March 10, 2007

Update, July 1, 2007: See our letter to Senator Menendez

Those of us who watch Al Jazeera Arabic TV Channel are always being urged to support the release of Sami Al-Haj, who was detained by the American military in Afghanistan in late 2001, and is now on a hunger strike in Guantanamo. No charges have been brought against the Al-Jazeera’s photographer nor has a trial date been set- similar to the fate about 400 other people whom the US deemed dangerous to the security of the United States. This striking violation of US and international law was aided in part by the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA).
We have all heard about how the FBI has, under the cover of the Patriot Act,  improbably if not illegally obtained data on many private American citizens. I recall how we, in the civil rights movement, have warned against giving the FBI unchecked access to personal data without judicial oversight. Specific criticism was aimed at Sections 215, 218, 358, and 508 which permit law enforcement authorities to have broad access to sensitive mental health, library, business, financial, and educational records despite the existence of previously adopted state and federal laws which were intended to strengthen the protection of these types of records. Five years after its hurried passage, these sections must now be further scrutinized. To start with, we hope better enforcement  mechanism are followed, if not new laws are considered to limit the damage afflicting our liberties.
As for the Guantanamo detainees, there may be some relief coming their way as reasoned voices inside Congress and amongst human and civil rights organizations to expose the faults of the law and to propose instead acceptable legislations to ensure compliance with the US Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.
We just learned that Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has cosponsored  new Senate bills to remedy the  egregious aspects of  the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). Coupled with a similar  bill in the House of Representative by  Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) ,  the recently introduced  Congressional  bills  aim  to restore the writ habeas corpus to the Guantanamo Bay Cuba and other non citizens held in the US without trail. The two bills are: S. 185, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act and  S. 576, the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 .

The passage of the MCA was a dark moment in our nation’s history, and some of it most egregious effects are that it:

• Strips detainees of the right to challenge their indefinite detention through a writ of habeas corpus- a fundamental right that has been enshrined in law since the 13th century;
• Limits the ability of citizens and noncitizens to rely on the Geneva Conventions to challenge abuses committed by U.S. government officials;
• Allows for evidence obtained through torture and coercion to be used in military commission prosecutions in some instances; and
• Drastically widens the definition of “unlawful enemy combatant,” and, denies noncitizens who are or might be classified as unlawful enemy combatants from having a fair hearing.

As these provisions strikingly negate our obligations under domestic and international law, Congress should act swiftly to repeal them.

This is a great opportunity for us to prod our New Jersey elected officials to support the bills to ensure justice is served for the Guantánamo detainees and, as fundamentally, for the American public and our respect for the rule of law. It is imperatives that the excesses of the fear politics which ruled our nation after 911 is replace with a sane policy that ensures the respect of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
 

Related:

In 2004, then President of ADCNJ, we led a successful campaign to pass a Resolution by the City of Paterson condemning certain aspects of the 2001 Patriot Act. Chief amongst our objections were aimed at the lack of judicial oversight on FBI's  so called "National Security Letters"  (NSL), the acquisition of personal data on American citizens without sufficient evidence the person is involved in terrorist  or criminal activities. For details please click here.