[Peace-discuss] Re: Jose Padilla AND 660 others

[Ricky Baldwin]

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled today
that the 660 "enemy combatants" held at the US naval
base at Guantanamo Bay must have access to lawyers and
to American courts.

Here's a snip:

Courts slam anti-terror legal strategy

by David Kravets, AP writer 12/18/03

SAN FRANCISCO - In twin setbacks for the Bush
administration's war on terror, federal appeals courts
on opposite coasts ruled Thursday that the U.S.
military cannot indefinitely hold prisoners without
access to lawyers or the American courts.


One ruling favored the 660 "enemy combatants" being
held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The other involved Jose Padilla, an American who was
seized in Chicago in an alleged plot to detonate a
radioactive "dirty bomb" and was declared as an enemy
combatant. 


In Padilla's case, the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals (news - web sites) ordered the former
gang member released from military custody within 30
days and, if the government chooses, tried in civilian
courts. The White House said the government would
appeal and seek a stay of the decision. 


In the other case, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that prisoners held at
the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base should have access to
lawyers and the American court system. It was the
first such ruling by a federal appeals court anywhere
in the country. 


"Even in times of national emergency — indeed,
particularly in such times — it is the obligation of
the judicial branch to ensure the preservation of our
constitutional values and to prevent the executive
branch from running roughshod over the rights of
citizens and aliens alike," Circuit Judge Stephen
Reinhardt wrote in ruling in favor of a Libyan
captured in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and held in
Cuba. 


The two rulings highlighted the tensions between
national security and civil rights since Sept. 11. 




--- msimon at uiuc.edu wrote:
> From the Center for Constitutional Rights:
> 
> Appeals Court Rejects the Indefinite Detention of US
> Citizen 
> 
> The Second Circuit of Appeals determined today that
> the President of the United States has no authority
> under the Constitution to imprison an American
> citizen as an enemy combatant without any charge.
> The case dealt with so-called "dirty bomber" Jose
> Padilla. The issues addressed in CCR's amicus brief
> played a key role in the decision of the court. 
> 
> To read more about this important decision go to: 
>
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=SUaOklNr8c&Content=313
> 
> 
> 
> Department of Justice Further Criticized by Office
> of Inspector General 
> 
> The Office of the Inspector General issued a highly
> critical report today on the treatment of detainees
> at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York
> City. The detainees in question were Arab and Muslim
> men incarcerated immediately in the wake of 9/11.
> The report documents a long history of abuse
> including beatings. To this date, none of these
> people have been charged with crimes related to
> terrorism. The report confirms many of the
> allegations made in CCR’s lawsuit Turkmen v.
> Ashcroft. The report also states that many of
> conversations between the detainees and their
> lawyers (including CCR) were illegally videotaped
> and recorded. 
> 
> Senior Attorney Nancy Chang: "All Americans should
> be grateful to the Inspector General for his
> tenacity in uncovering evidence that had previously
> been withheld from him concerning the horrific
> treatment of Muslim and Arab detainees by MDC prison
> officials following September 11. These detainees
> were targeted based on their religion and ethnicity
> alone, and the emotionally charged atmosphere
> following the tragedy of September 11 cannot serve
> as an excuse for this brutality." 
> 
> To read more about this scathing indictment, go to: 
>
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQI7GB94gP&Content=312
> 
>
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