- NEW YORK (Reuters) - The
president of the United States does not have the power to detain an American
citizen seized on U.S. soil as an enemy combatant, a federal appeals court
ruled on Thursday, in a serious setback to the bush administration's war
on terror.
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- The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling,
said only the U.S. Congress can authorize such detentions and it ordered
the government to release Jose Padilla from military custody within 30
days.
-
- The court said that the government can transfer Padilla,
a U.S. citizen who has been held incommunicado in a Navy prison, to a civilian
authority that can bring criminal charges against him.
-
- "Presidential authority does not exist in a vacuum
and this case involves not whether those responsibilities should be aggressively
pursued, but whether the President is obligated in the circumstances presented
here to share them with Congress," the court said.
-
- "Where, as here, the President's power as Commander-in-Chief
of the armed forces and the domestic rule of law intersect, we conclude
that clear congressional authorization is required for detentions of Americans
on American soil...."
-
- A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys office did
not have an immediate comment.
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- In Washington, Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo
said, "We are reviewing the opinion." He declined further comment.
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- Padilla is a suspect in an al Qaeda plot to detonate
a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States. He was arrested
at Chicago's O'Hare airport 18 months ago as he arrived from Pakistan.
He was transported to Manhattan federal court system where he was held
as a material witness in a federal grand jury terrorism investigation.
The Bush administration later classified him as an enemy combatant and
he was transferred to a Navy prison in South Carolina.
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- His New York lawyers sought his release as well as access
to their client.
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- Federal prosecutors have argued Padilla should not have
access to attorneys because they said he posed a threat to national security
and defense lawyers would interfere with his interrogation. They also believe
defense lawyers could unwittingly be used to pass messages to al Qaeda
operatives.
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