Supreme Court Vacates Ruling Allowing Indefinite Detention of Terrorism Suspect
The U.S. Supreme Court won’t be hearing a challenge to the indefinite detention of an alleged enemy combatant following his recent indictment.
The high court dismissed the case as moot and vacated a federal appeals court decision upholding the president’s power to detain the terrorism suspect, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, according to SCOTUSblog and the American Civil Liberties Union. The court also approved an order transferring al-Marri to civilian custody.
Al-Marri had been held in a military brig without charges for almost six years after his arrest in Peoria, Ill.. Last year, the en banc 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had refused to order al-Marri released. The U.S. Supreme Court had granted cert in an appeal by al-Marri’s lawyers in the American Civil Liberties Union.
At issue was whether President Bush had the power to hold al-Marri indefinitely as an enemy combatant even though he was living legally in the United States at the time of his arrest. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that the U.S. military may indefinitely detain enemy combatants apprehended on the battlefield.
Following al-Marri’s civilian indictment, lawyers from the Obama administration had urged the Supreme Court to end the case, SCOTUSblog reports. The indictment accuses al-Marri of providing material support to al-Qaida.
A statement by Jonathan Hafetz, the ACLU’s lead lawyer in the case, says the organization would have preferred a ruling supporting its position. “The Supreme Court nonetheless took an important step today” by vacating the 4th Circuit decision, he said.
A Washington Post story on al-Marri’s civilian trial says he will likely air claims of coercion as part of his defense. He has claimed he was subjected to painful stress positions, extreme sensory deprivation and violent threats while in the military brig. The Post says the trial is likely to illustrate the problems of trying enemy combatants held at Guantanamo, if they are funneled into civilian courts.
