OUTRAGEOUS!!!

From http://talkleft.com/new_archives/013056.html :

Thursday :: November 10, 2005

Senate Passes Amendment to End Habeas for Detainees

Unbelievable. The Senate today passed Lindsay Graham's amendment, 49 to 42 barring detainees at Guantanamo and others declared by the Executive Branch to be enemy combatants from seeking judicial review of the legality of their detentions.

Democrats indicated they may try to kill or change the provision before the Senate votes on the overall bill next week. Five Democrats sided with 44 Republicans in voting for the provision.

Who are the five Democrats who voted with Republicans?

Conrad, N.D.; Landrieu, La.; Lieberman, Conn.; Nelson, Neb.; Wyden, Ore.

As I said below, this is an end-run around the Supreme Court's decision in Rasul v. Bush which held Guantanamo detainees have the right to challenge the legality of their detentions.

**********Original Post: Nov. 9, 9:52 am

Breaking: Senator Lindsay Graham is introducing an Amendment to the defense appropriations bill pending in the Senate (S. 1042) that would strip those designated by the Administration as enemy combatants of the ability to seek habeas review in federal courts. This is an end-run around the Supreme Court's decision in Rasul v. Bush which held Guantanamo detainees have the right to challenge the legality of their detentions.

According to Graham's talking points for the bill (which I received by e-mail) his amendment would prohibit detainees from using the court to challenge:

The legality of their detentions
The propriety of returning detainees to their home countries
Adequacy of medical care at Guantanamo
Quality of the food
Speed of mail delivery
Allotment of exercise time and other conditions of confinement

You can read the text of his amendment here. (pdf) (scroll down, the first page is blank.)

This would effectively end all litigation brought on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, as well as any future litigation on behalf of those imprisoned at the CIA secret detention camps.

This bill is intended to have retroactive application.

Please call your senators as soon as possible and urge them to vote against the Graham amendment.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is urging bloggers to get the message out that Graham's amendment needs a swift defeat. Please, do your part.Posted Thursday :: November 10, 2005 Detainees

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