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	US Supreme Court declares Guantanamo Tribunals illegal by Reuters   June 30, 2006 (Reuters)   In a sharp rebuke of President George W. Bush"s tactics in the war on terrorism, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down as illegal the military tribunal system set up to try Guantanamo prisoners.   By a 5-3 vote, the nation"s highest court declared that the tribunals, which Bush created right after the September 11 attacks, violated the Geneva Conventions and U.S. military rules.   The ruling, consisting of six separate opinions totaling more than 175 pages, restricted Bush"s wartime powers in one of the most significant cases since World War Two.   "We conclude that the military commission convened to try (Salim Ahmed) Hamdan lacks power to proceed because its structure and procedures violate" the international agreement that covers treatment of prisoners of war, as well as the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court majority.   U.S. treatment of inmates at Guantanamo and in Iraq and Afghanistan has drawn international criticism.   The ruling only addressed the military tribunals, not the broader issues of whether "enemy combatants" can be held indefinitely or whether the camp should be closed.   Justice Stevens, the high court"s longest-serving justice, said the tribunals failed to provide one of the most fundamental protections under U.S. military rules, the right for a defendant to be present at all proceedings.   Amnesty International said it "sends a clear message to President Bush that he cannot act unilaterally to create a system of law from thin air."   Justice Stevens said the military tribunals were not authorized by the U.S. Congress. He said the government must "comply with the rule of law" in seeking to try Hamdan and subject him to criminal punishment.   29 June 2006   UN rights office, jurists welcome Guantanamo ruling.   The U.N. human rights office on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court ruling striking down the military tribunal system set up to try Guantanamo prisoners, saying it would restore the judiciary to its rightful place.   Jose-Luis Diaz, spokesman for United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, said the decision also appeared to vindicate "the need for vigilance" in protecting basic rights, including those of terrorist suspects.   By a 5-3 vote, the highest U.S. court declared that the tribunals, which Bush created after the Sept. 11 attacks, violated the Geneva Conventions and U.S. military rules. "The decision is to be welcomed on two fronts: the decision is a case of restoring the judiciary to its proper place in a system of checks and balances, which is essential in upholding the rule of law," Diaz said.   "On the merits, it would seem to be a vindication of the need for vigilance in the protection of all human rights, including those of persons suspected of terrorism," he added.   The decision was a stinging blow for the U.S. administration in a case brought by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who was Osama bin Laden"s driver in Afghanistan.Hamdan, one of about 450 foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was captured in November 2001.   Nicholas Howen, secretary-general of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), on Thursday called on the Bush administration to abolish the military tribunals.   "This is hugely important because it appears to say clearly the military commissions (tribunals) are unconstitutional and in violation of the Geneva Conventions," Howen told Reuters.   "Now is the time for the Bush administration to move ahead swiftly to release all prisoners in Guantanamo against whom there is insufficient evidence of criminal acts having been committed, abolish the military commissions, and if there is anyone who is suspected of a criminal offence they must be tried under normal U.S. criminal law in normal U.S. criminal courts," he added.   Doing so would bring the United States "back into line with international law and international opinion", Howen said.
	Indian Dalits Abused by The Hindu India - Bangalore   When Pachigalla Mary completed narrating her tale of sexual and physical abuse at a public hearing on Monday, there was complete silence in the room and tears in the eyes of a few jury members and a section of the audience.   In a heart-wrenching narration, the 28-year-old, hailing from Vuyyuru in Andhra Pradesh, spoke of how she was drugged and raped by four persons in the presence of her daughter. Her body was branded with hot metal. At one point, she broke down and cried. The audience, many of whom themselves had gone through considerable hardship, pacified her. The perpetrators of the abuse have not yet been caught.   The tales of woe of Ms. Mary as well as five other Dalits were heard at a public hearing on `Dalit Human Rights Violation" organised by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR). The two-day public hearing will take notice of 69 cases of atrocities committed against Dalits in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. There are 15 cases from Karnataka that will be heard.   Once the cases are heard, the jury will decide on what course of action can be taken to expedite the process. "We will make sure that justice is meted out to these people," said Ms. Ravindranath. "We will either take up the case with the district authorities or write to the State and National Human Rights Commission informing them about these atrocities."   NCDHR has recorded more than 300 crimes against Dalits in the past two years. It conducted a public hearing in Patna on May 8 to bring to light atrocities committed against Dalits in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.   In another case, 36-year-old Nagappa of Haveri district in Karnataka was beaten till he became unconscious.
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