Save Habeas Corpus Rights of Guantanamo Detainees
As you may know, many men who have spent years in detention at Guantanamo Bay were sold to the U.S. military by bounty hunters. More than a hundred detainees are on hunger strikes because of the hopelessness of their situations.
There may be a second vote on the amendment the week of November 14. Please contact your senators right now and urge them to support any effort to remove the part of Senator Graham's amendment banning Guantánamo prisoners from filing writs of habeas corpus in court.
Send a free fax to your senators: http://www.demaction.org/...
On Thursday, November 10, the Senate voted 49-42 in favor of Senator Lindsey Graham's amendment to the Defense spending bill. Five Democrats--Senators Joseph Lieberman, Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson, Kent Conrad, and Ron Wyden--voted with most Republicans in support. Republicans who voted against it were Arlen Specter, John Sununu, Lincoln Chafee, and Gordon Smith.
(For a list of how your senators voted: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/...)
If Senator Graham's amendment is attached to the final spending bill, it would deny Guantanamo detainees their right to file habeas corpus petitions. That right was upheld in 2004 by the U.S. Supreme Court (Rasul v. Bush). The writ of habeas corpus is a basic legal right recognized for centuries all over the world, which we must preserve for detainees in U.S. custody, just as we would demand that right for U.S. prisoners held by other countries.
Thanks for all you do.
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Web: www.bordc.org
Email: info@bordc.org
Phone: 413-582-0110
Fax: 413-582-0116