Trial dates will be announced for first three defendants

By Michael Jay Friedman
Washington File Staff Writer

On June 29, one day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay naval base may challenge their classification as enemy-combatants, the Pentagon announced the formation of a military tribunal to adjudicate the cases against three of those prisoners.

Named as presiding officer of the new tribunal was retired Army Colonel Peter Brownback III. Four other officers, as yet unnamed, will comprise the remainder of the tribunal.

The first three defendants to be tried as alleged al Qaeda members will be David Hicks of Australia, Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed al Qosi of Sudan.

Because the June 28 Supreme Court decisions left unresolved the issue of what kind of hearing would guarantee due process of law to an accused enemy-combatant, it is possible that defense attorneys will challenge the constitutionality of the new tribunal.

The Pentagon expects to announce trial dates for the three defendants by mid-July.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)