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European Foes of Guantanamo Praise Ruling
Allen Cowell
International Herald Tribune
June 29, 2006
LONDON , June 29 - The United States Supreme Court ruling on Thursday barring the use of military tribunals for prisoners held at GuantanamoBay prompted an outcry across Europe for the camp to be closed and for its inmates to be freed or prosecuted in open proceedings.
The ruling was "a victory for the rule of law and human rights," Amnesty International said in a statement. "The U.S. Administration should ensure that those held in Guantanamo should be either released or brought before civilian courts on the U.S. mainland."
Khalid al-Odah, head of a committee representing Kuwaiti detainees at GuantanamoBay and the father of one detainee, Fawzi al-Odah, said the ruling meant "it is now time for President Bush to separate innocent prisoners from ones that may be determined dangerous under fair judicial proceedings."
"Giving the prisoners their day in court will allow the innocent to be separated from those that may be found guilty, and will represent a beginning in America's restoration of its global image of being a nation of justice and the rule of law," the elder Mr. Al-Odah said.
Edison Lee , a spokesman for the families in Washington, said six Kuwaitis were among those held at Guantanamo.
In a statement released in London by the Kuwaiti committee, David Cynamon, a lawyer, said their "human rights have been ignored for far too long."
Separately, Zachary Katznelson, a lawyer from a British firm representing 36 Guantanamo detainees, said the ruling represented "a fantastic victory for us."
"It's a strong rebuke from the Supreme Court to President Bush," Mr. Katznelson said. "They clearly have said he is not above the law, and that the men at Guantanamo absolutely have rights, and the military commissions are just blatantly illegal.
"President Bush has said he wants to shut down Guantanamo, but was waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the military commissions. Now they have ruled and the message is plain."
In Geneva, Gerald Staberock, a director with responsibility for counter-terrorism at the International Commission of Jurists, a Geneva-based nongovernmental organization, said the ruling meant Guantanamo detainees could no longer be treated differently from ordinary criminal defendants.
"The ruling destroys one of the key pillars of the Guantanamo system," Mr. Staberock said. "Guantanamo was built on the idea that prisoners there have limited rights. There is no longer that legal black hole."
Politicians in Madrid joined their voices to a growing call across Europe for the end of the detention camp at GuantanamoBay, an American naval base on the eastern end of Cuba.
Gaspar Llamazares, leader of the leftist Izquierda Unida coalition, said: "The decision by the Supreme Court in the United States ratifies the accusations that various political groups in Spain have been making. This supports our view that the prison that has been established in Guantanamo cannot stay open one day longer. There can be no more excuses or justifications."
In Rome, Emma Bonino, the minister of trade and European affairs and one of the two leaders of the Radical Party, said the court's ruling "gives confidence in the justice system."
"It proves again that, in a democracy, it is the division of power that works," Ms. Bonino said.
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