The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously that there is no justification for the “enemy combatants” designation of detainees held at the U.S. naval facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The case involves Hazaifa Parhat, a member of the Chinese dissident group, Uigher. The federal appeals court ruled the Pentagon used the “enemy combatant” designation inappropriately and ordered the government to release him, transfer him to another country, or afford him the right to appeal his detention in federal court; an apparent consideration of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. U.S.
The case marks the first court test of the “enemy combatant” designation. The circuit ruling is part of a review process enacted by Congress as part of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005. The DTA, the government argued in Boumediene, served as an effective substitute for the writ of habeas court. The designation, however, is part of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal, a military proceeding whereby suspects are determined illegible for detention at Guantanamo, but are afforded no right to counsel, have no access to evidence against them, nor are they made aware of the charges they face.
Parhat and 16 other Uighers were captured in Afghanistan in the early stages of the so-called war on terror. The group is a dissident Muslim sect considered a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government following a formal request by Beijing. The group has not engaged in hostile acts against the United States.
The lawyers for Parhat said that while the decision was announced Monday, their client remained unaware of the decision because he remains in solitary confinement in Guantanamo.
NPR's Nina Totenburg in her commentary on the case said the decision amounts to “big trouble” for the Bush administration.
