Habeas Corpus
Recently, a Canadian commission ruled that Maher Arar, who was born in Syria, was not a terrorist. Arar a Canadian citizen was snatched by a C.I.A. “rendition” team while waiting for a connecting flight at Kennedy Airport in 2002.
Extraordinary rendition is a practice, which allows people to be kidnapped and sent off to countries that specialize in torture. They put Arar on a government jet to Jordan, and then drove him to Syria, where he was tortured. Most of the time Arar was confined in a tiny underground cell, about the size of a grave. The torturing in Syria was unable to connect him to terrorism and after 13 months the Canadian government managed to secure his release.
Congress is about to ensure that many more individuals who are falsely accused are deprived of the single most fundamental tool they need to establish their innocence. Congress is about to enact legislation dealing with the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects. The Bush regime and congressional Republicans intend to strip away the safeguard of habeas corpus for noncitizens held in custody outside our country.
Habeas corpus means “produce the body”. It’s a legal proceeding, which allows a suspect to challenge their detention in a court of law and is the most significant safeguard against arbitrary imprisonment. This right is guaranteed in the our Bill of Rights, but has been recognized all the way back to the Middle Ages in the Magna Carta. It’s the authority to demand that a nation’s highest official, president or king, justify the detention of a human being in a free society. Without this legal proceeding a person can be locked up, whether innocent or guilty, and never heard from again.
A person has a right to know what crime he’s being charged with, and a court can demand that the government produce evidence indicating that there is a reason to hold that person. The right to file for a writ of habeas corpus is a crucial check on injustice.
"They that would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
Extraordinary rendition is a practice, which allows people to be kidnapped and sent off to countries that specialize in torture. They put Arar on a government jet to Jordan, and then drove him to Syria, where he was tortured. Most of the time Arar was confined in a tiny underground cell, about the size of a grave. The torturing in Syria was unable to connect him to terrorism and after 13 months the Canadian government managed to secure his release.
Congress is about to ensure that many more individuals who are falsely accused are deprived of the single most fundamental tool they need to establish their innocence. Congress is about to enact legislation dealing with the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects. The Bush regime and congressional Republicans intend to strip away the safeguard of habeas corpus for noncitizens held in custody outside our country.
Habeas corpus means “produce the body”. It’s a legal proceeding, which allows a suspect to challenge their detention in a court of law and is the most significant safeguard against arbitrary imprisonment. This right is guaranteed in the our Bill of Rights, but has been recognized all the way back to the Middle Ages in the Magna Carta. It’s the authority to demand that a nation’s highest official, president or king, justify the detention of a human being in a free society. Without this legal proceeding a person can be locked up, whether innocent or guilty, and never heard from again.
A person has a right to know what crime he’s being charged with, and a court can demand that the government produce evidence indicating that there is a reason to hold that person. The right to file for a writ of habeas corpus is a crucial check on injustice.
"They that would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
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