US military authorities have suspended a military trial of a Saudi "war on terror" detainee after a US court ordered a stay until the Supreme Court rules on whether the trials are legal. Hearings into the case of Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi were scheduled to resume at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, but were called off after a US judge granted his lawyers' request for a stay, a Pentagon spokeswoman said. Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled on Friday that the proceedings be halted until the Supreme Court issues a final decision in the case of another detainee, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, challenging the legality of the special military trials.Justice Sullivan reasoned that Sharbi would suffer "irreparable" harm if the commission proceedings went forward, while the Government failed to show the harm of waiting until the Supreme Court decision in the Hamdan case. "The Government also claims that this brief delay would imperil the war effort," he wrote. "The Government has not explained, however, why the Court must adhere to the laws of war now, rather than wait a few weeks so that it may follow the rule of law, as it will be determined by the Supreme Court."
Cynthia Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the court ruling pertained only to the Sharbi case and had no impact on the cases of any other detainee facing trial by military commission. Sharbi is one of 10 detainees, including Australian David Hicks, who have been charged under rules that were specially created to try "war on terror" suspects outside the jurisdiction of US courts.