The Supreme Court has decided to hear an appeal of 13 Uighurs held at Guantanamo.
None of them are considered threats. None of them are accused of having anything to do with terrorism. None of them are labeled as enemy or illegal combatants or the like.
The case will probably not be heard until next March.
You can see the case in two ways. Practically, whether they must be released in the United States, more or less with no other option. More technically, whether the habeas rights at Guantanamo, recognized in Boumediene v. Bush, have any real effect.
The government has argued, bluntly, that habeas is not real. No court can enforce it. The Executive can just ignore rulings.
Some twenty Guantanamo captives are held with no valid reason for detention, and yet not released.
Barack Obama gave a major policy speech about detentions at Guantanamo in May.
The courts have spoken. They have found that there's no legitimate reason to hold 21 of the people currently held at Guantanamo. Nineteen of these findings took place before I was sworn into office. I cannot ignore these rulings because as President, I too am bound by the law. The United States is a nation of laws and so we must abide by these rulings.
The case is basically about whether these words have meaning. The administration is arguing that they do not.
Center for Constitutional Rights petition, synopsis and press release.
ScotusBLOG
Christian Science Monitor
New York Times
Washington Post
Andy Worthington