US Senate moves to void SC ruling: Guantanamo prisoners
By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Nov 13: The US Senate has quietly approved a measure that would overturn the Supreme Court’s extension of habeas corpus protection to 500-plus detainees at the Guantánamo Bay naval base in Cuba.
The measure was adopted this week, after an hour of debate and no hearings and is now slated to become law. Opponents, however, plan to submit a counter-measure on Monday, urging the Senate to overturn the proposed amendment.
The White House, which previously has opposed oversight of Guantánamo by Congress and the courts, supports the Senate action, spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo.
Under the provision, proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and a former military lawyer and judge, suspected terrorists held at Guantánamo no longer would be allowed to challenge their detentions in federal courts. Most of the detainees were captured in Afghanistan or Pakistan, and many have been held for almost four years without charges.
The provision would reverse a Supreme Court decision that gave the detainees the right to sue. Almost 300 detainees have filed petitions in US district court in Washington since.
