Judge orders release of Guantánamo detainee Mohammed Jawad

by wsws (reposted)

Fri, Jul 31, 2009 6:47AM

Friday, July 31, 2009 : A federal judge Thursday ordered the US government to release Guantánamo detainee Mohammed Jawad, who has been illegally imprisoned in the US military concentration camp for nearly seven years. Jawad, who was as young as 11 or 12 when the US military seized him in Afghanistan, is the youngest of several prisoners in Guantánamo who were captured as juveniles and accused of “war crimes” against the US.

US District Judge Ellen Huvelle ruled that the government had no legal grounds to hold Jawad and ordered the Justice Department to release him by August 21 and have him transferred to the custody of the Afghan government.

Last week, the Justice Department acknowledged it lacked any evidence to justify holding Jawad as an “enemy combatant.” Nevertheless, the Obama administration attempted to block his release, with government attorneys asking the judge for more time to consider whether to pursue a criminal case against him.

On Thursday, government lawyers filed papers saying the administration was prepared to release Jawad in three weeks to an unnamed country, presumably Afghanistan. However, they reiterated that Attorney General Eric Holder was still considering filing civilian criminal charges against Jawad, which could stop his repatriation or force his return to the US for a future trial.

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For more information: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/...

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