US court rules terror tribunals illegal

The US District Court in Washington DC suspended the military commission case against Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a 34-year-old Yemeni, being held at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

While rights groups celebrated, the stunned US government scrambled to prepare an emergency appeal after Judge James Robertson said Hamdan, an alleged al-Qaeda member, should be given prisoner-of-war status until a "competent tribunal" can rule on his case.

A review tribunal at Guantanamo has already declared that Hamdan was properly declared an "enemy combatant" and so ineligible for most protection under the Geneva Convention. But the judge rejected this.

"Unless and until a competent tribunal determines that Hamdan is not entitled to prisoner-of-war status, he may be tried with the offences for which he is charged only by court-martial," said Robertson.

The judge also said rules that restrict defendants' access to classified evidence against them also had to be rewritten.

The Hamdan decision will also apply to the approximately 550 other inmates at Guantanamo and government lawyers were quick to vow an appeal saying the ruling put terrorism on the same level as a legitimate war.

"We vigorously disagree with the court's decision, and will seek an emergency stay of the ruling and immediately appeal," said Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo in a statement.

"By conferring protected legal status under the Geneva Conv-entions on members of al-Qaeda, the judge has put terrorism on the same legal footing as legitimate methods of waging war," said Corallo.

The ruling came as a preliminary hearing against Hamdan went ahead at Guantanamo and officials said it and other cases had been immediately suspended.

Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, in the military operation launched after the September 11 attacks. He has been held at Guantanamo since early 2002, for much of that time without access to a lawyer.