A US federal judge today halted the trial of a Guantanamo prisoner accused of being Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and driver, a major setback for the Bush administration.
The judge said the case could not go forward until a decision has been made on whether he is a prisoner of war and until the rules of the military commission hearing his case are changed to give him access to evidence against him and other rights.
The ruling by US District Judge James Robertson rejected the administration's request to dismiss the lawsuit by Mr Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen and led to an immediate halt in the proceedings underway against him by the Guantanamo, Cuba, tribunal.
The tribunals, formally called a military commission, at the US military base in Cuba were authorized by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks but have been criticised by human rights groups and some military lawyers as being fundamentally unfair to defendants.
More than 500 people are being held at the Guantanamo prison, detained during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and in other operations in the U.S. war against terrorism.
