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June 24, 2011

Senate Proposal Would Mandate Military Detention for Terror Suspects 
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The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced a sweeping measure
establishing new guidelines for the detention of prisoners in the
so-called "war on terror." The new rules would establish a system of
hearings for military judges to determine the status of prisoners
captured abroad. The provision would apply to foreign prisons such as
the Bagram air base in Afghanistan, where the United States is jailing
more than 1,700 people without trial. Another rule would mandate
military detention for anyone suspected of being a "high-value" al-Qaeda
suspect, excluding U.S. citizens. Human Rights Watch has denounced that
provision, saying: "Mandatory military detention is what martial-law
states do, not democracies."



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