[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Thursday dismissed [opinion, PDF] as moot 105 habeas corpus petitions of non-citizen former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees who are no longer in US custody. Judge Thomas Hogan wrote that in deciding the case, the court was answering one of the questions left open by the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in Boumediene v. Bush [JURIST report]: "what happens to a Guantanamo detainee's habeas claim once he is transferred or released." The former detainees had changed their petitions from seeking release from US custody to asking that the US intervene to seek their release from foreign custody or lift limitations placed on them by foreign states, or withdraw their prior determination as enemy combatants. Hogan ruled:

Upon consideration of the multiple briefs filed by the parties, the 105 habeas petitions, as well as the entire record herein, the Court finds that the District Court no longer has jurisdiction over Petitioners' habeas petitions. Petitioners are no longer in United States custody and fail to demonstrate that they suffer from collateral consequences of their prior detention that the Court can remedy. Accordingly, the Court will dismiss their habeas claims as moot.

[JURIST] The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website] on Friday announced changes to airport security rules [press release], moving toward a screening system based on intelligence information. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano [official profile] said the new system will apply to all air carriers with international flights to the US, and is more effecting at stopping terrorist threats:

These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats. The terrorist threat to global aviation is a shared challenge and ensuring aviation security is a shared responsibility. I commend our many partners around the world who have taken steps to increase their own security measures through deployment of new technology, enhanced information sharing and stronger standards to keep air travel safe.