US Supreme Court to hear Guantanamo appeals
Friday, 29 June 2007 22:32
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals by Guantanamo prisoners on their right to challenge their detention before federal judges.
The same court denied the same appeals by the prisoners in April, but today announced that two cases would heard in what will prove a test of the Bush administration's powers in the so-called war on terror.
The White House had urged the court to turn down the appeals.
At issue is an anti-terrorism law that US President George W Bush pushed through Congress last year, which took away the right of foreign terrorist suspects to have a judicial review of their detention.
There are currently around 375 detainees being held at the prison in Cuba, which critics, including some of Washington's allies, have demanded be closed.
Human rights groups called for the detainees to be charged with crimes or released, highlighting allegations of prisoner mistreatment.
After refusing to hear the case in April, the Supreme Court did not offer an explanation as to why it accepted it this time.
Hearings are likely to begin later this year.
In a statement, the White House expressed confidence in its legal position on the 'war on terror' and said it did not think that a court review was necessary at this time.
