Amnesty International Hails U.S. Supreme Court Decision Recognizing Habeas Corpus and Striking Down Combatant Status Review System

Human Rights Organization Remains Concerned About Possible Detainee Transfer to Other Governments with Poor Human Rights Practices

WASHINGTON, June 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amnesty International hails today's U.S. Supreme Court decision in the pivotal Boumediene v. Bush case recognizing habeas corpus and declaring that the system the Bush administration and Congress have put in place to classify theGuantanamo Bay detainees as "unlawful enemy combatants" is inadequate. Amnesty International USA's executive director Larry Cox released the following statement today in response to the decision:

"Today's landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision has rightly reaffirmed the age-old, fundamental right for those detained to receive a fair and neutral hearing and to learn the specific reason for their detention -- and challenge it. Simply put, for the third time the Court has told the Bush administration that it can't do what it wants to atGuantanamo Bay.

"Until now, the Bush administration and Congress have been in a legalistic rain dance, hoping that some rationale for indefinite detention and the denial of habeas corpus would fall from the sky. But the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling is a stark indictment of wrongdoing at Guantanamo. After more than six years of detention in inhuman conditions, the further detainment of those at Guantanamo without recognizable charge or fair trial is intolerable and unconstitutional.

"Still, the U.S. Supreme Court decision is a limited victory for human rights. It will not stop U.S. officials from transferring detainees to places where their constitutional right to habeas corpus is not protected. It will not close Guantanamo. And it will likely not stop the Bush administration from finding devious ways to circumvent the law. President Bush -- how many more Supreme Court decisions do you need to do the right thing and end injustice?"

SOURCE Amnesty International

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