STATEMENT OF BARBARA COMSTOCK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGARDING THE RULING BY THE 4TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS IN THE MOUSSAOUI CASE:

The following press release was published by the US Department of Justice on June 26, 2003. It is reproduced in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2003 WWW.USDOJ.GOV OPA (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 "We are pleased that the 4th Circuit has recognized the 'extraordinary importance' of the issues in this appeal and has indicated that it is prepared to rule on the substantive questions. However, the court has not yet ruled on the merits of the issue -- access to an alien seized abroad as an enemy combatant in the midst of a war. Rather, the opinion addresses certain threshold procedural and jurisdictional matters which we are studying. We look forward to bringing Zacarias Moussaoui to justice." 03-387

Source: US Department of Justice