Wednesday 21 February 2007

DC Court of Appeals rules Guantanamo detainees cannot challenge detentions in federal court

DC Court of Appeals rules Guantanamo detainees cannot challenge detentions in federal court: In a ruling applying provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the DC Court of Appeals (the US Ct of Appeals that covers federal court appeals in the District of Columbia) ruled that foreign nationals detained at Guantanamo cannot challenge their detentions in federal court through habeas applications. The ruling also addressed the consitutionality of the MCA, saying that the portion of the US Constitution spelling out limitations to when habeas can be suspended does not apply to Guantanamo - because the it is technically under Cuban, not US, sovereignty. (Note: This is called a "loophole the size of Havana Harbor.") Hope Yen has this AP coverage. Carol Leonnig and Bill Brubaker have this for the Washington Post. Scotusblog has more here and a link to the ruling. More commentary/analysis at Balkinization is here.

1 comment:

david said...

with this recent ruling the onus is definitely on the legislature and on grass-roots organizing to keep the issue of habeas restoration alive.

join us at:

projecthamad.org

you can also read our blog where we explore the backgrounds of the 2 judges, Sentelle and Randolph, who ruled to uphold the Military Commissions Act and where Brandon Mayfield, the U.S. citizen and attorney who was wrongly incarcerated for the Madrid bombings blogs about his case against the U.S. government concerning the constitutionality of the Patriot Act


projecthamad.org/blog

additionally we have the video testimony that Guantanamo detainee Adel Hamad's lawyers released on YouTube (with 68,000 views so far) after all legal recourse for their client was blocked

join the project!!