July, 14 2009, 10:30am EDT
ACLU at Guantanamo This Week Monitoring Unconstitutional Military Commissions
Despite
a pledge from President Obama to close Guantanamo and controversy over
the legitimacy and continuation of the military commission system,
several military commission proceedings will resume there this week.
Jamil Dakwar, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Human
Rights Program, and Denny LeBoeuf, Director of the ACLU John Adams
Project, will observe the proceedings.
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba
Despite
a pledge from President Obama to close Guantanamo and controversy over
the legitimacy and continuation of the military commission system,
several military commission proceedings will resume there this week.
Jamil Dakwar, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Human
Rights Program, and Denny LeBoeuf, Director of the ACLU John Adams
Project, will observe the proceedings.
Hearings are scheduled for Wednesday
that will focus on the Obama administration's request for an additional
three-month delay in the cases of Mohammed Kamin, an Afghan detainee
who has been held in U.S. custody for more than six years, and Ibrahim
Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi, a Sudanese national who was among the first
group of detainees transferred to Guantanamo in January 2002. Also
Wednesday, a hearing is scheduled to approve the re-assignment of Lt.
Cmdr. William Kuebler as military counsel for Omar Khadr, a Canadian
national slated to be tried for war crimes allegedly committed when he
was 15.
On Thursday, a military commission
will hear motions related to the competence hearings of Ramzi bin al
Shibh and Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi, two 9/11 defendants who are
represented by civilian counsel from the John Adams Project.
Through its John Adams Project, the
ACLU, in partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, is sponsoring civilian lawyers to assist the under-resourced
military defense counsel representing Guantanamo detainees, including
those accused in the 9/11 attacks.
More information about the John Adams Project is online at: www.aclu.org/johnadams
More information about the ACLU's
call for President-elect Obama to shut down Guantanamo and end the
military commissions is available online at: www.closegitmo.com
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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While applauding the U.S. House of Representatives' bipartisan passage of a bill to ensure that "law enforcement and intelligence agencies can't do an end-run around the Constitution by buying information from data brokers" on Wednesday, privacy advocates highlighted that Congress is trying to extend and expand a long-abused government spying program.
The House voted 219-199 for Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA), which won support from 96 Democrats and 123 Republicans, including the lead sponsor, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). Named for the constitutional amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, H.R. 4639 would close what campaigners call the data broker loophole.
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The House notably included an amendment forcing a wide range of individuals and businesses to cooperate with government spying operations but rejected an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the bill, which the Senate could vote on as soon as Thursday.
Noting those decisions on the FISA reauthorization legislation, Ruddock stressed that "today's vote is a victory but follows a recent loss and ongoing threat as that Section 702 bill moves to the Senate this week too."
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As The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw noted:
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