August 9, 2007: High Value Detainees Ruled Enemy Combatants, Significance Uncertain

Fourteen “high value” detainees held by the US in Guantanamo Bay (see March 9-April 28, 2007) are ruled to be “enemy combatants.” The detainees include 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, 9/11 coordinator Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Jemaah Islamiyah leader Hambali, and al-Qaeda leaders Khallad bin Attash and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. However, a judge had previously ruled that designating a detainee an “enemy combatant” was meaningless and that a person designated an enemy combatant could not be tried under the Military Commissions Act (see June 4, 2007). The Washington Post comments, “It is unclear if these men can be tried at military commissions without a change in the law or a newly designed review.” [Washington Post, 8/10/2007]

Entity Tags: Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Tawfiq bin Attash, Military Commissions Act, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, Mohamad Farik Amin, Abu Zubaida, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, Majid Khan, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Gouled Hassan Dourad, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Hambali

Timeline Tags: Torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline, Civil Liberties