Judge rules detainees are enemy combatants

By Mike M. Ahlers
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A federal judge, acting in the cases of two men who say they are being held illegally at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, ruled Tuesday that the government is within its rights to detain the men as "enemy combatants," saying the men's own statements were crucial to his decision.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said there is "more than ample evidence" for the government to hold Moath Hamza al Alwi, a Yemeni citizen, on allegations that he provided support to the Taliban or al Qaeda before and after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

And, in the case of Hisham Sliti, a Tunisian, Leon said Sliti's story that he had gone to Afghanistan to kick a long-standing drug habit was "not credible." Leon said there was "little doubt" that Sliti had close ties to al Qaeda extremists, saying Sliti knew "code words" for a military training camp and was found with an address book containing information about known al Qaeda militants.