Federal Judge Rules That Some Detainees Held At Bagram Can Challenge Their Detention

A
federal judge ruled today that three prisoners who are being held by
the United States at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan can challenge their
detention in U.S. courts. The prisoners, who were captured outside of
Afghanistan and are not Afghan citizens, have been held at Bagram for
more than six years without charge or access to counsel. The ruling
came from Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia.

The following can be attributed to
Jonathan Hafetz, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union
National Security Project:

"Today's decision is yet another
rebuke to the government's claim that it is free to establish law-free
zones. As the district court rightly concluded, the United States
cannot escape the core protections or restraints of the Constitution by
imprisoning people at Bagram rather than Guantanamo. Only a complete
restoration of the rule of law at all U.S.-run prisons can achieve a
return to justice and American values."