*Ø* A blow for freedom

The supreme court ruling that Guantánamo Bay prisoners can challenge their detention in the US is almost certain to lead to hundreds being released, says Conor Gearty

From The Guardian:

"The US supreme court's two rulings that terrorist suspects held at Guantánamo Bay and in America must have access to the US courts are among the most remarkable in the long history of that famous institution. The positive implications for the hundreds of internees held by the US across the world have yet to be clarified but will be immense. The chance to argue their cases is almost certain to lead to the release of hundreds of detainees. Already the habeas corpus applications have started to roll in, and the Bush administration seems at a loss as to what to do.

"The rulings will go a long way towards restoring the credibility both of the judiciary in the minds of the American public and, more importantly, of the US system of government in the eyes of the world. What the supreme court justices have said will make the shallow metaphor of an unending 'war on terror' far harder to sustain, and may even hasten the end of an administration which this very same court effectively appointed nearly four years ago when it stopped the Florida vote recount."
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