NEWS ADVISORY: ACLU holds Tuesday briefing on habeas corpus issue

The ACLU of Northern California/Sacramento Chapter will hold a news briefing this morning as part of a nationwide campaign demanding a restoration of fundamental freedoms in the U.S., including habeas corpus and due process, and an end to torture.

NEWS ADVISORY
ACLU OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA/SACRAMENTO CHAPTER
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 25, 2007
Contact: Cres Vellucci, 916/996 9170

Attn: Daybook/News Desk

ACLU to hold actions nationwide and in Sacramento
on Tuesday promoting restoration of habeas corpus,
due process rights; Thousands expected in D.C.

SACRAMENTO – The American Civil Liberties Union has announced it will hold
a series of actions across the U.S. – including Sacramento – Tuesday
demanding a restoration of fundamental freedoms in the U.S., including
habeas corpus and due process, and an end to torture. Thousands are
expected at a D.C. event.

Members of the ACLU/Northern California Sacramento County Chapter will hold
a special news briefing TUESDAY, at 9:30 a.m. at the Federal Courthouse
(5th & I Streets).

The ACLU is expected to note that Congress passed and the President signed
– in the waning hours of the 2006 session – the Military Commissions Act
(McA), which has eliminated habeas corpus protection for some in the U.S.

According to the ACLU, the MCA eliminates constitutional rights not only
for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, but elsewhere. It also gives the President
– not a judge or jury - the power to declare who is an "enemy combatant,"
what torture is and how long someone can be "detained" without charges
being filed.

"Our Constitution is what distinguishes America from other countries. It's
what makes us Americans. To do away with its protections makes us more like
those we are fighting against," the ACLU said in a statement.

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