Detainee Fears Being Shipped to Algeria

[951-Riverside]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Thursday zeroed in on the problem of Guantanamo Bay in reverse - detainees in U.S. custody who want out but don't want to be sent home.

Ahmed Belbacha isn't happy to be at Guantanamo Bay, but neither is he happy about the alternative he says was chosen for him by the U.S. government, Algeria, where Belbacha says he'll be tortured.

Belbacha's lawyer, David Remes, asked a three-judge panel to block any plans the Bush administration might have for moving his client into Algerian custody until the Supreme Court decides a case covering all Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court debated whether the detainees at the U.S. naval prison in Cuba have the right to take their cases to federal courts. A decision is expected in the spring.

There are other Guantanamo Bay cases with similarities to Belbacha's.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GUANTANAMO_APPEALS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-12-06-17-53-48