your voice was heard amidst two hearings on habeas rights in the united states...

we did it!

thanks to our overwhelming response to an appeal from amnesty interational appeal last month, they ran a bright orange full-page ad in yesterday's edition of the new york times...

what was so important about yesterday?

the supreme court heard bush administration lawyers attempt to defend the indefensible: that the president can hold people indefinitely, without charge and without question...with fundamental human rights principles on the line let's hope the supreme court (justice kennedy in particular) rejects this lawlessness and demands an end to the injustice that flows from it...

a thousand miles from the supreme court steps, amnesty international observed another crucial hearing yesterday...this one took place at guantánamo bay and while it will get less press attention, it is no less important...

while the supreme court considers whether or not congress improperly took away the writ of habeas corpus from detainees in guantánamo, a hearing will be convened to determine whether or not salim ahmed hamdan is an "unlawful enemy combatant" and subject to trial by military commission...under the military commissions act, "unlawful enemy combatants" cannot challenge the evidence brought before them or object to being convicted on evidence obtained through brutal means...

the two hearings are not unrelated...

both challenge the administration's attacks on our system of justice...both challenge the assertion that fear, not freedom, guides our country...but even more important, both hearings present a clear opportunity to move our nation back on track -- to a place of respect for truth, justice and liberty...as four supreme court justices put it:

"[I]if this Nation is to remain true to the ideals symbolized by its flag, it must not wield the tools of tyrants even to resist an assault by the forces of tyranny."

with so much at stake, your support for our work has never been so important...thank you for standing with the constitutional safeguards that reflect our human rights framework...

peace out <3