Guantanamo Detainee Can Challenge Planned Transfer to Algeria
A federal appeals court has ruled that judges can consider pleas by Guantanamo detainees that seek to block their transfers to countries where they may be tortured.
The 2-1 ruling (PDF) by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said courts still have the authority to hear such suits, at least until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in two cases that contend detainees have a constitutional right to challenge their confinement, SCOTUSblog reports.
The appeals court said a federal judge may grant preliminary relief to detainee Ahmed Belbacha until the Supreme Court rules in the consolidated habeas cases, Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. United States. Belbacha is fighting his return to Algeria.
Belbacha’s case deserves further review, the court said, in light of the serious nature of his claims, the Associated Press reports.
