The incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II is being used by the Department of Defense to justify the denial of rights of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, reports Newsweek.
The argument was included in a brief to a military commission to justify its decision to prevent a prisoner at Guantanamo from publicly sharing his artwork.
The brief cites Hirabayashi V United States. Gordon Hirabayashi was arrested for violating a military curfew to attend a study group. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but his charges were eventually overturned in 1986.
Law & Crime reports it is extremely rare for the incarceration camps to be cited in court except in a negative light.
The brief reads “The power to wage war is the power to wage war successfully. See Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81, 93 (1943),” “The Department of Defense has decided part of the way to win this war is to cut off a vital recruiting tool al Qaeda uses; the words and statements of their fighters who have successfully attacked America.”
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The case centers around Ammar al Baluchi, who is awaiting to go on trial in connection with his alleged involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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