Another American Declared To Be An Enemy Combatant

US Court Denies Taliban Fighter Access to Lawyer
Fri Jul 12, 1:37 PM ET

NORFOLK, Va. (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that an American-born Taliban prisoner captured in Afghanistan ( news - web sites), Yaser Esam Hamdi, could not have access to a lawyer, saying the government had the right to detain combatants in a time of war.

Chief Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal court's June decision allowing Hamdi to meet with Public Defender Frank Dunham.

In his ruling, Wilkinson said the district court had made the decision "without adequately considering the implications of its actions" and remanded it back to the court.

"In the face of ongoing hostilities, the district court issued an order that failed to address the many serious questions raised by Hamdi's case," Wilkinson wrote.

"The June 11 order does not consider what effect petitioners unmonitored access to counsel might have upon the government's ongoing gathering of intelligence. The order does not ask to what extent federal courts are permitted to review military judgements of combatant status."

Hamdi, 21, was in captivity in November during a prison uprising by Taliban and al Qaeda forces after U.S. forces launched a military campaign in Afghanistan. He was held with other detainees in Cuba until the discovery that he had been born in Louisiana to Saudi Arabian parents.

Hamdi has been declared an enemy combatant and held at a jail in the Norfolk U.S. naval station since April. The government has determined he should continue to be detained in accordance with the laws and customs of war

Last month the same court ruled the federal public defender and a private citizen had no significant prior relationship with Hamdi and therefore could not file petitions for a writ of habeas corpus as his "next friend" arguing he is being held illegally.

The case Wilkinson ruled on Friday was brought by Hamdi's father. It presented the question of whether prisoners declared enemy combatants have the right to a lawyer and whether American courts can second-guess the military's enemy combatant determination.

Citing the need for judicial review, Wilkinson refused to make a sweeping ruling and did not approve a government request to dismiss the case entirely.

"With no meaningful judicial review, any American citizen alleged to be an enemy combatant could be detained indefinitely without charges or counsel on the government's say-so," he wrote. "Given the interlocutory nature of this appeal, a remand rather than an outright dismissal is appropriate."

Wilkinson said the executive branch of the government is "best prepared" to exercise the military judgement regarding the capture of alleged combatants.

"According, any judicial inquiry into Hamdi's status as an alleged enemy combatant in Afghanistan must reflect a recognition that government has no more profound responsibility than the protection of Americans, both military and civilian, against additional unprovoked attack."