Press Release

Hamdi’s Release Mocks Judicial System

For Immediate Release - Contact: Roy Speckhardt (202) 238-9088

(Washington, D.C., September 24, 2004) After nearly three years of solitary confinement as an "enemy combatant" the U.S. government has announced that Yaser Esam Hamdi will be granted his freedom-with strings attached. "Hamdi's release sets a dangerous precedent-limited freedom," states AHA president and constitutional lawyer Mel Lipman.

Lipman continues, "This action disregards the most fundamental rule of American law; if a person is found innocent, then he/she is released. It's outrageous that Hamdi will be conditionally released without even being charged with a crime."

It's now apparent that when Justice O'Connor declared in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, "We affirm today the fundamental nature of a citizen's right to be free from involuntary confinement," her words were ignored. Hamdi will be released on grounds that he gives up his American citizenship, is deported to Saudi Arabia, kept under constant surveillance, will face travel restrictions, and is forced to promise that he will not sue the U.S. government.

The Bush administration placed high importance on Hamdi's imprisonment by fighting all the way to the Supreme Court in an attempt to keep the confinement unchallenged. When the plan failed, they quickly began negotiating for his release. "These actions clearly imply that Hamdi's imprisonment would not have stood up to judicial scrutiny," states Tony Hileman, executive director of the AHA.

Stripping Americans of their citizenship and forcing their deportation are controversial provisions in the Patriot Act II. "The basis of Hamdi's release clearly indicates that the Bush administration planned to use this case to establish a standard that erodes civil liberties," continues Lipman.

"The Court overlooked the severity of the harm done when potentially innocent citizens can be imprisoned until the 'end of hostilities', (perhaps indefinitely, considering the nature of the so-called war on terror) without a trial that addresses the merits of their crime," adds Hileman.

Proceedings at the Guantanamo Bay detention center following the Supreme Court's decision have been so deceptive that even some military lawyers have refused to cooperate. The gathering of evidence has proven virtually impossible for defendants but the government has been given a free hand, being allowed to admit hearsay evidence while refusing to show defendants evidence being used against them.

Hileman concluded, "These are the tactics of a totalitarian regime set on ridding itself of political enemies, not the due process a constitutional democracy affords even combatant enemies. We can and must demand better in the defense of individual liberties."

The American Humanist Association is the oldest and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated to ensuring a voice for those with a positive nontheistic outlook, based on reason and experience, which embraces all of humanity .

Press Room