thehill.com
Defense authorization bill fails to address habeas corpus for detainees
By Roxana Tiron
May 10, 2007
The new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee dealt a blow to the human-rights community by failing to include provisions to overhaul GOP legislation governing military tribunals in the 2008 defense authorization bill.
The chairman’s move is attracting criticism from some who say Democrats’ dedication to the issue is wavering.
Scores of human-rights lawyers and attorneys representing military detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have targeted Rep. Ike Skelton’s (D-Mo.) defense authorization bill as a chance to restore the writ of habeas corpus — detainees’ right to challenge the legality of their detention in court.
Skelton said he has prepared separate legislation and is planning to work with Democratic leadership, the Judiciary Committee and members of the Armed Services panel to bring a stand-alone bill to the floor. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is supporting Skelton’s efforts to move forward with a stand-alone bill, according to a Pelosi aide.
“As an attorney and a former prosecutor, I feel very strongly about upholding the principle of habeas corpus,” Skelton said in a statement.
“My judgment is that the House is best able to undertake this effort and to be successful by acting on this issue as a separate bill.”