WASHINGTON - April 28 - Today, while the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the cases of Jose Padilla and Yaser Esam Hamdi, a diverse coalition of local and national groups demonstrating in front of the court released the following statement:

"In 2002, President Bush pledged to 'stand firm' for the 'non- negotiable demands of human dignity...the rule of law...and limits on the power of state.' In what seems like a direct contradiction of his firm pledge, the president is now taking a pick-and-choose approach to enforcing Constitutional protections, claiming that guarantees to due process and equal protection can be suspended at his discretion. The dangerous new presidentially-designated category of enemy combatants, individuals who have no legal rights, is unjust, illegal, and immoral, and cannot be allowed to stand."

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS: American Friends Service Committee, American Muslim Voice, Amnesty International USA, Arab American Institute, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Blue Triangle Network, Cambios Planetarios, Community Solutions Foundation Trust, LLC., Council on American-Islamic Relations, Equal Justice USA/Moratorium Now!, First Amendment Foundation, Freedom Socialist Party, Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, Japanese American Citizens League, La Resistencia, Muslim Civil Rights Center, National Committee Against Repressive Legislation (NCARL), National Lawyers Guild, Not in Our Name Project, Oct. 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, Pax Christi USA, Proposition One Committee, Radical Women, Refuse & Resist!, Solidarity USA, Two- Edged Sword Incorporated, United for Peace and Justice.

The call to action can be found at the link below: http://www.nlg.org/eccases/

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