Human Rights First builds respect for human rights and the rule of law to help ensure the dignity to which everyone is entitled and to stem intolerance, tyranny, and violence. More »
In the Courts
Yaser Hamdi, U.S. Citizen
Afghani forces turned Yaser Hamdi over to the U.S. military in Afghanistan during the war in Afghanistan in late 2001. The U.S. military initially transferred Hamdi to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. When U.S. authorities realized that Hamdi was a U.S. citizen, born in Louisiana, he was transferred to a U.S. military base in Virginia and then to South Carolina, where he was detained, without charge or trial, and without right to meet with an attorney. Hamdi's father, acting on his son's behalf, filed a petition challenging the legality of Hamdi's prolonged detention. The Bush Administration had asserted that any interference by the courts would hamper the President’s ability to wage war. In June 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that a U.S. citizen captured in Afghanistan and labeled an “enemy combatant” could not be held indefinitely at a U.S. military prison without the assistance of a lawyer, and without an opportunity to contest the allegations against him before a neutral arbiter. Hamdi was released on October 11, 2004 and deported to Saudi Arabia without being charged. He agreed to renounce his American citizenship and observe strict travel restrictions, including obtaining permission to leave Saudi Arabia.
Release Agreement:
- Hamdi Release Agreement (PDF 335KB)
Decisions and opinions in the Hamdi Case:
- Justice O’Connor, plurality:
- Justice Souter, concurrence and dissent:
- Justice Thomas, dissent:
- Justice Scalia, dissent:
Supreme Court
Decision:
- Slip Opinion (6/28/03) (PDF 625KB)
Oral Arguments:
- Transcript (4/28/04) (PDF 155KB)
Merits Stage:
- Brief for Petitioner Hamdi (PDF 155KB)
- Brief for Respondents (PDF 148KB)
- Reply Brief of Petitioner Hamdi (PDF 122KB)
Amicus Briefs in Support of Hamdi:
- American Bar Association (PDF 159KB)
- ACLU, American Jewish Committee, Trial Lawyers For Public Justice, and Union For Reform Judaism (PDF 307KB)
- Cato Institute (PDF 91KB)
- Experts on the Law of War (PDF 203KB)
- Former Prisoners of War (PDF 177KB)
- Global Rights (PDF 255KB)
- Judges (PDF 90KB)
- International Humanitarian Organizations and Assoc. of International Journalists (PDF 185KB)
- International Law Professors (PDF 1.14MB)
- Charles Gitting (PDF 127KB)
Amicus Briefs in Support of of the Government:
- Citizens for the Common Defence (PDF 237KB)
- American Center for Law & Justice (PDF 87KB)