Supreme Court Rules Bush Overstepped Authority in Guantanamo Tribunals

In a major defeat for the Bush administration, the Supreme Court has ruled against the use of military tribunals to try Guantanamo detainees. The White House established the tribunals in the months after 9/11 for detainees captured in the so-called war on terror. The tribunals placed several restrictions on the suspects, including limited access to the evidence used against them. In a five to three vote Thursday, the Court ruled the practice violates US and international law. Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself from the case. He had previously taken part in a federal appeals court decision that had rejected a challenge to the legality of the commissions.

The ruling came in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni citizen accused of being an active member of Al Qaeda. Hamdan has been seeking the military to either dismiss his case or try him in a normal military tribunal or federal court. This is former Guantanamo prisoner Moazzam Begg.

* Moazzam Begg:
"I was held next to Salim Hamdan in Guantanamo for a period of two months and he often told me about how hard they were working together with Charles Swift in trying to obtain his rights. But we all remained skeptical because we felt that it was the United States government in one sense trying to feel good about itself in offering these types of laws and telling the detainees that at least you have the ability to defend yourself in this way which wasn't true at all."

The Supreme Court ruling was hailed by human rights groups, legal experts, and other former detainees. In a statement, the freed British detainee Shafiq Rasul - who spent two years at Guantanamo without charge - said: "This is another step in our collective efforts to see that those we left behind are treated fairly under international law."

President Bush took questions from reporters shortly after the verdict was announced. He was at the White House in a joint appearance Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

* President Bush, joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

For more on the Supreme Court ruling we are joined by a leading human rights attorney:

* Barbara Olshansky, attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights. The Center filed two briefs in this case, and has represented many Guantanamo detainees. Olshansky is the author of "The Case for Impeachment." Her forthcoming book out next month is called "Democracy Detained: Secret Unconstitutional Practices in the U.S. War on Terror."

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