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A well-deserved Award

It might not be the Nobel Prize, but the award of the 2007 The Nation/ Puffin Award to Michael Ratner [who you ask? - read on] ought to be welcomed by all those who value the concept of justice and decency.

As noted by the Puffin Foundation and The Nation Institute:

"Attorney, author and Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) President Michael Ratner is the recipient of the 2007 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship. One of the country's foremost defenders of human rights and civil liberties, Ratner has led the fight to demand due process for Guantánamo detainees, adequate safeguards against intrusive government surveillance, and an end to torture and extraordinary rendition. Ratner will receive the annual prize on December 10 at The Nation Institute Annual Dinner Gala in New York City, the same week CCR returns to the Supreme Court representing Guantánamo detainees held indefinitely without charges.

Under Michael Ratner’s leadership, the Center for Constitutional Rights has repeatedly challenged the Bush administration on the constitutionality of indefinite detention and restrictions on domestic civil liberties. On December 5, Mr. Ratner and co-counsel will return to the Supreme Court with the combined cases of Al Odah v. U.S. and Boumediene v. Bush. These cases are the first to directly challenge the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and its stripping of habeas corpus jurisdiction from federal courts.

“Michael Ratner has pushed the courts and the legislature to defend the rights of citizens and non-citizens alike by protecting the rule of law,” said Perry Rosenstein, President of the Puffin Foundation, Ltd., the co-sponsor of the Creative Citizenship award. “The Puffin/Nation Prize is about more than a job well done. This award recognizes an individual whose lifelong commitment to social change has led to a true expansion of the rights and privileges we all enjoy. Mr. Ratner’s work certainly deserves this distinction.”

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