Litigation

Ruling Gives Habeas Rights to Bagram Detainees

By Jason Barrett

A federal judge has ruled today that detainees at Bagram Airfield can challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts, the New York Times reported. The decision is similar to last year’s Supreme Court decision that detainees held at Guantanamo had the right to challenge their internment.

The government argued that these rights could not be applied to prisoners at Bagram. U.S. District Judge John Bates did not agree. Judge Bates quoted from the Supreme Court Boumediene v. Bush decision numerous times in his decision, ruling that the two cases were essentially identical.

The decision is not applied to all detainees at Bagram, however. Judge Bates said the granting of habeas rights would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis with several factors coming into play, including citizenship status, where the detainee was captured, and how long they had been detained.

Judge Bates elaborates in his written decision:

“When a Bagram detainee has either been apprehended in Afghanistan or is a citizen of that country, the balance of factors may change. Although it may seem odd that different conclusions can be reached for different detainees at Bagram, in this Court’s view that is the predictable outcome of the functional, multifactor, detainee-by-detainee test the Supreme Court has mandated in Boumediene.”

The case involved four detainees who had sued the government for their release. Judge Bates ruled that three of them had the right to challenge their detention, but reserved judgment on the fourth because he is a citizen of Afghanistan whose release could cause “practical obstacles in the form of friction with the host country.”

The full decision can be read here.

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 02, 2009 (boomark / email).