Op-Ed: The NDAA is a threat to the democratic rights of all human beings
With the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law by the US Senate and President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve, the oldest democratic right (habeas corpus) of civilized peoples everywhere has effectively been scrapped.
Habeas Corpus requires that before any person is arrested and held in custody the government must first present evidence to a court of law and obtain a court order. This law has its roots in the Middle Ages but was officially codified into law during the course of the English Revolution of the 17th century. It effectively removed the despotic power of arrest and detention without trial from the monarchy and afforded ordinary citizens the right to prove innocence before prosecution.
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