Political Prisoners in America. Institutionalizing Indefinite Detention
By Stephen Lendman
Global Research
December 24, 2012
Since taking office, Obama authorized numerous police state measures. They follow earlier ones under George Bush.
They’re heading America for full-blown tyranny. It’s already a hair’s breadth away. It could arrive any time full force. It’s been wrapped in the American flag all along.
Most people don’t know how seriously their rights are compromised. Thousands of political prisoners in America’s gulag hell testify about police state harshness. Much worse ahead looms.
On March 7, 2011, Obama’s Executive Order 13567 authorized indefinite detentions and military commission trials. Doing so violated America’s Fifth Amendment. It states:
“No person….shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….”
Bush administration officials, of course, originally authorized military commissions. They’re lawless by any standard. They permit torture. They deny international law protections.
They let presidents convene them against “unprivileged enemy belligerents” or anyone designated a threat to national security. Any reason can be claimed or none at all.
They deny speedy trials or any at all. They legitimize torture extracted evidence. They also permit hearsay and secret evidence unavailable to counsel.
They deny due process and judicial fairness. They destroy human dignity. They mock rule of law principles. They sanction kangaroo court justice.
At the time, Obama contemptuously claimed that indefinite detentions and military commissions “broaden our ability to bring terrorists to justice, provide oversight for our actions, and ensure the humane treatment of detainees.”
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