similar motions are expected to be filed in all pending military commission cases, presumably including proceedings set to begin against Omar Khadr, a Canadian who allegedly killed a US soldier in Afghanistan. It was unclear how Obama's order would affect a sanity hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday morning in the trial of Ramzi bin al Shibh, one of the alleged 9/11 co-conspirators. Advisers to Obama have said he plans to issue an executive order during his first week in office closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. On Saturday, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced it had transferred six detainees out of Guantanamo Bay. Last week, a judge on the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted habeas to Chadian detainee Mohammed El Gharani and directed his release. An ongoing hunger strike at Guantanamo now involves 42 detainees.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 21, 2009 (boomark / email).