FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 12, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV OPA (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 "We are disappointed with the Court’s decision. The Court recognized that an adjustment to typical habeas proceedings may be appropriate, but required the hundreds of actions challenging the detention of enemy combatants at Guantanamo to be moved to district court. The Department is reviewing the decision and its implications on the existing detainee litigation. "While we disagree with the ruling, it is important to note that the Boumediene case did not concern military commission trials. Boumediene involved a challenge to the procedures that Congress and the Executive have established to permit enemy combatants at Guantanamo to challenge their detention during ongoing hostilities. Those enemy combatants who have been charged by a military commission with war crimes are afforded numerous additional protections in connection with those trials. Military commission trials will therefore continue to go forward. To the extent that Boumediene addresses matters that could affect the commission trials, those matters will initially be litigated before the military commissions themselves. In the event of a conviction, the accused will have the right to appeal to both military and federal appellate courts." 08-532
Source: US Department of Justice
