Posted by A U.S. federal judge ruled on Thursday that five Algerian prisoners are not being lawfully held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and ordered their release. The case, involving six Algerians detained in Bosnia in 2001, was an important test of the Bush administration’s detention policies, which critics have long argued swept up innocent men and low-level foot soldiers along with high-level and hardened terrorists.
Ruling from the bench, Judge Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court in Washington DC said that the information gathered on the men had been sufficient to hold them for intelligence purposes, but was not strong enough in court.
He directed that the five men be released “forthwith†and urged the government not to appeal.
The one detainee Judge Leon found was lawfully held was Bensayah Belkacem, who has been described by intelligence agencies as a leading Al Qaeda operative in Bosnia. Judge Leon, an appointee of the first President Bush, had been expected to be sympathetic to the government.
There are about 255 detainees at Guantanamo, which was set up after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
President-elect Obama has said he will close the Guantánamo Bay prison after he takes office in January.
Source African Press Agency
