U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle rejected the Obama administration's efforts to dismiss or delay Mohammed Jawad's attempts to challenge his detention until the military commission against him was concluded. President Obama ordered a halt to all military commissions during his first few days in office, which means that Jawad's attempt to challenge his detention would have been delayed indefinitely until the administration settled on a policy for dealing with detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
The case of Mohammed Jawad has been a flashpoint for civil liberties groups. Jawad has been in custody since 2002, and was accused of throwing a grenade at an American convoy in Afghanistan. Jawad was "16 or 17" when captured. The prosecutor assigned to Jawad's case, Lt. Colonel Darrel J. Vandeveld, resigned because he felt as though the military commissions process was too inadequate to "to harbor even the remotest hope that justice is an achievable goal."
The ACLU's Jonathan Hafetz, who is acting as Jawad's counsel in this case, released a statement saying:
"While the Justice Department chose to continue Bush administration policies that sought to evade scrutiny of Mr. Jawad's unlawful detention, today's order emphasizes the importance of independent judicial review for prisoners who have been held for years with no legal recourse. A prompt habeas hearing is especially necessary because Mr. Jawad's mental and physical well-being continue to be jeopardized by the harsh conditions in which he is being held at Guantánamo. This order upholds Mr. Jawad's right to have his day in court."
This follows a number of setbacks in the Obama administration's efforts to assert the kind of broad detention authority claimed by the Bush administration. Recently, Judge John Bates ruled that terrorism detainees captured in third countries and transferred to the legal no man's land at Bagram air force base were entitled to challenge their detention in U.S. courts.
-- A. Serwer
