Stop NDAA unlawful detentions by 2012!!
- by: Human Rights Watch
- recipient: U.S. Congress, Senate Judiciary Committee
Simple Quiz: Does a top-secret military judicial board have the right to arrest and indefinitely detain a non-military person? OF COURSE NOT! Yet, that is precisely what NDAA ensures.
But WAIT! It Gets Worse...
The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes militarization of technically civil justice cases, which has affected ***unlawfully detained civilians*** such as Japanese-American internees during WWII, victims of McCarthyism, and Guantanamo Bay. There are three crucial provisions proposed to amend the bill at S. 1253 (1031,2,3) currently under review, whereas it has not even been screened by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Join us to stop the military's encroachment upon civilian affairs!! As long as the United States expands its breadth of military operations worldwide, there will be considerably more undocumented cases of human rights violations in the classified military prisons.
How this bill continues to affect the privacy and security of civilians FIFTY YEARS after its enactment, please read the target letter. Sign on, and get this bill OUT OF HERE.
But WAIT! It Gets Worse...
The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes militarization of technically civil justice cases, which has affected ***unlawfully detained civilians*** such as Japanese-American internees during WWII, victims of McCarthyism, and Guantanamo Bay. There are three crucial provisions proposed to amend the bill at S. 1253 (1031,2,3) currently under review, whereas it has not even been screened by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Join us to stop the military's encroachment upon civilian affairs!! As long as the United States expands its breadth of military operations worldwide, there will be considerably more undocumented cases of human rights violations in the classified military prisons.
How this bill continues to affect the privacy and security of civilians FIFTY YEARS after its enactment, please read the target letter. Sign on, and get this bill OUT OF HERE.
I am writing to urge you to oppose, in its current form, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill requires the military to handle certain suspected terrorism cases that belong in the civilian justice system. It also makes indefinite detention without trial a permanent part of US law, and keeps all Guantanamo detainees -- even those cleared for release -- locked up indefinitely with little possibility of release.
If enacted, sections 1031, 1032 and 1033 of the NDAA (S.1253) would: • Make indefinite detention without trial a permanent part of US law. Not since the anti-Communist furor of the McCarthy era has Congress enacted such sweeping authority. As proposed, section 1031 expands detention authority beyond what is authorized by the laws of war and creates a system of indefinite detention without trial that may be used by this and all future administrations.• Require military custody for a category of terrorism suspects apprehended in the US, regardless of the status of a civilian law enforcement investigation. The FBI, state, and local law enforcement have thwarted terrorist plots, and US courts have resolved hundreds of terrorism cases since 9/11, while only six have been resolved in military commissions. The proposed bill would require the military – not the police, the FBI or the Department of Justice – to handle the criminal investigation. Critical intelligence could be lost, federal and local law enforcement investigations undermined, and valid prosecutions in US courts jeopardized. As proposed, section 1032 severely encroaches upon professional law enforcement at both the state and national level. • Enact permanent and virtually insurmountable restrictions on the ability of this and future administrations to send Guantanamo detainees home or to third countries. Provisions of section 1033 would apply even to the scores of detainees already held for years without trial and cleared for release. It would force the administration, for example, to continue to hold a Guantanamo detainee simply because they were from a country of an accused terrorist.
Current provisions in the NDAA bill are inconsistent with American values. They will also hinder US counterterrorism efforts by stripping civilian law enforcement of the crucial role it plays in gathering actionable intelligence and apprehending terrorist suspects. These provisions directly affect law enforcement yet the Senate Judiciary Committee has not even screened the bill.
I urge you to tell Senate leadership to remove these dangerous and counterproductive provisions before voting begins on this important defense spending bill.Sincerely,
Sign PetitionSign PetitionIf enacted, sections 1031, 1032 and 1033 of the NDAA (S.1253) would: • Make indefinite detention without trial a permanent part of US law. Not since the anti-Communist furor of the McCarthy era has Congress enacted such sweeping authority. As proposed, section 1031 expands detention authority beyond what is authorized by the laws of war and creates a system of indefinite detention without trial that may be used by this and all future administrations.• Require military custody for a category of terrorism suspects apprehended in the US, regardless of the status of a civilian law enforcement investigation. The FBI, state, and local law enforcement have thwarted terrorist plots, and US courts have resolved hundreds of terrorism cases since 9/11, while only six have been resolved in military commissions. The proposed bill would require the military – not the police, the FBI or the Department of Justice – to handle the criminal investigation. Critical intelligence could be lost, federal and local law enforcement investigations undermined, and valid prosecutions in US courts jeopardized. As proposed, section 1032 severely encroaches upon professional law enforcement at both the state and national level. • Enact permanent and virtually insurmountable restrictions on the ability of this and future administrations to send Guantanamo detainees home or to third countries. Provisions of section 1033 would apply even to the scores of detainees already held for years without trial and cleared for release. It would force the administration, for example, to continue to hold a Guantanamo detainee simply because they were from a country of an accused terrorist.
Current provisions in the NDAA bill are inconsistent with American values. They will also hinder US counterterrorism efforts by stripping civilian law enforcement of the crucial role it plays in gathering actionable intelligence and apprehending terrorist suspects. These provisions directly affect law enforcement yet the Senate Judiciary Committee has not even screened the bill.
I urge you to tell Senate leadership to remove these dangerous and counterproductive provisions before voting begins on this important defense spending bill.Sincerely,
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