The Bush administration won an important victory Tuesday when the federal appeal court in Richmond, VA, ruled in favor of allowing the executive branch indefinite military detention of civilians captured on United States territory. The decision was 5 to 4.

The decision focused on Ali al-Marri, a Qatar citizen currently held as an enemy combatant on suspicions of terrorism and charged with credit-card fraud and lying to federal agents. A second decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Marri must be provided with an “additional opportunity to challenge his detention in federal court,” the NY Times reports.

“This decision means the president can pick up any person in the country — citizen or legal resident — and lock them up for years without the most basic safeguard in the Constitution, the right to a criminal trial,” said Jonathan L. Hafetz, Marri’s lawyer.

The decision was an overturn of a decision slightly over one year ago in June 22, 2007, when the same court ruled that president Bush did not have this kind of detention authority.

“Because he was not captured on a foreign battlefield or foreign soil,” wrote Judge Wilkinson III in a majority opinion, “is akin to a judicial declaration that Congress and the executive may fight only the last war.”

On behalf of the dissenting judges, Diana Gribbon Motz wrote “this does not mean that al Marri, or similarly situated American citizens, would have to be freed. Like others accused of terrorist activity in this country, from the Oklahoma City bombers to the convicted September 11th conspirator they could be tried on criminal charges and, if convicted, punished severely. But the government would not be able to subject them to indefinite military detention.”

According to the NY Times, all of the judges who voted for the detention were appointed by Republican presidents and all those who voted against it were appointed by Democrats.

- Igor Kossov