metro Fighting Oppression Civil rights expert talks about struggles of Guantanamo prisoners. Achieve academics Detroit Country Day School provides its students with a well-rounded liberal arts education that is nationally recognized for a tradition of excellence in academics, athletics and the arts. LOWER SCHOOL Pre - K3 - 2nd grade 3003 West Maple Rd 248.430.2740 JUNIOR SCHOOL: Jules Lobel greets people after his talk at Wayne State University's Law School. 3rd 5th grade 3600 Bradway Blvd 248.430.1074 W inning a "tremendous victory" in court doesn't always lead to suc- cess, said civil rights expert Jules Lobel, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law profes- sor at the Pittsburgh School of Law. He spoke last month at Wayne State University Law School's Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. Lobel is co-author of the award-winning book, MIDDLE SCHOOL 6th - 8th grade 22400 Hillview Ln 248.430.3655 UPPER SCHOOL 9th - 12th grade 22305 West 13 Mile Rd 248.430.3587 DETROIT C01. - NTR Y DAY SCHOOL www.dcds.edu Visit our Open House on Sunday, October 28 • 1 3 p.m . - . 1764400 the best care Ready to gi.ve your vehicle the service it d Pornalized care driwn by tedmanoi 248.545.0500 Call for an appointment, or for more promotional information, visit us at Keep your company top of mind with our readers. ADVERTISE WITH US! CALL 248.351.5107 Visit theJEWISHNEWS.com 26 October 18 e 2012 3N Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror. His topic at Wayne Law was the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, where nearly 170 prison- ers are still held, even though many of them have been found to have no connection to terrorists and have been "cleared for release or transfer," Lobel said. "Eighty-seven people who shouldn't be there are still there." Some have been referred to military tribunals. The rest exist in a "legal black hole he said. The prisoners are being held in indefinite "preventive detention" with- out due process under American law, considered a right in criminal cases, and without adherence to the bulk of the Geneva Convention, considered a right for prisoners in international war. In some cases, the detainees don't know the charges against them and have no avenue or means to show their innocence if they did know, he said. "In 2004, we won a tremendous vic- tory (in Rasul v. Bush)," Lobel said. "The court said that the habeus statute (giving prisoners the right to face their accusers in court to determine the legality of their confinement) cov- ers detainees at Guantanamo. We had won a tremendous victory — or so we thought!" While hundreds of Guantanamo prisoners were released as a result of the 2004 litigation, and conditions in the detention center improved some- what, hundreds more remain, due to decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia consider- ing the holding of uncharged prisoners allowable under expanded executive powers due to the "war on terror." The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review the issues, Lobel said. He spoke of lessons he's learned through the ongoing legal battles by the Center for Constitutional Rights to bring justice to innocent people arrest- ed since Sept. 11, 2001, never charged, and held indefinitely at Guantanamo. "Rights are useful," Lobel said. "They're very important. But they're not sufficient. They have to be tied to a political action. "The second lesson I learned from this is that the divide between winning and losing is not as great as we think it is. Reality is more complex. Reality is more nuanced." But he will continue the fight, he added. "The long-term struggle is what is key," Lobel said. "We're not giving up. We will continue to challenge this. The story is not written. I think our real task is to resist oppression. When faced with oppression the key thing is to resist. We will not accept oppression without a fight."