US officials on Monday began notifying terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that they may use American courts to contest their detention, the Pentagon said.

The 594 detainees also were informed, in the same one-page written document, that they will be allowed to appear before a military panel to challenge their status as an "enemy combatant" – a status that the Bush administration says permits it to hold them indefinitely without access to lawyers.

The process for panels of military officers to consider whether the detainees are properly held as "enemy combatants" was developed after a June 28 Supreme Court decision that allows detainees to challenge their imprisonment in federal courts.

The one-page notice given to detainees does not mention the Supreme Court but states that US courts "have jurisdiction to consider petitions brought by enemy combatants held at this facility that challenge the legality of their detention."

It said the detainees will be notified "in the near future" of procedures available "should you seek to challenge your detention in US courts." Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the Bush administration's position was that the detainees had no right to use US courts.

Whether or not a detainee chooses to go to court, he may have his status as an enemy combatant reviewed by a military panel at Guantanamo Bay. Navy Secretary Gordon England, who is overseeing the review process, said last Friday that he hopes to complete those status reviews within four months.

If a panel, which the Pentagon calls a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, determines that a detainee is not an enemy combatant, he will be set free, England said.

The next step in the review process is for the detainees to be assigned a "personal representative," which will be a military officer but not a lawyer. The representative will be allowed to assist a detainee in presenting his case and will be present during the proceedings.
"This is not a criminal trial and the Tribunal will not punish you, but will determine whether you are properly held," the official notice said.

Each detainee who chooses to appear before a status review panel will be given a written statement of the "unclassified factual basis" for his classification as an enemy combatant. A detainee will be allowed to testify on his behalf but will not be compelled to answer questions. The notice defined an enemy combatant as an individual who was part of, or associated with, Taliban or Al Qaida forces that engaged in hostilities with US forces.

"The definition includes any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities," it said.