Since the Guantánamo Bay prison first opened in 2002, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) has been at the forefront of the legal battle against indefinite detention without charge or trial at the prison, representing many current and former detainees. CCR sent one of the first civilian lawyers to the base, coordinated a network of hundreds of pro bono defense counsel throughout the country, and won landmark rulings in Rasul v. Bush and Boumediene v. Bush, which established U.S. court jurisdiction over the prison and affirmed detainees’ right to habeas corpus review.

But nearly 15 years later, dozens of men remain imprisoned with no end in sight. Omar Farah and Aliya Hana Hussain will discuss the ongoing efforts to challenge indefinite detention and military commissions within a Kafka-esque legal system and bring to light the human impact of indefinite detention in the courtroom and beyond.

Omar Farah is an Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he challenges unlawful detentions at Guantánamo Bay prison and has represented detainees in habeas corpus litigation and resettlement efforts. Aliya Hana Hussain is the Advocacy Program Manager for the Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she works on issues of profiling in Muslim communities and accountability for torture and war crimes.

Kosher pizza will be served.

Brown Bag Lunch Series