By Xinhua
Washington : The US Senate has vetoed a bill that considers restoring the right of Guantanamo detainees and other foreigners to challenge their detention in US courts.
The lawmakers Wednesday voted against the bill by 56 to 43, only four less than the needed 60 votes to win green light in the Senate.
The bill contains a measure that grants foreign terrorism suspects right of habeas corpus, which can prevent the government detaining them without court approval.
Currently, about 340 Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects are being held captive at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Apart from them, millions of permanent legal residents but not citizens of the US will also be affected by the denial of the bill in the Senate, senators who sponsored the bill said.
However, those who opposed to the bill said that terrorism suspects should not be allowed to file lawsuits against US troops who caught them on the battleground.
Last year, Congress deprived non-US citizens who were listed by the government as “enemy combatants” of their right to prevent them from going at large again and launch attacks.