Court Rejects Challenges By Detainees

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In a 2-1 decision yesterday, judges at the federal appeals court said that the US Constitution does not extend the right of habeas corpus to non US citizens held outside US territory. "Cuba - not the United States - has sovereignty over Guantanamo Bay", writes Judge Raymond Randolph.

The ruling sets the stage for a historic showdown in the Supreme Court over whether the White House and Congress can deny habeas corpus - the right to go before a judge and ask to be released - to some individuals who are held for years without charges.

Yesterday's decision vindicates White House lawyers who wanted the military to have the power to indefinitely hold and interrogate foreign fighters and suspected terrorists free from interference of the US legal system. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was chosen because it was close by but still outside US territory.

Since the 9/11 attacks prompted these measures, civil libertarians and detainees advocates have been trying to get hearings before any independent judge. They believe if they could get there, they could argue that at least some of the detainees were not terrorists should be released.

The Bush administration has fought to prevent the detainees from having their claims heard in court. Meanwhile, across Europe and throughout much of the world, Guantanamo Bay has come to symbolize what the administration's critics say are harsh tactics and contempt for international opinion.

Why, because not one of the detainees over the last six years has ever been tried for a terrorist offense. However, hundreds of Gitmo detainees have been released without charges.

Late last year, the Republican-controlled Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, which made clear that "enemy combatants" held outside the United States may not file claims in US courts. Yesterday's ruling upheld that law.

Lawyers for the detainees condemned the ruling.

"This decision empowers the president to do whatever he wishes to prisoners without any legal limitation so long as he does it off shore," said Shayana Kadidal, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. "[It] encourages such notorious practices as extraordinary rendition and contempt for international human-rights law."

"We are pleased with the decision," said Navy Cmdr. J.D. Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman. "We are continuing to work with Congress to bring unlawful enemy combatants to justice via the military commissions."

Lawyers for the detainees have said they will now take their case to the Supreme Court.