Actually, I posted many sources:
US Senate votes to rollback habeas corpus, use torture, and provide immunity for US officials from torture prosecutionSeptember 29, 2006, the US Senate agreed to the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which gives US President George Bush unprecedented power to detain and try people as part of their “War on Terror.†President Bush is then expected to sign the Act into law. Broadly, the new Act does 3 things:
Strips the right of detainees to habeas corpus (the traditional right of detainees to challenge their detention);
Gives the US President the power to detain indefinitely anyone—US or foreign nationals, from within the US, and from abroad—it deems to have provided material support to anti-US hostilities, and even use secret and coerced evidence (i.e. through use of torture) to try detainees who will be held in secret US military prisons;
Gives US officials immunity from prosecution for torturing detainees that were captured before the end of 2005 by US military and CIA.
The bill was passed by the Senate sixty five votes in favor, thirty four against. Twelve Democrats joined the Republican majority. The House passed virtually the same legislation a few days earlier on Wednesday, 27 September.
The New York Times noted the far-reaching powers the Act will give the president, and other top officials observing that, “Rather than reining in the formidable presidential powers … asserted since Sept. 11, 2001, the law gives some of those powers a solid statutory foundation. In effect it allows the president to identify enemies, imprison them indefinitely and interrogate them—albeit with a ban on the harshest treatment—beyond the reach of the full court reviews traditionally afforded criminal defendants and ordinary prisoners.†Furthermore, not only does the Act allow the president to determine the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions, “it also strips the courts of jurisdiction to hear challenges to his interpretation.â€
This can have far-reaching consequences. For example, Amnesty International says the legislation will lead to violations of international law and standards and accuses the US Congress of “failing human rights†by voting for this Act and says it “deeply regrets that Congress failed to resist this executive pressure and instead has given a green light for violations of the USA’s international obligations.â€
The international human rights organization expands on the above 3 points (see previous link) and is summarized here:
Striping habeas corpus and other fundamental rights
On this issue, Amnesty international notes that the Act will:
Strip the US courts of jurisdiction to hear or consider habeas corpus appeals challenging the lawfulness or conditions of detention of anyone held in US custody as an “enemy combatant.â€
Prohibit any person from invoking the Geneva Conventions or their protocols as a source of rights in any action in any US court.
Permit civilians captured far from any battlefield to be tried by military commission rather than civilian courts, contradicting international standards and case law.
Limit the right of charged detainees to be represented by counsel of their choosing.
