Bush declares al-Qaida suspects eligible for trial
US President George Bush has designated six al-Qaida captives as eligible for trial before military tribunals, a senior administration official said today.
The decision about whether to actually conduct a trial will be separate, and will partially depend on the next moves by the captives and their lawyers.
The official would not elaborate on why Bush singled out the captives, or where they are being held.
Bush has ordered the military to prepare for commissions to hold trials for terrorism suspects who are not US citizens. No trials have been ordered yet, but candidates include some of the alleged al Qaida leaders in US custody and the 680 or so suspects held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
The Pentagon has named a chief prosecutor and a defence lawyer to oversee the appointment of military defence lawyers for suspects.
Officials at Guantanamo Bay also have begun planning for possible construction of an execution chamber because the commissions may consider imposing the death penalty.
The Pentagon rules list 18 war crimes and eight other offences, including terrorism and the deliberate killing of civilians, that could be handled by the military tribunals.
The cases would be decided by a panel of three to seven military officers who would act as both judge and jury. Convictions could be handed down by a majority vote – a decision to sentence a defendant to death would have to be unanimous.
