All in a Day's Work - Via ACLU Blog:

Tomorrow, the Bush administration's trinity of abuses — unlawful detention, interrogation and torture of detainees captured in the "war on terror" — will be under a magnifying glass, as three major scenes unfold. From Cuba to Manhattan, the ACLU will be present to observe, record and comment on the events:

National Security Project staff attorney Hina Shamsi is in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where she'll observe tomorrow's military commission hearing of Salim Ahmed Hamdan (of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld fame). Allegedly Osama Bin Laden's driver, Hamdan is one of the very few prisoners at Guantánamo who has actually been charged with a crime: in his case, conspiracy and material support for terrorism. Tomorrow the government will present the evidence it's using to charge him an "unlawful enemy combatant."

Keep in mind, it's the "unlawful" part that counts: If you recall last June, the judge dismissed the charges against Hamdan because he was labeled only an "enemy combatant." Being an "enemy combatant" isn't enough to be tried by the military commission, according to the Military Commissions Act Congress signed into law in October 2006.

The government appealed in September, which resulted in the establishment of the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review — a panel of three military officers appointed by the Pentagon. The charges against Hamdan were reinstated, and this new commission will decide based on the evidence presented to them whether Hamdan can be charged as an "unlawful enemy combatant."

(For a refresher of what's transpired at Gitmo since it reopened in 2002, check out ACLU staff attorney Ben Wizner's blog, "Guantánamo: The Road to Closure".)

Hina will observe Hamdan's hearing as a human rights observer. Last month, Jamil Dakwar attended the hearing of Omar Khadr, who was also charged an "unlawful enemy combatant." Khadr's hearing might provide a glimpse into what may happen tomorrow.

In Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Boumediene v. Bush and Al-Odah v. United States, two cases that will determine whether Guantánamo detainees have the right to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. Cecillia Wang, senior staff attorney for the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, will attend the hearing. The ACLU filed an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs: in the brief, we argue that the Constitution’s protections extend to prisoners in the exclusive custody and control of U.S. forces at Guantánamo.

Finally, in New York, ACLU attorneys Jameel Jaffer and Amrit Singh will ask the U.S. District Court to order the Department of Justice to release three documents believed to have authorized the CIA to use extremely harsh interrogation methods (a.k.a. torture) on prisoners captured in the "war on terror." The ACLU requested the release of all documents relating to the detainee treatment back in October 2003; the government conveniently failed to hand over these particular ones after they were issued in 2005.

Hina, Cecillia, and Jameel will be podcasting their thoughts on the proceedings at the end of the week.

(Read Original Article - Via ACLU Blog.)