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Lawyer Seeks Release of Prisoner
Tuesday, July 30, 2002
By Sonja Barisic
Associated Press Writer

Hamdi, 21, was captured by U.S. forces last year after a prison uprising by Taliban and al-Qaida members. He was held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until it was discovered he was born in Louisiana to Saudi Arabian parents. He was transferred to the jail at the Norfolk Naval Station in April.

NORFOLK, Va. -- AP
A lawyer for an American-born prisoner captured in Afghanistan argued in court papers Tuesday that his client is not a terrorist and should be released from the military jail where he's being held without charges.

Yaser Esam Hamdi is being denied his constitutional right as an American citizen to not be detained indefinitely or punished without due process of law, argued Virginia's federal public defender, Frank Dunham Jr.

Dunham, who was appointed to represent Hamdi, said the government's contention that Hamdi fought with the former Taliban regime is not enough to strip him of those rights.
(More: The Columbus ledger-Enquirer News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

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