Arrests need explanation

As Americans, we generally feel safe that we won't be jailed without reason. We are confident we won't be hauled away from our families and imprisoned indefinitely. We know the police won't arrest us without anyone knowing.\nOur Constitution requires that arrest warrants only be issued when probable cause has been clearly demonstrated. Family members, concerned citizens and the media can obtain arrest records and court documents because our records are considered to be public property.\nWith the people watching its actions, the government cannot easily hide its abuses. Because of this openness, Americans can barely fathom that secret arrests and imprisonments -- common in other countries -- could happen here. \nTwo weeks ago, they did happen.\nEight Muslim men from Evansville were arrested and detained, apparently on suspicion of having information related to terrorist attacks. They were held in jail for seven days, being transported from a county jail in Kentucky to a federal facility in Chicago.\nOne of them is still being detained; the others were released. No charges were ever filed. The reason for their imprisonment has not been released. The order for their arrests was in a sealed warrant issued by a federal court in Virginia. \nNewspapers' requests for information from the court, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service were denied. \nThe government has stepped over the line. If it is going to arrest people -- alleged terrorists or not -- it must tell the public why. The eight men in Evansville may have done something illegal, although it seems unlikely since seven have been released without charges filed against them.\nGiving the government carte blanche to arrest people in secret as they see fit and detain them for as long as they want is a first step toward giving up the basic freedoms we have as Americans. That these men are Egyptian "outsiders" does not strip them of these basic rights. \nThe only way we as Americans can protect ourselves is to demand that our government conduct its business openly. We must demand they explain to us why these men were detained. If they had a good reason to do so, they should not have anything to hide. \nBut if they didn't, they must be held accountable for it. The only way to do so is for the public to have access to those records.\nOtherwise we have no guarantee of our continued freedoms.\n