Another GTMO habeas denial...

* Alsabri v. Obama (D.D.C. Feb. 3, 2011) (GTMO habeas petition denied)  In a 60-page opinion issued earlier this month but released in unclassified form last Friday, Judge Urbina has denied habeas relief to Mashour Abudllah Muqbel Alsabri, a GTMO detainee from Yemen.  Highlights from the opinion: Substantive Scope of Detention Authority – Judge Urbina cites the Circuit’s al Bihani opinion for the proposition that detention can rest either on membership or material support grounds. The opinion states that the evidence of material support is weak in this instance, but also that there is no need to address it since the government carries its burden with respect to membership (see n.12). Facts Supporting Membership – Key facts found in the government’s favor, contributing to a showing of membership in al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces, include: traveling to Afghanistan to obtain military-style training and to fight there, staying at multiple Pakistani and Afghan guesthouses operated by al Qaeda and the Taliban,  actually obtaining military training from the Taliban or al Qaeda, traveling to the Taliban’s front lines, and continuing to be associated with al Qaeda or the Taliban thereafter until his capture.