US judge postpones Guantanamo tribunal

San Juan, Puerto Rico: A military judge has postponed the first war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, saying he wants to wait until the Supreme Court makes its ruling on the right of detainees to challenge their confinement in civil courts.

Navy Captain Keith Allred ruled the trial for Osama Bin Laden's former driver should be delayed seven weeks, until July 21, in case the Supreme Court ruling affects his case. A Supreme Court ruling is expected by June 30.

Defence lawyers for Salim Ahmad Hamdan, whose trial was scheduled to start June 2, had requested a postponement. Military prosecutors had said they were eager to go to trial.

The military judge's ruling is the latest in a series of delays for the government as it tries to prosecute Hamdan, a Yemeni, for acting as Bin Laden's personal driver in Afghanistan, helping him to evade US retribution following the September 11 attacks. An arraignment for the confessed mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, and four other alleged plotters is scheduled for June 5 at the US Navy base in southeast Cuba.