US judge suspends Guantanamo trial
The US judge trying the case of a Canadian Guantanamo detainee has agreed to suspend the trial.
Judge Patrick Parrish said on Wednesday that the trial of Omar Khadr, who was arrested in Afghanistan at the age of 15, would be suspended for 120 days.
Barack Obama, the US president, has requested that 21 military tribunals at the US detention centre be halted for the same time period.
Other judges trying Guantanamo cases are expected to rule on the presidential request in due course.
Obama's request was among his first actions as president, after being inaugurated on Tuesday.
The Obama administration is aiming to review the legal system for prosecuting alleged terrorists.
Khadr is accused of killing a US soldier with a grenade in Afghanistan in 2002 and has been held for seven years.
The 21 cases include the trials of five people accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
Prior to his inauguration, Obama said he would close down the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.
Jamil Dakwar, the director of the human rights programme at the American Civil Liberties Union, said Obama's request was a positive step but "the president's order leaves open the option of this discredited system remaining in existence".
Source Al Jazeera English
The US judge trying the case of a Canadian Guantanamo detainee has agreed to suspend the trial.
Judge Patrick Parrish said on Wednesday that the trial of Omar Khadr, who was arrested in Afghanistan at the age of 15, would be suspended for 120 days.
Barack Obama, the US president, has requested that 21 military tribunals at the US detention centre be halted for the same time period.
Other judges trying Guantanamo cases are expected to rule on the presidential request in due course.
Obama's request was among his first actions as president, after being inaugurated on Tuesday.
The Obama administration is aiming to review the legal system for prosecuting alleged terrorists.
Khadr is accused of killing a US soldier with a grenade in Afghanistan in 2002 and has been held for seven years.
The 21 cases include the trials of five people accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
Prior to his inauguration, Obama said he would close down the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.
Jamil Dakwar, the director of the human rights programme at the American Civil Liberties Union, said Obama's request was a positive step but "the president's order leaves open the option of this discredited system remaining in existence".
Source Al Jazeera English
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