Federal Judge Orders Gitmo Detainee Released
U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle issued a one-page judgment Tuesday ordering the release of Yasin Muhammed Basardh, a 33-year-old from Yemen.
AP
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
federal judge has ordered the United States to release a prisoner from Guantanamo Bay.
U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle issued a one-page judgment Tuesday ordering the release of Yasin Muhammed Basardh, a 33-year-old from Yemen.
The judge didn't explain in the ruling why Basardh should be let go, but said it was explained during a closed hearing in her courtroom earlier in the day.
Basardh has been fighting in court for four years to be released. The United States had argued that he was an enemy combatant and therefore being legally held at Guantanamo, but the specifics of his case were kept classified and sealed in court filings.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd would only say the department is reveiwing the court's ruling. Basardh's lawyer Stephen Sady, public defender in the state of Oregon, said he could not comment on the case because the hearing was under seal.