Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. judge ordered the release of five Algerian men held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba since 2002, saying the government has failed to prove its claim that they are enemy combatants.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled that the five men should be released immediately. A sixth Algerian provided support to the al-Qaeda terrorist group and is being lawfully detained, he said.

``The government has failed to carry out its burden'' to show that the five men were enemy combatants, Leon said in reading his order to a packed courtroom. The proceedings were heard live via teleconference by the detainees, who remain in Cuba. The judge directed the government to ``take all appropriate and necessary diplomatic steps to facilitate the release.''

The six Algerians are among 37 Guantanamo inmates who won a June 12 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that detainees have constitutional rights and can seek release in federal court.

The men, all of whom were either citizens or legal residents of Bosnia, were arrested in 2001 in that country and charged with plotting to blow up the U.S. embassy there. Those charges were dropped, though the men were arrested as they left jail. They were accused of providing support to al-Qaeda and planning to travel to Afghanistan to fight against U.S. and coalition forces.

The men ordered released by Leon are Lakhdar Boumediene, Mohammed Nechla, Saber Lahmar, Mustafa Ait Idir and Hadj Boudella. The judge ruled the U.S. can continue to hold the sixth man, Belkacem Bensayah.

Hearing Sought in 2004

The six men applied for a court hearing in 2004, a request rejected by Leon before the Supreme Court reversed his decision.

``We absolutely expected this day to come,'' Stephen Oleskey, the lead plaintiff for the petitioners, told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing. ``It should not have taken this long.''

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement the department was pleased that Bensayah can continue to be held and that it is reviewing the decision regarding the other five men.

``Today's decision is perhaps an understandable consequence of the fact that neither the Supreme Court nor Congress has provided rules'' on how the cases should proceed, Carr said. He said Congress should enact rules so the cases can be handled ``in a way that is fair to the detainee but that allows the government to present its case without imperiling national security.''

The case is Boumediene v. Bush, 06-1195, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Cary O'Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 20, 2008 15:04 EST