Britons held at US camp lose court bid

A US judge ruled yesterday that two British citizens being held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay have no right to a trial before the American courts.

The district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the US legal system had no jurisdiction over the prisoners held at the US military base in Cuba. As a result, she rejected an action on behalf of the Britons Shafiq Rasul, 24, and Asif Iqbal, 20, and the Australian David Hicks, 26, to be placed before a court.

The two Britons are among seven British citizens being held at Guantanamo Bay, which houses 564 alleged Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters. None of the prisoners have been charged and none had been granted the right to consult a lawyer.

Barbara Olshansky, legal director for The Centre for Constitutional Rights, the civil rights group representing the men, said the judge based her decision on "irrelevant and ill-reasoned" precedents. "The court has left the petitioners in legal limbo without recourse," she said. "They are being held at the unfettered discretion of the United States."

President George Bush has ruled that the prisoners should not receive the full rights afforded them under the Geneva Conventions. He has claimed the men are among the most dangerous Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters captured during the military operation in Afghanistan. Mr Hicks allegedly threatened to kill an American upon his arrival at Guantanamo Bay.

The court action on behalf of the two Britons, both from Tipton, West Midlands, said efforts by the men's families to contact them were "either rebuffed or ignored" by US officials. The men have been allowed to write letters to their families, screened by US officials, in which they asked for lawyers.

Their attorney said the men could be denied representation as they appear before a military tribunal with the authority to impose the death penalty.

It has emerged that some of Osama bin Laden's personal bodyguards are among the prisoners. The disclosure has led to a flurry of fresh speculation about whether the al-Qa'ida leader is alive or dead.

Military officials said it was not clear how many bodyguards were captured or when, though one source suggested they were taken in February.

Some of them are believed to have served Mr bin Laden for many years.