NASW joined a friend of the court brief filed in the United States Supreme Court on August 24, 2007 in a case that continues the legal battle for habeas corpus review for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NASW supports the ability of Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detention through our Constitutional system of government checks and balances. The cases, Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. U.S., represent a clear violation of the rights of these detainees to gain access to the courts and to question the legality of their detention. The cases do not directly address the innocence or guilt of the detainees, but rather the circumstances in which they are being held and their access to independent judicial review.
Read the Aug. 29 press release on the case and amicus brief: http://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/2007/083007.asp
Learn more about habeas corpus from the NASW Legal Defense Fund: http://www.socialworkers.org/ldf/news/083007.asp
For more information, please contact Sherri Morgan, NASW Associate Counsel, at smorgan@naswdc.org or 202-336-8282.
