The Bush administration has declared Ali al-Marri an “enemy combatant” and is claiming the right to jail him forever without pressing charges. On Thursday al-Marri’s attorneys appeared in a federal court to fight his five-year detention. The case marks one of the first challenges of the Military Commission Act and its suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus. Constitutional scholars warn that if the government prevails it would expose more than twenty million noncitizens residing in the United States to the risk of indefinite detention on the basis of unfounded rumors, mistaken identity and lies. [includes rush transcript]

We turn now to the case of Ali al-Marri. Over five years ago he was arrested at his home in Peoria Illinois where he lived with his wife and five children. He was initially he was arrested on criminal charges on suspicion of being part of a sleeper Al Qaeda cell. But in June of 2003, President Bush declared him to be an enemy combatant. The criminal charges were dropped and he was handed over to the military. He has been held in solitary confinement ever since in Navy brig in South Carolina and he is the only person still being held as an enemy combatant on U.S. soil.

Al-Marri is not been charged with any crime. Evidence has never been presented. And the Bush administration is claiming the right to jail him forever without pressing charges. On Thursday al-Marri's attorneys appeared in a federal court in Richmond Virginia to fight his detention. The case marks one of the first challenges of the Military Commission Act and its suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus.

Two months ago thirty constitutional scholars filed a brief about al-Marri's case. They warned that if the government prevails it would expose more than twenty million noncitizens residing in the United States to the risk of indefinite detention on the basis of unfounded rumors, mistaken identity and lies.

Here with me now is one of Al Marri’s attorneys -- Jonathan Hafetz.

• Jonathan Hafetz. Associate Counsel of the Liberty & National Security Project at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.