https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus
Habeas corpus (/ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔːrpəs/ ⓘ; from Medieval Latin, lit. 'you should have the body')[1] is a legal procedure by which a report can be made to a court alleging the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and requesting that the court order the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether their detention is lawful.
actual people aren't little plastic soldiers, though. it may have been easier 100 years ago when people didn't have enough information, or it might be even easier now that people have too much information. i genuinely wonder what the outcome of the information explosion will look like - i'm just happy i won't live long enough to know.