Court Orders Release Of "Enemy Combatant" In U.S

June 11, 2007
Court Orders Release Of "Enemy Combatant" In U.S

The 2-1 appellate ruling was a major setback for Bush's contention in the war on terrorism that he has the power to detain people in the United States without charging them.

The court panel based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that the Qatari national involved, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, must be released from military custody.

"The decision protects legal residents and citizens from secret detention," said al-Marri's lawyer, Jonathan Hafetz of the Brennan Center for Justice in New York.

Bill Would Restore Detainees' Rights, Define 'Combatant'

February 14, 2007
Bill Would Restore Detainees' Rights, Define 'Combatant'

A group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation yesterday that would restore habeas corpus rights to all detainees in U.S. custody and would narrowly define what it means to be an "enemy combatant" against the United States, a measure designed to challenge laws ushered in by the Republican-controlled Congress last year.

The bill, titled the "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007," strikes at the core of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 by giving detainees access to U.S. courts. It was introduced by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.), a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Rules for terror suspect trials: Hearsay, coerced testimony OK

January 18, 2007
Rules for terror suspect trials: Hearsay, coerced testimony OK

Last September, Congress — then led by Republicans — sent Bush a new law granting wide
latitude in interrogating and detaining captured enemy combatants. The legislation prohibited some
abuses of detainees, including mutilation and rape, but granted the president leeway to decide
which interrogation techniques were permissible.

Passage of the bill, which was backed by the White House, followed more than three months of
debate that included angry complaints by Democrats about the administration's interrogation
policies, and a short-lived rebellion by some Republican senators.