D.C. Circuit Hears Arguements on Application of RFRA to Guantanamo

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in Rasul v. Gates, a case in which four British nationals who were formerly held as detainees at Guantanamo Bay have sued alleging that they were repeatedly harassed as they tried to practice their religion while in custody. The district court held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applies to non-resident aliens at Guantanamo. (See prior posting.) On appeal the government argues that RFRA does not apply to aliens outside the U.S. Today's Baltimore Sun reports on the oral arguments at which Judge A. Raymond Randolph asked whether affirming the district court's holding would mean that prisoners abused at Abu Ghraib to also sue. Plaintiffs' counsel Eric Lewis answered, "One place at a time, your honor."