The Supreme Court has refused to hear any new Guantánamo appeals even
though half of the men being held were cleared for release five years
ago. Critics of Monday’s decision say it leaves the fate of prisoners —
many of them long cleared for release — in the hands of a conservative
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has constantly sided with military
prosecutors and refused to order the release of any prisoner. The high
court also refused to reinstate a lawsuit by former "enemy combatant"
José Padilla against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. We’re
joined by two guests: Shayana Kadidal, senior managing attorney of the
Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative at the Center for Constitutional
Rights, and investigative journalist Andy Worthington, who reports that
of the 169 prisoners still held, over half — 87 in total — were cleared
for release by President Obama’s Guantánamo Review Task Force. "In a lot
of practical ways [the Supreme Court decision] marks the end of the
Guantánamo litigation that began more than 10 years ago. ... Detainees
have won about two-thirds of their challenges in the trial courts, but
the D.C. Circuit ... has overturned every single one of those cases
that’s been appealed to it. And in doing so, it’s created standards that
make it virtually impossible to win a case." Video
Source: Democracy Now!
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