Al-Bihani v. Obama
Synopsis
Status
Habeas petition denied; advocacy challenging indefinite detention pending.
Description
Al-Bihani v. Obama is a post-habeas challenge to indefinite detention of Ghaleb Nassar Al-Bihani, a citizen of Yemen held at Guantánamo for nine years without charge or trial. Mr. Al-Bihani’s habeas petition was denied by the trial court based on a finding that he was an assistant cook for a group associated with Taliban. The ruling was twice upheld by the D.C. Circuit, once by a three-judge panel which concluded in part that international law does not apply in U.S. courts, and again by a majority of judges on the court which concluded that the panel’s international law ruling was unnecessary but that Mr. Al-Bihani is nonetheless detainable. The Supreme Court declined to review the case.
Timeline
