ACLU Screens Documentary on Military Tribunals
For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Contact: Alessandra Soler Meetze at 602-418-5499 (cell)/602-650-1854 ext. 106 (office)
PHOENIX – As the Obama administration works toward its deadline of closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona will screen a film on Thursday, October 8th documenting the civil liberties implications of military tribunals.
The Response, a 30-minute courtroom drama based on the actual transcripts of Guantánamo Bay military tribunals, will be screened from 7 to 9 p.m. October 8, 2009 at the Arizona Bridge for Independent Living Conference Center, 5025 E. Washington St. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Addy Bareiss at 602-650-1854 ext. 115.
The documentary will be followed by panel discussions featuring: Michael Berch, Professor of Law, ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law; Deedra Aboud, executive director of the Muslim American Society of Arizona; and Sara Schmidt, Field Organizer, Western Region, Amnesty International.
“The administration’s detention policies, which have made recent headlines, are generating a substantial amount of public discourse,” said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. “But, the real human stories about how these government policies impact people’s lives are frequently lost in the debate. We want to give people an opportunity to see and hear the stories for themselves and learn more about detention practices that have had a terrible impact on America’s moral standing in the world.”
Military tribunals featured in The Response were authorized by Congress in 2006 in order to give the president absolute power to decide who is an enemy of the United States and to imprison people indefinitely without charging them with a crime. In the film, three military judges must decide whether a Middle Eastern detainee is an enemy combatant. The movie, which was recently screened at the Pentagon and Department of Justice, raises important questions about the legality of military tribunals, including the use of coerced evidence and the denial of habeas corpus – the right people have to challenge their imprisonment. For details visit: www.theresponsemovie.com
Since January 11, 2002, approximately 775 people ranging in age from 13 to 98 have been detained at the military prison complex at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. As of early 2009, approximately 250 remain there. In that time, two trials have been completed in the flawed military commissions system, both ending in convictions that are tainted with illegitimacy.
In addition to attending nearly every military commissions proceeding at Guantánamo since they began in 2004, the ACLU founded the John Adams Project, a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to sponsor expert civilian counsel to assist the under-resourced military defense counsel of some Guantánamo detainees.
After three Supreme Court decisions rejecting the administration's detention policies at Gitmo, the legal status of the detainees there remains unresolved and the fight continues to end unlawful detention and the denial of due process. The ACLU is calling on President Barack Obama to close Guantánamo by executive order and end the military commissions.