US Supreme Court Hearing Arguments on Arab-Americans Held in Iraq
By VOA News
25 March 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday in the case of two Arab-Americans who want their cases tried in U.S. courts instead of by Iraqi authorities.
The two allegedly committed crimes on Iraqi soil, and the U.S. government wants them turned over to Iraqi authorities from multi-national military forces in Iraq who currently hold them.
Lawyers for Mohammad Munaf and Shawqi Omar say their clients will be tortured if they are handed over to the Iraqis, and that, as American citizens, they should face trial in U.S. courts.
The Bush administration argues that U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction since the two are being held by a multi-national military force, not the U.S. government.
Munaf was convicted for kidnapping three Romanian journalists and sentenced to death by an Iraqi court. His conviction was later overturned. Omar is accused of harboring insurgents and keeping weapons in his Baghdad home.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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