Editing Michael Ratner (section)

===Civil liberties and human rights counsel===
Shortly after the US government began to detain prisoners at the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base]] in Cuba in 2002 during the so-called [[War on Terror]], claiming they were beyond the reach of United States law as being "offshore" and military prisoners, Ratner was co-counsel with other attorneys and the CCR in a landmark case challenging the Bush position in court. They filed ''[[habeas corpus]]'' petitions on behalf of British men [[Shafik Rasul]] and [[Asif Iqbal (Guantanamo captive 87)|Asif Iqbal]], and Australians [[David Hicks]] and [[Mamdouh Habib]], saying it was unlawful to hold the men indefinitely without determining their status. They lost in the lower courts, but in November 2003, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. These men were being held with no charges being brought against them. The administration had said US courts had no jurisdiction over them, but the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling in ''[[Rasul v. Bush]]'' (2004) that the detainees had habeas corpus rights as Guantanamo base was effectively an extension of US territory.<ref name="britannica">[http://www.britannica.com/event/Rasul-v-Bush Brian Duignan, "Rasul v. Bush"], ''Encyclopædia Britannica,'' 2016</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=[[WP:BRITANNICA]]|date=June 2023}}

This meant the detainees could be represented by counsel, and the CCR was among the groups that worked to obtain legal representation for each of the men. This led to hundreds of men being released after court challenges.<ref>[http://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/rasul-v-bush "Historic case: 'Rasul v. Bush'"], Center for Constitutional Rights website</ref>

In 2007, Ratner filed a complaint in the courts of France requesting the criminal prosecution of [[US Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and other US officials for the abuse and torture of prisoners at [[Abu Ghraib prison]] in Iraq.<ref>{{cite web |author=Paul |first=James |title=Rumsfeld Charged with Torture in French Court |url=https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/157/27089.html |website=Global Policy |publisher=}}</ref>

Ratner served as a special counsel to [[Haiti]]an President [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]], assisting in the prosecution of human rights crimes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Brittain |first=Victoria |date=2016-05-12 |title=Michael Ratner obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/may/12/michael-ratner-obituary |access-date=2023-04-23 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

====The Center for Constitutional Rights====
The [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], which Ratner led, states that its mission is to defend [[Civil rights|civil liberties]] in the US. The group's efforts have included a legal challenge to the [[USA PATRIOT Act]] and a lawsuit on behalf of post-[[9/11]] immigration detainees in the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2016/05/11/today_we_mourn_tomorrow_we_carry_on_his_work_journalists_activists_more_death_of_human_rights_lawyer_michael_ratner/|title="Tomorrow we carry on his work": Journalists, activists mourn death of human rights lawyer Michael Ratner|author=Ben Norton|work=Salon|date=12 May 2016}}</ref> The center also represented [[Maher Arar]], a [[Canadians|Canadian]] citizen who was "[[Rendition (law)|rendered]]", to [[Syria]], where he was tortured.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} . Ratner and his office have also sued two [[private military companies]] working as part of the [[History of Iraq (2003–2011)|occupation of Iraq]], alleging their employees were involved in the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse]].<ref name=":0" />