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Supreme Court judge says civil rights for Guantanamo inmates 'crazy'
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US Supreme Court judge has said it would be "crazy" to give war on terror detainees rights in civil courts, and has castigated Europeans for criticising the Guantanamo detention camp, media reports said.
The comments attributed to Justice Antonin Scalia were published a day before the Supreme Court starts hearing a key challenge to special military tribunals for "war on terror" suspects at the US naval base in Cuba.
"War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts," Scalia said during a talk on March 8 at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland, Newsweek magazine reported.
"Foreigners, in foreign countries, have no rights under the American Constitution," Scalia said, according to the www.scotusblog legal website, adding that "nobody has ever thought otherwise."
"If he was captured by my army on a battlefield, that is where he belongs," Scalia told the audience.
"I had a son on that battlefield and they were shooting at my son, and I'm not about to give this man who was captured in a war a full jury trial. I mean it's crazy."
The conservative judge's son, Matthew, fought in the Iraq war.
Scalia also said he was "astounded" at the "hypocritical" reaction to the Guantanamo camp in Europe.
Some legal experts said the comments could be a reason for Scalia to withdraw from hearing the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan --- Osama Bin Laden's former driver -- in which he is arguing that the US administration does not have the constitutional right to order special military trials.
The case may also examine the extent to which the Geneva Conventions protect Guantanamo detainees.
Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts has already withdrawn from the hearing because he ruled on the Hamdan case while serving as an appeal court judge.
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US Supreme Court judge has said it would be "crazy" to give war on terror detainees rights in civil courts, and has castigated Europeans for criticising the Guantanamo detention camp, media reports said.
The comments attributed to Justice Antonin Scalia were published a day before the Supreme Court starts hearing a key challenge to special military tribunals for "war on terror" suspects at the US naval base in Cuba.
"War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts," Scalia said during a talk on March 8 at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland, Newsweek magazine reported.
"Foreigners, in foreign countries, have no rights under the American Constitution," Scalia said, according to the www.scotusblog legal website, adding that "nobody has ever thought otherwise."
"If he was captured by my army on a battlefield, that is where he belongs," Scalia told the audience.
"I had a son on that battlefield and they were shooting at my son, and I'm not about to give this man who was captured in a war a full jury trial. I mean it's crazy."
The conservative judge's son, Matthew, fought in the Iraq war.
Scalia also said he was "astounded" at the "hypocritical" reaction to the Guantanamo camp in Europe.
Some legal experts said the comments could be a reason for Scalia to withdraw from hearing the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan --- Osama Bin Laden's former driver -- in which he is arguing that the US administration does not have the constitutional right to order special military trials.
The case may also examine the extent to which the Geneva Conventions protect Guantanamo detainees.
Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts has already withdrawn from the hearing because he ruled on the Hamdan case while serving as an appeal court judge.
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