[JURIST] US District Judge Reggie B. Walton [official profile] ruled Friday in support of a bid [JURIST report] by the US Department of Justice [official website] to bar terrorism suspect Majid Khan from access to a civilian lawyer unless and until the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit [official website] resolves the issue of military detainee rights. The government had argued that allowing access to Khan could compromise CIA interrogation tactics and locations. Rights groups such as the Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website], which filed a habeas corpus petition [press release; petition text, PDF] on Khan's behalf, argue it is unconstitutional to deny detainees access to civilian counsel and courts.

Khan is one of 14 "high value" terror suspects [DNI profiles, PDF; BBC profiles] recently transferred to the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST archive] after being held in CIA secret prisons [JURIST report]. AP has more.