Guantanamo Detainees Told Of Right To Use U.S. Courts

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay are told they may use American courts to contest their detention. The Associated Press reports:

The notice given to detainees Monday does not mention the Supreme Court but states that U.S. courts "have jurisdiction to consider petitions brought by enemy combatants held at this facility that challenge the legality of their detention."

It said the detainees will be notified in the near future of procedures available "should you seek to challenge your detention in U.S. courts." Before the Supreme Court ruling, the Bush administration's position was that the detainees had no right to use courts of the United States or anywhere else.

The notice was in 17 languages, provided to each prisoner in his native tongue.

According to the Associated Press the notice defined an enemy combatant as "an individual who was part of, or associated with, Taliban or al-Qaida forces that engaged in hostilities with U.S. forces:"

The definition includes any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities.

As I posted here as the detainees lawyer up, Guantanamo Bay will no longer be a valuable source of intelligence about the evil doers. This is truly unfortunate because the Chicago Tribune reports that information obtained from these detainees has "derailed plans for attacks during the Athens Olympics next month and possibly forestalled at least a dozen attacks elsewhere."