| District Court Orders Release of Information About Bagram Detainees |
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Court Order - Jan 7 2009 ( pdf )
New York, NY, January 8, 2009--
In the first legal challenge of its kind, the International Justice Network (IJNetwork)yesterday presented oral argument to U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates on behalf of men currently detained at the U.S. military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan.
At issue is whether four detainees who each have been held for more
than 6 years without charge by the United States at Bagram Air Base can
have access to U.S. courts to challenge the legality of their
detention. They have been held without charge, access to counsel, or
access to any court for the entire length of their detention.
Despite having lost three historic Supreme Court cases
upholding the right of Guantanamo detainees to challenge their
detention in US courts, the Bush Administration argued that it has the
right to continue to detain individuals at Bagram because it is in a
zone of active hostilities. International Justice Network Litigation Director, Professor Barbara Olshansky a Human Rights Professor at Stanford University Law School, countered the government's argument by explaining that none
of the four Bagram detainees who brought the case were captured on the
battlefield in Afghanistan, but instead had been seized in other
countries and brought to Afghanistan against their will by U.S. agents.
Judge Bates issued an order late Wednesday, directing the Government to
provide additional information regarding the detainee population at
Bagram, including:
· The number of detainees currently being held in Bagram Prison; |
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