More Than 150 International Organizations Call on Biden to Close Guantánamo on 21st Anniversary
The Intercept_, January 11, 2023: More Than 150 International Organizations Call on Biden to Close Guantánamo on 21st Anniversary
“On the 21st anniversary of the first orange-jumpsuit clad ‘unlawful enemy combatants’ arriving blindfolded and shackled to the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay, more than 150 international human rights organizations are urging President Joe Biden to finally shutter the prison. The letter, coordinated by the Center for Victims of Torture, or CVT, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, calls for a closure to the current prison, an end to the indefinite military detention of the men living there, and a pledge to never again use the naval base for ‘unlawful mass detention.’
“‘It is long past time for both a sea change in the United States’ approach to national and human security, and a meaningful reckoning with the full scope of damage that the post-9/11 approach has caused,’ the letter says.
“Following a slow trickle of transfers out of the facility under the Biden administration, 35 men remain imprisoned today. Over the last two decades, 779 men and boys passed through the catastrophic prison. Of those who remain there today, 20 are eligible for transfer out of indefinite detention; three are awaiting judgment from six different government agencies, known as the Periodic Review Board; three more have been convicted; and nine are involved in pre-trial hearings in the flawed military commission system. The case against accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators is ongoing and has not yet reached trial.”
Additional reading:
The New York Times, January 11, 2023: They Won Guantánamo’s Supreme Court Cases. Where Are They Now?
The Intercept_, January 7, 2023: Sabri al-Qurashi Has Lived Without Legal Status in Kazakhstan Since His 2014 Guantánamo Release
The New York Times, April 26, 2022: Youngest Guantánamo Detainee Is Cleared for Release
