A justice at the military court in Guantanamo Bay moved against an executive order issued by U.S. President Barack Obama to delay tribunals there for 120 days.
Judge James Pohl denied delay requests for a case involving Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri for his role in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which killed 17 crew members and injured 50 others.
“The Commission is unaware of how conducting an arraignment would preclude any option by the administration,” said Pohl in a written opinion obtained by The Washington Post. “Congress passed the military commissions act, which remains in effect. The Commission is bound by the law as it currently exists, not as it may change in the future.”
Obama issued an executive order shortly after taking office calling for a 120-day delay in cases for 21 detainees charged under the tribunal system at Guantanamo Bay.
Nashiri is scheduled for arraignment Feb. 9 on capital charges. The Pentagon said it is obliged to comply with the executive order and may subsequently be forced to drop , at least temporarily , its charges.
Nashiri, along with Ramzi bin-Al Shib and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, is one of the three detainees at Guantanamo Bay subjected to “extraordinary” interrogation techniques according to CIA admissions.