  hamdi v. rumsfeld, 542 u.s. 507 (2004), is a united states supreme court case in which the court recognized the power of the government to detain enemy combatants, including u.s. citizens, but ruled that detainees who are u.s. citizens must have the rights of due process, and the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial authority. it reversed the dismissal by a lower court of a habeas corpus petition brought on behalf of yaser esam hamdi, a u.s. citizen who was being detained indefinitely as an illegal enemy combatant after being captured in afghanistan in 2001. following the court's decision, on october 9, 2004, the u.s. government released hamdi without charge and deported him to saudi arabia, where his family lived and he had grown up, on the condition that he renounce his u.s. citizenship and commit to travel prohibitions and other conditions. == background == [[image:020404-n-al577-513.jpeg|left|150px|thumb|hamdi during his detention at guanta
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