[Ppnews] Habeas Corpus threatened even more. Action alert

[Political Prisoner News]

Dear Friend,

Please write your representatives and the members 
of the House and Senate Armed Services and 
Judiciary Committees to tell them to strip the 
Graham-Levin Amendment from the Military 
Authorization Bill and preserve the right to 
habeas corpus and judicial oversight.  They will 
be ironing out the differences in the Senate and 
House versions of the bill tomorrow, Wednesday, 
December 7, 
2005. 
<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=60883766&url_num=2&url=http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ccr/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1654>PLEASE 
WRITE 
<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=60883766&url_num=2&url=http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ccr/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1654>NOW!

This will be the third action alert we’ve sent 
you about this disastrous Amendment that would 
strip the courts of the right to hear habeas 
corpus petitions from the detainees at 
Guantánamo.  And we may send a fourth.  It’s 
difficult to make habeas corpus sound sexy, but 
it is perhaps the most fundamental right we have 
and the basis for our entire system of justice, 
dating back 800 years.  Simply put, it’s what 
keeps the government from being able to lock 
people up and throw away the key.  It guarantees 
the right to know the charges against you and to 
challenge your detention in a court of law.  It 
is the basis of the separation of powers and the 
system of checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution.

If we do not stop the Graham Levin amendment now, 
what starts with foreign detainees at Guantánamo 
will carry over to the rest of us and our rights 
here at home. There is already additional 
legislation in committee that seeks to curtail 
habeas rights for domestic criminal prisoners. In 
addition, any ground gained by the McCain 
Amendment forbidding the use of torture becomes 
meaningless if the detainees have no access to an 
attorney and no way to protest their abuse in court.

Last year the Supreme Court rejected the 
government's position that it can maintain a 
law-free zone at the Guantánamo Naval Base.  The 
habeas corpus petitions on behalf of the men 
imprisoned in Guantánamo seek the most basic 
relief: a fair hearing with due process in 
federal court to challenge the factual and legal 
basis of their detention.  Our system of justice 
is founded upon the notion that the Executive may 
not detain any individual without these 
fundamental protections.  We are asking you to 
write your representatives to demand that they 
not to undo the work of the Supreme Court and 
that they uphold the rule of law and reject the 
Graham-Levin Amendment to the Military Authorization Bill.

You can also call your representatives through 
the US Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Senator Graham offered his amendment in the 
Senate very late in this session, and a vote was 
held with no hearings and very little 
debate.  After the vote, a firestorm of criticism 
forced Senator Graham to accept a 
compromise--negotiated with Democratic Senator 
Carl Levin--that allows captives very limited 
recourse to federal appeals courts. But 
Republican Senator Arlen Specter, chair of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee, described the 
compromise as "a sophisticated, blatant attempt at court-stripping."

The Bush Administration is now negotiating with 
Graham and others to make the legislation even 
more restrictive.  A  Justice Department 
spokesperson says Attorney General Gonzales has 
stated that he is "particularly focused on 
thwarting some of the 160 habeas lawsuits filed 
by Guantánamo detainees."  Graham and the Bush 
Administration oppose rights for the Guantanamo 
detainees in part because they refuse to face the 
fact that innocent people have been caught up in 
the system--a fact acknowledged by the military's 
own commanders at Guantánamo. According to the 
Wall Street Journal:  "American commanders 
acknowledge that many prisoners shouldn't have 
been locked up here in the first place because 
they weren't dangerous and didn't know anything 
of value. 'Sometimes, we just didn't get the 
right folks,' says Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, Guantánamo’s current commander."

Your voice is urgently needed to preserve habeas 
corpus -- the most critical safeguard against 
torture and unchecked Executive power.

Sincerely,
Ron Daniels
Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights



The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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