WASHINGTON, DC – The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) applauds the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling that restores detainees of Guantanamo Bay the Constitutional right to habeas corpus.  Based on the history of the Japanese American internment during World War II, the JACL has been concerned by the weakening of habeas corpus throughout this administration, barring detainees from obtaining legal counsel, collecting and presenting evidence in their defense, along with other basic tenets of due process.

“This decision is a huge step toward restoring the writ of habeas corpus,” said JACL National Director Floyd Mori. “This right was at the core of the World War II incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, who were stripped of their due process rights and detained for years in America’s concentration camps.  It is important to remember that habeas corpus is a fundamental tenet of the Constitution.”

Many of those imprisoned at Guantanamo have not been charged with any crime and have been detained indefinitely.  The Supreme Court decision now allows suspects held at Guantanamo to challenge their detention in U.S. civil courts.

The JACL has opposed and continues to oppose legislative and administrative attempts to curtail or weaken the right of habeas corpus, in keeping with the organization’s basic mission to protect the civil rights of all citizens.