US considering Guantanamo ruling options - lawyer

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BRUSSELS, June 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is looking at options to appeal a surprise decision by military judges this week to dismiss war crimes charges against two prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. government lawyer said on Thursday.

The U.S. military judges dropped all war crimes charges on Monday against the only two Guantanamo prisoners facing trial -- Canadian Omar Khadr and Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen, an accused driver and guard for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The judges said they lacked jurisdiction because the defendants were classified as "enemy combatants" rather than "unlawful enemy combatants", as required by the system set in place by Congress.

They gave the Bush administration 72 hours to decide on an appeal.

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