Judge rejects Obama
Published:Thursday | January 29, 2009 | 5:52 PM
A military judge at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba has rejected a request by US President Barack Obama to suspend the trial of a detainee.
The Obama administration had instructed prosecutors to ask for the trials of 21 detainees who had been charged, to be delayed by 120 days.
However Judge James Pohl said the request to halt the trials to allow a review by the new administration was not persuasive.
He said the trial of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen, would go ahead as planned.
The prisoner is accused of planning the USS Cole attack of October 2000 which left 17 US service personnel dead and 50 injured.
Correspondents said the trial could be a setback to Mr Obama\'s plans to close the facility.