If a detainee is acquitted of a crime it does not necessarily follow that they should be released

[Perky]

Putting them into Judicial system, means that the governement is prosecuting them under the civilian system for criminal offenses. Paricipating in combat is not a criminal offense,

If they are found not guilty under the US Code of a civillian offense and they were not picked up on a field of battle, then they should be released.


But if they were initially picked up in battle as a combatant then they could be interred as a POW whereever we are detaining POWs under Geneva. That is not unreasonable so lon as hostilities are still commencing.

[Webster Green]

1. Some of them were just in the wrong place at the wrong time..

..Or, they were sold to the US troops (occupying thugs) by warlords or anyone else that didn't like them. They are innocent of any wrongdoing.

There is no war. What we have are illegal occupations.

The Habeas Corpus Act was passed in 1679. The concept actually pre-dates that, and goes back to the thirteenth century (Magna Carta). That we would do away with it in this day and age is completely fucked. :mad:

[vaberella]

4. Can you provide evidence of this? n/t

[Webster Green]

6. What? The Magna Carta?

It's well known that some of these prisoners were rounded up with no evidence they were terrorists. I don't have the time or inclination to start googling to provide you with links, but that's exactly what happened. Some were sold out by warlords, some were turned in by enemies who saw an opportunity to get rid them.

Some may have been fighting the invaders (US). I would fight foreign invaders if they showed up in my neighborhood. How 'bout you?

It is arrogant U.S. exceptionalism that is allowing us to become uncivilized, brutal fucking assholes who disregard laws and treaties because we think we are better than everyone else. Every human on this planet deserves to face his accusers in a fair trial, and to be released if not guilty of a crime. That's how civilized society is supposed to work.

Edited! Oops!...Imeant to respond to vaberella.

[ashling]

2. "still commencing"?

are you referring to the fact that we are starting wars everywhere we go?


com⋅mence
  /kəˈmɛns/

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object), -menced, -menc⋅ing.
to begin; start.

[Clio the Leo]

3. This is why I wish we knew the detainees in question....

.... and the circumstances surrounding their cases.

That's why it's impossible to pass judgement one way or another because none of us know what the specifics are. Of course I fully realize why the admin. isn't twittering out transcripts of the DOJ's Gitmo meetings as well lol.

[ThirdWorldJohn]

5. Manuel Noriega is still imprisoned.

Manuel noriega was captured by way of a sham war by GHW Bush and detained as a prisoner of war so that he could be tried in a civilian court and incarcerated. But then a federal judge decided he was covered by the Geneva Convention and he has been held in prison even though his sentence has been served.

The Feds make it up as they go along.

In the case against General Noriega, the Government's star witness, Carlos Lehder, a convicted Colombian cocaine trafficker, testified that the general accepted millions of dollars to allow shipment of cocaine through Panama. On cross-examination, he admitted that the Medellin cartel had paid $10 million to the Central Intelligence Agency-backed contra rebels of Nicaragua to transport cocaine into the United States.

Federal prosecutors were back in court the next day trying to impeach the testimony of their own star witness. Suddenly, Mr. Lehder was characterized by the Government as mentally unbalanced, a convicted felon and pathological liar.

The Bush Administration has tried to cloak the Noriega trial in "national security," and television has largely acquiesced. It is not surprising that the Government prefers the Noriega trial to remain closed to public scrutiny. After all, General Noriega was on the C.I.A. payroll when George Bush was C.I.A. director.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/01/opinion/l-remember-the-noriega-trial-anyone-210292.html

Under Article 85 of the Third Geneva Convention<26>, Noriega is still considered a prisoner of war, despite his conviction for acts committed prior to his capture by the "detaining power" (the United States). This status has meant that he has his own prison cell furnished with electronics, which some have described as the "Presidential suite."<27>

Noriega's prison sentence was reduced from 30 years to 17 years for good behaviour. After serving 17 years in detention and imprisonment, his prison sentence ended Sunday September 9, 2007.<3> Noriega remains in prison as of April 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Noriega

A sham indeed.