2024-01-11 12:47:40
Demonstrations for the closure of Guantánamo in Mexico © AI
January 11, 2024 marks the 22nd anniversary of the opening of the United States military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Thirty men remain held there indefinitely without having been tried; the majority have not been accused of any crime. To urge the US government to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, Daphne Eviatar, director of the Security with Human Rights program at Amnesty International USA, has made the following statement:
“It is outrageous that, 22 years after the US government opened the Guantánamo detention camp to hold Muslims outside the reach of US law, this human rights abuse still continues.”
“Even after the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, the government continues to claim that indefinite detention without charge or trial is justified as part of its problematic ‘global war on terrorism’.”
“Sixteen of the men imprisoned at Guantánamo without charge have been cleared by US security agencies to be transferred out of the camp, some more than a decade ago. However, they continue to be unjustly detained there.”
“Meanwhile, the men accused of organizing the 9/11 attacks have not yet been tried. This has not only deprived them of their rights, but has also deprived the victims of the attacks and their families of their right to justice. The military commissions created to try these crimes have proven to be totally ineffective and unfair, and have not met international standards on due process.”
“The Biden administration must transfer all remaining detainees who have not been charged with crimes to countries where they are safe and where their human rights are respected. In cases where there is sufficient admissible evidence under international law to prosecute them for internationally recognizable crimes, this should be done through a fair judicial resolution, without resorting to the death penalty.”
“President Biden must finally right this wrong and end this intolerable practice, as both he and President Obama have been committed to for years. “After 22 years, the United States government must finally make good on its promises and close the Guantánamo detention center forever.”
Amnesty International USA has joined a open letter that calls on President Biden to close Guantanamo permanently.
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