 | Today, June 15th, marks the 792nd anniversary
of the writ of habeas corpus.*
There’s rarely been more at stake for our friend
Habeas Corpus than there is this year. So we’re
taking a moment to celebrate him and show him
we care. And you can be a part of the celebration.
We'd give the card to Habeas himself, but he's been
missing since October 17, 2006 -- the day Congress
allowed the president to sign the Military Commissions
Act into law. But you can go to FindHabeas.com
today to see selected birthday messages (and with
any luck, Habeas will find an Internet cafe somewhere
and get to see them too).
Habeas got one early birthday present this week,
when a federal court said the Bush administration
cannot indefinitely imprison a U.S. resident on suspicion
alone. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals called for a
writ of habeas corpus directing the Pentagon to either
charge Qatari national Ali al-Marri in the civilian court
system, deport him, hold him as a material witness
or release him.
This decision is a repudiation of the Bush administration
and policies like the Military Commissions Act, and it
shows that our system of laws is stronger than the
misguided strategies of an overreaching executive branch.
Habeas is more than an idea. It lies at the heart of our national
identity and the values each of us holds. For centuries,
Habeas Corpus has stood up for anyone who was accused of a
crime, protecting us against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.
As our fight to restore Habeas continues, help us show our
appreciation of him by celebrating his birthday with us.
* June 15, 1215 marks the signing of the Magna Carta,
which contained the prohibitions against unlawful
imprisonment that evolved into the Great Writ of habeas corpus.
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© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004
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