A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia Dec. 14 denied Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee Musa’ab Al-Madhwani‘s petition for habeas corpus, ruling that the government may continue to detain him. Judge Thomas Hogan excluded from evidence statements made to interrogators, finding them to be the product of abusive techniques, but admitted statements made during military hearings because they were given years after the alleged abuse. Hogan found that while he does not believe that Madhwani poses a threat, the government met its burden of proving that he was a member of al-Qaeda. Madhwani has been detained at Guantánamo since October 2002.
The ruling marks the ninth victory for the government in a habeas proceeding, while the court has ordered the release of 31 detainees. In September, a judge denied the habeas petition of Algerian Guantanamo Bay detainee Sufiyan Barhoumi, bringing the total number of government victories to eight. (Jurist, Dec. 15)
Cases concerning other Yemeni Guantánamo detainees are still pending. The US claims there is a growing al-Qaeda presence in Yemen
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