DOJ says Iraq terror suspect ruling hinders executive power to wage war

Saturday, February 10, 2007
1:34 PM ET

[JURIST] A US Justice Department spokesman said late Friday that the federal appeals court decision [opinion, PDF] giving suspected Iraq terrorist Shawqi Omar [JURIST news archive] the right to argue his case before a US court [JURIST report] will "inappropriately interfere with the executive branch's prerogative to prosecute a war."

Omar, who the US describes as a close associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [BBC profile], was arrested in Baghdad in October 2004 after he was caught harboring an Iraqi insurgent and a group of foreign fighters illegally in Iraq. Omar’s family says he is an innocent businessman who was seeking reconstruction contracts in Iraq, and will likely be tortured if removed from US custody. AP has more.

Natalie Hrubos


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