The US supreme court has refused to delay the military trial of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen held at Guantanamo Bay. Lawyers for Khadr had sought to have the trial, scheduled for next week, put on hold while they challenged the constitutionality of the military tribunals at the US army base in Cuba.
But the US supreme court said on Friday that it had decided to deny the request. "The application for stay presented to the chief justice and by him referred to the court is denied," the court said in a one-line brief that provided no explanation for the decision.
Lieutenant Colonel Jon Jackson, Khadr's military lawyer, had sought a supreme court order to force a lower court to examine the constitutionality of the military tribunal set to try the 23-year-old.
Alternatively, Jackson argued, the high court could issue its own decision on the constitutionality.
On Wednesday, a US appeals court also ruled against Khadr, saying he could challenge the constitutionality of the military commission system in an appeal later if he is convicted.
This is the end. The final blood-soaked chapter of the genocide. It will be over soon....
