U.S. judge rejects legal challenge from Guantánamo detainee

A federal judge has rejected a legal challenge from a Guantánamo Bay detainee.

Muktar Yahya Najee al-Wrafi argued his detention was illegal in light of President Barack Obama’s statements that active hostilities in Afghanistan had ended. Wrafi was born in 1979 and has been in U.S. military custody since early 2002, if not earlier.

A Yemeni, he was captured in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent U.S. invasion. Courts have upheld his detention on grounds that he likely aided Taliban forces.

His lawyers argued that his detention was unlawful under the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which provided the legal justification for the imprisonment of foreign fighters captured on overseas battlefields. The Supreme Court has said such detention is legal as long as “active hostilities” continue.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said in a 14-page opinion issued Thursday that it was clear that hostilities still persist.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 8:54 PM with the headline "U.S. judge rejects legal challenge from Guantánamo detainee."