LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — An Iraqi charged in Kentucky with terrorism-related crimes can be tried in civilian court, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, finding that the allegations may "exist alongside" the Geneva Convention without subverting its protections. The ruling, in the case of 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan, puts to rest, for the moment, the issue of which court he may be tried in. "The Court has not located, nor has Alwan provided, a segment of the Geneva Civilian Convention or another treaty that precludes the United States from applying extraterritorial portions of its criminal code to the citizenry of an occupied country," U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell wrote in an 11-page opinion. Alwan's attorneys sought to have several charges dismissed because they stem from conduct in Iraq. Prosecutors did not allege that Hammadi took part in any criminal conduct in Iraq. His attorney did not join Alwan's motion. Alwan and 23-year-old Mohanad Shareef Hammadi were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in May. Alwan and Hammadi are charged in a 23-count indictment with conspiring to send sniper rifles, Stinger missiles and money to al-Qaida operatives in Iraq. Alwan is also charged with attacking American soldiers in Iraq. They have pleaded not guilty and remain in federal custody. But where to hold the men and eventually put them on trial has become something of a political issue. Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has been pushing to have Alwan and Hammadi tried at the military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay. McConnell's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday. Starting in June, McConnell called for the Justice Department to transfer the men to Guantanamo, referring to them as "enemy combatants" who don't belong in a Kentucky courtroom. "These are not common criminals who should be provided all the rights and privileges of American citizens," McConnell said on June 24. His counterpart, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who lives in Bowling Green, has focused more on how the men got into the United States. His spokeswoman, Moira Bagley, said in June that Paul "believes military tribunals are best for enemy combatants captured on field of battle," but stopped short of calling for them to be sent to Guantanamo. Alwan and Hammadi entered the United States through a refugee program in 2009, even though the government had Alwan's fingerprints on file. Court documents say the prints were lifted off of a roadside bomb in Iraqi in 2006.
