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Rights group presses for prompt Guantanamo habeas hearings

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US has been slow to conduct habeas corpus hearings for Guantanamo Bay detainees despite a June 2008 US Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush mandating prompt hearings, Amnesty International (AI) said in a Thursday report . The group said that since the ruling, only 12 detainees have received the hearings, and that only one detainee has actually been released since President Barack Obama's January order to close the facility  within one year. The group also said that the country has too narrowly construed the court's invalidation of section 7 of the Military Commissions Act by only allowing detainees to challenge their unlawful detentions and not pursue allegations of unfair treatment, harsh conditions, or secret transfers. The group called for the release of those detainees not facing criminal charges: Amnesty International considers it unacceptable that any Guantanamo detainee continues to be held without criminal charge followed without further undue delay by a fair trial. It therefore continues to call on the administration to immediately release any detainee not charged with a recognizable criminal offence for trial under fair procedures in existing District Courts.Amnesty International reiterates that the USA should offer release into the USA to detainees who are not charged, cannot be returned to their country of origin, and for whom there is no immediate, safe, lawful and appropriate third country solution, in order to bring their unlawful detention to an end.On Tuesday, a federal court of appeals held that US courts cannot prevent the government from transferring Guantanamo detainees to other countries on the grounds that they might face prosecution or torture in those countries. On Monday, 17 Uighur detainees filed a petition for certiorari with the US Supreme Court, asking the Court to grant their release. The Department of Justice has declined to repatriate the Uighurs despite Chinese demands because they could face torture upon their return. In March, US Attorney General Eric Holder and other top officials from the Obama administration met with leaders from the European Union (EU) to discuss plans to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 10, 2009 (boomark / email).