April 4, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@aclu.org
NEW YORK - The
American Civil Liberties Union will be observing the military tribunals that
resume this week at the Guantánamo Bay navy base. The Pentagon is moving forward
with the hearings even though the legitimacy of the hearings is currently under
review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jamil Dakwar, a staff attorney
with the ACLU Human Rights Working Group, is attending the hearings and will
post his observations to the ACLU's blog at:
blog.aclu.org "The
military commissions at Guantánamo are, at best, a legal black hole where
detainees are not afforded anything remotely resembling due process," Dakwar
said. "The current tribunal system allows abuses of power to go unchecked, and
is fundamentally at odds with the U.S. Constitution and international human
rights law."
So far, only 10 men have been formally charged with
crimes out of about 500 detainees currently being held at Guantánamo. The lack
of due process at the camp, and revelations of detainee abuse, have led to calls
to close the camp from officials and human rights groups around the
world.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 28 in Hamdan
v. Rumsfeld, which challenges the commissions established by President Bush as
inconsistent with the Geneva Conventions and unauthorized by Congress. The ACLU
filed a brief with the Court in January arguing that congressional authorization
cannot be presumed in the absence of a clear statement for two basic reasons.
First, the commission rules do not guarantee either independence or
impartiality, and are therefore deficient under any recognized legal standard.
Second, the commissions discriminate against non-citizens in unprecedented
fashion.
For the ACLU blog, go to:
blog.aclu.org For links to
ACLU's brief in
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the ACLU's blog on the Supreme Court
arguments, go to:
www.aclu.org/ scotus/2005 /hamdanv.rumsfeld05184 /24755prs20060328.html
