Habeas corpus petitions of Guantanamo Bay detainees
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In United States law, habeas corpus is a recourse challenging the reasons or conditions of a person's detention under color of law. The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. A persistent standard of indefinite detention without trial and incidents of torture led the operations of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be challenged internationally as an affront to international , and challenged domestically as a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, including the right of petition for habeas corpus. In 19 February 2002, Guantanamo detainees petitioned in federal court for a writ of habeas corpus to review the legality of their detention.
Numerous cases were tried on this matter, with different outcomes, initially denying the right of petition and later affirming the right of petition. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the detainees' petitions on 30 July 2002, finding that aliens in Cuba had no access to U.S. courts. Al Odah v. United States affirmed on 11 March 2003. On 28 June 2004, the Supreme Court decided against the Government in Rasul v. Bush. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for a five-justice majority, held that the detainees had a statutory right to hpetition federal courts for habeas review. That same day, the Supreme Court ruled against the Government in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the four-justice plurality opinion finding that an American citizen detained in Guantanamo had a constitutional right to petition federal courts for habeas review under the Due Process Clause.
In Boumediene v. Bush (2008) it was established Guantanamo detainees have a right to habeas corpus and are able to bring petition to U.S courts. It also held that the Guantanamo detainees were entitled to the legal protections of the US Constitution and from then on, the Combatant Status Review Tribunal would be inadequate. The result of this case has seen many habeas corpus cases refiled. Detainees have had over 200 writs of habeas corpus submitted on their behalf.
The camp was established by U.S. President George W. Bush's administration in 2002 during the War on Terror following the September 11, 2001 attacks, operating at a level of secrecy from the outset where even the number of persons held in the camp was difficult to ascertain. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) at first kept secret the identity of the individuals held in Guantanamo, but after losing attempts to defy a request from the Associated Press, the U.S. military officially acknowledged holding 779 prisoners.
Geographical situation of the camp in Cuba permits American personnel from the DoD and the broader intelligence community to operate at the far boundaries of constitutional safeguards[1] with less personal exposure to litigation. Torture conducted by American personnel at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during this same timeframe lead to eleven military personnel from the 372nd Military Police Company being convicted in 2005 for war crimes. At Guantanamo Bay, the military administration has consistently prioritized national security over conflicting interests of due process, while slow-pedaling even the most basic disclosures. Many detainees were held for extreme durations without charge, spanning multiple presidential administrations, even while their rights to habeas corpus remained under protracted litigation.
Habeas corpus is sometimes called "The Great Writ". It is a legal instrument first guaranteed following the signing of the Magna Carta. Its literal meaning is "show the body". Its purpose is to prevent the state from holding prisoners in extrajudicial detention. A writ of habeas corpus essentially challenges the legality of the detention. When a writ of habeas corpus is filed with a court in countries which inherit elements of their judicial system from the English system of Justice the state has to show that there is a legal basis for the captive's detention—usually that they are suspected of having broken a law. The principle of habeas corpus is codified in many humanitarian law treaties and national legislation – the right of fair trial and detainment is considered a basic human right. The principle of habeas corpus is codified in the US Constitution in article I(9)(2), commonly known as the 'Suspension Clause'. This provides that 'the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it'.[2]
Are Guantanamo detainees eligible for the protections of habeas corpus?
Reports from Guantanamo Bay claim the detainees suffer from 'extraordinary psychological and physical abuses'.[3] Psychological abuses include solitary confinement for long periods, sleep deprivation and religious abuse. Physical abuse is also used regularly as punishment, reportedly disproportionate for the apparent misconduct. Sami Al-Laithi, a professor at Kabul University who was taken into US custody in Guantanamo has been found to never have been hostile towards US. He was a healthy man when he was first captured by US forces but is now confined to a wheelchair after two vertebrae were broken in vicious beatings in the camp.[3] Many of these detainees claim that they have been wrongfully detained and deny any involvement in hostile activity towards the USA, or any involvement with the Taliban or Al Qaeda at all. Taking into account the inhumane conditions of the camp it is not surprising that Guantanamo detainees have sought protection from the principles of habeas corpus.
The issue is concerned with the jurisdiction of the US Courts to issue the writ of habeas corpus in respect to the detention of aliens which are held outside of the US. Six weeks after the events of September 11 Bush granted the USA Patriot Act which restricted the right of habeas corpus to resident aliens, this was done to allow suspected terrorists to be held without legal counsel or trial and avoid the protection of habeas corpus.[4] The third Geneva Convention considers a fair trial so essential to prisoner rights that 'willfully depriving a prisoner of war of the rights of a fair and regular trial is deemed a grave breach of the convention and, consequentially, a war crime'.[3]
In early 2002 the first major petition for a writ of habeas corpus regarding Guantanamo detainees was filed. This was denied on the foundation that U.S courts lacked jurisdiction over the camp and its prisoners; Guantanamo Bay is located in Cuba, outside of the territory of the USA, and the writ of habeas corpus is 'not available to aliens outside the sovereign territory of the USA'.[5] The lease of Guantanamo Bay to the US on the part of Cuba reads 'while on one hand the US recognises the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba. ... on the other hand the Republic of Cuba consents that ... the USA shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said area'.[5] Early courts claimed that Guantanamo does not technically belong to USA so habeas corpus could not apply. The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) was created as an outcome from early petitions for habeas corpus. Its role was to establish whether or not detainees are actually enemy combatants.
However, the most recent case law development has been in the US Supreme Court case Boumediene v. Bush where it was established Guantanamo detainees have a right to habeas corpus and are able to bring their petitions to U.S courts. It also held that the Guantanamo detainees were entitled to the legal protections of the US Constitution and from then on, the Combatant Status Review Tribunal would be inadequate. The result of this case has seen many habeas corpus cases refiled.
Abuses of international human rights law and habeas corpus
The Geneva Conventions, of which there are four, are considered universal treaties in international law. They created the idea of International humanitarian law and codify customary international law regarding laws in wartime. By signing parties agreed to criminalise any breaches in their own domestic courts, U.S recognised this when they enacted their own War Crimes Act. However the declaration made by Bush in 2002 had the effect of 'exempting all alleged members of Al Qaeda from the protections of the Geneva conventions'.[3]
The abuse of international human rights law lies in the treatment of detainees, the absence of public scrutiny, judicial review and government accountability.[3] The U.S government deliberately chose Guantanamo Bay as the site for detaining foreign citizens as they believed it would be exempt from any obligations they held under the Geneva Convention. Considering detainees as detainees outside the traditional definition of prisoners also denies the protections of the Geneva Convention. Proof of these deliberate decisions is found in the legal memoranda where President Bush actively enquired about how far they could legally go.[3]
The scope of international human rights has been discussed in the habeas corpus cases from Guantanamo Bay. Firstly, habeas corpus is a human right of utmost importance, recognised through humanitarian law, for 'protecting one's right to physical liberty'.[6] It has been suggested that there may almost be universal acceptance that the protections of habeas corpus are 'non-derogable'.[6]
The Center for Constitutional Rights took a lead role in helping to organize the activities of lawyers willing to offer their services, pro bono, to the Guantanamo detainees.
Submitting writs of habeas corpus was made more difficult at first, because part of the Bush detainee policy was to keep the identity of the Guantanamo captives a secret. A writ has to be submitted by a "next friend". Some of the detainees had family who would have authorized American lawyers to submit writs on their behalf, but they had no way of contacting them. Some of the detainees and their relatives are totally illiterate. Other detainees' families had no idea where they were, had no idea that they were in Guantanamo. Some of the detainees reported that they were punished for asking for legal assistance.
Rasul v. Bush
In the summer of 2004 the United States Supreme Court ruled on the habeas corpus submission Rasul v. Bush, determining that the court had jurisdiction over Guantanamo, and that detainees had a right to an impartial tribunal to challenge their detention under habeas corpus. It was a landmark decision in detainee rights. Rasul v Bush challenged an earlier precedent set in Johnson v. Eisentrager. Rasul concluded that the U.S, as a lessee, has 'extensive proprietary rights over Guantanamo Bay' that were exclusively granted in the 1903 lease.[8] This lease gave U.S operational sovereignty over the base and brought it within the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. A related decision was Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), which ruled that United States citizens detained as suspected enemy combatants had the right to habeas corpus challenge of their detention.
Detainee Treatment Act of 2005
In response to Rasul v Bush, the U.S Government passed the Detainee Treatment Act 2005 in an attempt to prevent aliens for petitioning for habeas corpus in American courts.[9] Section 1005(e) states that "[N]o court, justice, or Judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained at the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba'.[10]
The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 prohibited US military and intelligence personnel from treating detainees in ways inconsistent with Armed Forces regulations. Additionally, the act did not close off the habeas corpus submission that were already in the works.
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), the Supreme Court ruled that the Bush Presidency lacked the Constitutional authority to create the Guantanamo military commissions as a system separate from the existing federal and military justice systems, and ruled that the CSRTs and military commissions were unconstitutional. It said that only Congress could authorize such a system. They confirmed in their judgement the unlawfulness of the US Government in the use of torture, cruel and humiliating treatment, and international law should limit the power of the President.[3]
Hamdam v Rumsfeld has been acknowledged as a milestone case for Guantanamo detainees; Walter Dellinger even claimed that 'Hamdam is simply the most important decision on Presidential power and the rule of law. Ever'.[11] It followed the passing of the Detainee Treatment Act and gave the Supreme Court an 'early opportunity to assess the nature and extent of the jurisdiction-stripping measure'.[12] The Supreme Court held that the amendment by the new legislation would not apply to detainees who had cases already waiting to be reviewed.
Military Commissions Act of 2006
Once more in response to a judicial decision, Congress passed the Military Commission Act of 2006 swiftly after Hamdan v Rumsfeld. The new section, under section 7, attempted to apply the Detainee Treatment Act to detainees with cases pending.[13] This was an attempt by political branch of government to reinforce their opinion that the 'federal courts should have as little to do with Guantanamo Bay detainees as possible'.[14]
The Supreme Court and the Military Commissions Act
On June 29, 2007 the Supreme Court agreed to hear outstanding habeas corpus, opening up the possibility that they might overturn some or all of the Military Commissions Act.[15]
The decision in Boumediene v. Bush in 2008 has had huge implications on America's war on terror.[21] It was acknowledged that the Military Commissions Act was retaliation to the decision in Hamdan. Boumediene ruled that Guantanamo detainees were able to bring about a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in U.S courts and established that the judicial branch of government has the final say on unlawful detentions, rather than the Executive branch as the Bush regime had been implementing.[9]
Justice Kennedy, in delivering the majority opinion, held that it was within the U.S court's jurisdiction to apply a writ of habeas corpus to aliens in Guantanamo bay as the fundamental rights of the U.S Constitution should be extended to Guantanamo detainees.[2] Since Boumediene, Bush confirmed that his administration would look into the decision to see if any additional legislation would be 'appropriate' in terms of the protection of American people.[13]
Further reading
Thomas, Laura. "The Guantanamo Bay Cases" 11 [2004] Aust Journal of International Law, 187
Fletcher, G. "Black Hole in Guantanamo Bay" 2 (2004) Journal of International Criminal Justice, 121
Rasul v. Bush, 542 U.S. 466 (2004), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the Court held that foreign nationals held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp could petition federal courts for writs of habeas corpus to review the legality of their detention. The Court's 6–3 judgment on June 28, 2004, reversed a D.C. Circuit decision which had held that the judiciary has no jurisdiction to hear any petitions from foreign nationals held in Guantanamo Bay.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz after U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush and were coordinated through the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants.
Fouzi Khalid Abdullah Al Odah is a Kuwaiti citizen formerly held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. He had been detained without charge in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He was a plaintiff in the ongoing case, Al Odah v. United States, which challenged his detention, along with that of fellow detainees. The case was widely acknowledged to be one of the most significant to be heard by the Supreme Court in the current term. The US Department of Defense reports that he was born in 1977, in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Bensayah Belkacem is a citizen of Bosnia, previously held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. Born in Algeria, he was arrested in his home in Bosnia, on October 8, 2001, shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a progressive non-profit legal advocacy organization based in New York City, New York, in the United States. It was founded in 1966 by Arthur Kinoy, William Kunstler and others particularly to support activists in the implementation of civil rights legislation and to achieve social justice.
The Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as HR-6166, was an Act of Congress signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. The Act's stated purpose was "to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes".
In United States law, habeas corpus is a recourse challenging the reasons or conditions of a person's confinement under color of law. A petition for habeas corpus is filed with a court that has jurisdiction over the custodian, and if granted, a writ is issued directing the custodian to bring the confined person before the court for examination into those reasons or conditions. The Suspension Clause of the United States Constitution specifically included the English common law procedure in Article One, Section 9, clause 2, which demands that "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it."
Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 (2008), was a writ of habeas corpus petition made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba. Guantánamo Bay is not formally part of the United States, and under the terms of the 1903 lease between the United States and Cuba, Cuba retained ultimate sovereignty over the territory, while the United States exercises complete jurisdiction and control. The case was consolidated with habeas petition Al Odah v. United States. It challenged the legality of Boumediene's detention at the United States Naval Station military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Oral arguments on the combined cases were heard by the Supreme Court on December 5, 2007.
Al Odah v. United States is a court case filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsels challenging the legality of the continued detention as enemy combatants of Guantanamo detainees. It was consolidated with Boumediene v. Bush (2008), which is the lead name of the decision.
David H. Remes is an American lawyer.
Bismullah v. Gates is a writ of habeas corpus appeal in the United States Justice System, on behalf of Bismullah —an Afghan detainee held by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
Lakhdar Boumediene is an Algerian-born citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who was held in military custody in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba beginning in January 2002. Boumediene was the lead plaintiff in Boumediene v. Bush (2008), a U.S. Supreme Court decision that Guantanamo detainees and other foreign nationals have the right to file writs of habeas corpus in U.S. federal courts.
Kiyemba v. Bush (Civil Action No. 05-cv-01509) is a petition for habeas corpus filed on behalf of Jamal Kiyemba, a Ugandan citizen formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Mr. Kiyemba is the next friend of each of the nine Uighur petitioners, Abdusabur, Abdusamad, Abdunasir, Hammad, Hudhaifa, Jalaal, Khalid, Saabir, and Saadiq, who seek the writ of habeas corpus through the petition
Anam v. Bush, No. 1:04-cv-01194, is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of a dozen Guantanamo detainees. The petition was filed before US District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy on July 14, 2004. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
Al Halmandy v. Bush, No. 1:05-cv-02385, is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of 63 Guantanamo detainees, on December 13, 2005. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
El Mashad v. Bush is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of several Guantanamo detainees, including Sherif el-Mashad, Adel Fattouh Aly Ahmed Algazzar and Alladeen.
Al Joudi v. Bush (Civil Action No. 05-cv-301) is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of several Guantanamo detainees, including: Majid Abdulla Al Joudi, Yousif Mohammad Mubarak Al-Shehri, Abdulla Mohammad Al Ghanmi and Abdul-Hakim Abdul-Rahman Al-Moosa, before US District Court Judge Gladys Kessler. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
Zalita v. Bush is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of Guantanamo captive Abu Abdul Rauf Zalita before United States District Court judge Ricardo M. Urbina. On January 2, 2008 the Project to Enforce the Geneva Conventions named Zalita v. Bush on a list of "notable GTMO and related cases".
Al-Asadi v. Bush, No. 1:05-cv-02197, is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Ahmed Ali Al Asadi before US District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
Ahrens v. Clark, 335 U.S. 188 (1948), was a United States Supreme Court case that denied a federal district court jurisdiction to issue a writ of habeas corpus if the person detained is not within the territorial jurisdiction of the court when the petition is filed. The 6–3 ruling was handed down on June 21, 1948, with the majority opinion written by Justice William O. Douglas and the dissent written by Justice Wiley Blount Rutledge.
↑ Londras, F. "Guantanamo Bay: Towards Legality?" 71 (2008) Mod. L. Rev, 36, at p. 45
1 2 Noble, B. Constitutional Law – Habeas Corpus – Guantanamo Bay Detainees are entitles to the privilege of Habeas Corpus under the US Constitution" 39 (2008) Cumb. L. Rev., 341
↑ Londras, F. "Guantanamo Bay: Towards Legality?" 71 (2008) Mod. L. Rev, 36, at p. 47
↑ Mark Sherman (June 12, 2008). "High Court: Gitmo detainees have rights in court". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-12. The court said not only that the detainees have rights under the Constitution, but that the system the administration has put in place to classify them as enemy combatants and review those decisions is inadequate.
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