Welcoming detainees

I suppose I’ll be writing about this soon in the Observer when our mayor introduces a resolution:

On Saturday, Leverett voters at Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved a resolution welcoming one or two cleared Guantánamo Bay detainees to the community once Congress lifts its current ban. It is the second US municipality to do so. The resolution is identical to one approved on November 4, 2009, by Town Meeting members in nearby Amherst.

Over several weeks leading up to the vote, Adams and other Leverett residents distributed information to residents about the resolution and the two men whom Pioneer Valley No More Guantánamos would like to welcome, Ahmed Belbacha, of Algeria, and Ravil Mingazov, the last Guantánamo detainee from Russia. The resolution itself does not name specific detainees, however.

Since the Supreme Court’s decision, in 2008, declared that detainees at Guantanamo Bay had a minimal amount of right to habeas corpus, 50 cases have been heard. Of the 50, 36 detainees have been found to be innocent.

Glenn Greenwald continues to follow this issue.