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Washington, D.C., June 11th – Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding habeas corpus rights for U.S. residents, finding that the federal government cannot detain individuals without charging them with a crime.
“Delivered by arguably the most conservative court in the country, this ruling signals just how unconstitutional the Bush Administration has been conducting policy.”
“This is a major victory for those who believe that our Constitution and Bill of Rights should stand as our moral guideposts. Holding people indefinitely without charging them with a crime or even having to justify why they are being detained is un-American.
“We are not a monarchy. Our Commander in Chief cannot act outside the law whatever his alleged justification. For too long, the Executive Branch has acted as though it was not confined by our system of checks and balances, nor without the need for judicial review of policies that have not been expressly legislated.”
“This decision highlights another issue in which the administration has been acting in an extrajudicial manner. At Guantanamo, we currently hold -- without charge -- 383 people. These actions at Guantanamo undermine our efforts to combat terrorism, acting as a recruiting tool for those who want to do us harm. This administration should take the advice of former Secretary of State Colin Powell who went public yesterday commenting that Guantanamo should be closed immediately.”
This afternoon, by a 2-1 decision, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Military Commissions Act passed by Congress last year does not eliminate the constitutional rights of Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident. Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar who moved to the U.S. with his family to attend law school days before 9/11, has been detained in the Charleston, South Carolina Navy Brig, without being charged, since June 2003.
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