Little_Skittles
01-31-2005, 06:37 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspects have the constitutional right to pursue lawsuits challenging their imprisonment, a federal judge ruled on Monday in a defeat for the Bush administration that struck down how the U.S. military reviewed their cases.
The prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green said.
She ruled that the special military tribunals to determine the status of each Guantanamo detainee as an "enemy combatant" violated the constitutional protection of a fair hearing. Such a designation allows the government to hold the suspects indefinitely.
Green said the procedures failed to give the detainees access to material evidence and failed to let lawyers help them when the government refused to disclose classified information.
In addition to those constitutional defects applying to all the cases, Green also cited problems with the tribunals relying on statements possibly obtained by torture or coercion, and by using a vague and overly broad definition of enemy combatant.
More than 540 al Qaeda suspects and accused Taliban fighter are being held at Guantanamo after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan (news - web sites) and from operations in the U.S. war on terrorism. The ruling involved about 50 detainees.
The judge rejected the Bush administration's argument that the prisoners have no constitutional rights and their lawsuits challenging the conditions of their confinement and seeking their release must be dismissed in their entirety.
"We respectfully disagree with the decision. The Department of Justice (news - web sites) will be looking at what the appropriate next steps are to take in this matter," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
A spokesman noted that another federal judge recently came to the opposite conclusion and said the Justice Department (news - web sites) would move "expeditiously" in "resolving the issues" before the U.S. court of appeals.
The tribunals, formally called a military commission, at the base were authorized by President Bush (news - web sites) after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States, but have been criticized by human rights groups as unfair.
At issue in the ruling was the July 7, 2004, order by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz creating the "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" to determine whether each Guantanamo detainee had been correctly found to be an "enemy combatant."
Green said the lawsuits can go forward. Although the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled in June that courts have jurisdiction over the cases, the administration argued they must be dismissed because the detainees have no constitutional rights.
U.S. MUST RESPECT DETAINEE RIGHTS
"Of course, it would be far easier for the government to prosecute the war on terrorism if it could imprison all suspected 'enemy combatants' at Guantanamo Bay without having to acknowledge and respect any constitutional rights of detainees," she wrote in the 75-page opinion.
"Although this nation unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the commander in chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats, that necessity cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over two hundred years," Green said.
Green also ruled that some of the suspects have brought valid claims under the Geneva Convention, the international treaty protecting the rights of prisoners of war.
A group of attorneys representing some of the suspects hailed the ruling. "Today's decision is a momentous victory for the rule of law, for human rights, and for our democracy."
Green said the ruling does not require the immediate release of any detainee. She also said she reached no conclusion on whether sufficient evidence existed to support the continued detention of any detainee.
The ruling by Green and the other ruling earlier this month most likely will be appealed to the U.S. appeals court, and then could ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The appeals court already has before it a government appeal of a third federal judge's ruling halting the military tribunal trial of a Guantanamo prisoner accused of being Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s bodyguard and driver. (Additional reporting by Deborah Charles)
The prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green said.
She ruled that the special military tribunals to determine the status of each Guantanamo detainee as an "enemy combatant" violated the constitutional protection of a fair hearing. Such a designation allows the government to hold the suspects indefinitely.
Green said the procedures failed to give the detainees access to material evidence and failed to let lawyers help them when the government refused to disclose classified information.
In addition to those constitutional defects applying to all the cases, Green also cited problems with the tribunals relying on statements possibly obtained by torture or coercion, and by using a vague and overly broad definition of enemy combatant.
More than 540 al Qaeda suspects and accused Taliban fighter are being held at Guantanamo after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan (news - web sites) and from operations in the U.S. war on terrorism. The ruling involved about 50 detainees.
The judge rejected the Bush administration's argument that the prisoners have no constitutional rights and their lawsuits challenging the conditions of their confinement and seeking their release must be dismissed in their entirety.
"We respectfully disagree with the decision. The Department of Justice (news - web sites) will be looking at what the appropriate next steps are to take in this matter," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
A spokesman noted that another federal judge recently came to the opposite conclusion and said the Justice Department (news - web sites) would move "expeditiously" in "resolving the issues" before the U.S. court of appeals.
The tribunals, formally called a military commission, at the base were authorized by President Bush (news - web sites) after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States, but have been criticized by human rights groups as unfair.
At issue in the ruling was the July 7, 2004, order by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz creating the "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" to determine whether each Guantanamo detainee had been correctly found to be an "enemy combatant."
Green said the lawsuits can go forward. Although the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled in June that courts have jurisdiction over the cases, the administration argued they must be dismissed because the detainees have no constitutional rights.
U.S. MUST RESPECT DETAINEE RIGHTS
"Of course, it would be far easier for the government to prosecute the war on terrorism if it could imprison all suspected 'enemy combatants' at Guantanamo Bay without having to acknowledge and respect any constitutional rights of detainees," she wrote in the 75-page opinion.
"Although this nation unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the commander in chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats, that necessity cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over two hundred years," Green said.
Green also ruled that some of the suspects have brought valid claims under the Geneva Convention, the international treaty protecting the rights of prisoners of war.
A group of attorneys representing some of the suspects hailed the ruling. "Today's decision is a momentous victory for the rule of law, for human rights, and for our democracy."
Green said the ruling does not require the immediate release of any detainee. She also said she reached no conclusion on whether sufficient evidence existed to support the continued detention of any detainee.
The ruling by Green and the other ruling earlier this month most likely will be appealed to the U.S. appeals court, and then could ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The appeals court already has before it a government appeal of a third federal judge's ruling halting the military tribunal trial of a Guantanamo prisoner accused of being Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s bodyguard and driver. (Additional reporting by Deborah Charles)