WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a Yemeni man's bid for release after 17 years held as an enemy combatant at the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, even as a liberal justice urged the court to decide whether the United States can legally confine such detainees indefinitely.
The nine justices decided not to hear an appeal by detainee Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alwi, who was captured in Pakistan in 2001 and placed in the Guantanamo U.S. military detention facility in 2002 without ever facing criminal charges. The U.S. government has said al Alwi was involved in fighting against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan and was closely linked with the Islamic militant group al Qaeda.
