For release: Thursday, 19 January 2017
The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] will join protests planned in London
on Friday 20 January [2] and Saturday 21 January [3] to call on the new US
president to close the Guantánamo Bay extra-legal prison facility [4].
Aisha Maniar, spokesperson for the London Guantánamo Campaign, says:
“Regardless of who is the president of the United States, the fact that the
Guantánamo Bay prison camp remains open after 15 years with over 40 prisoners
is an indelible stain on the reputation of the US. It is a demonstration of US disdain
for international law and human rights standards, and its proclaimed values of
freedom and justice. The US appears only to uphold these values when it comes
to the actions of non-allied states.
“We call on Donald Trump to close the Guantánamo Bay prison camp and
release all prisoners held there without charge or trial. It would be unacceptable to
transfer these prisoners to indefinite detention elsewhere, a solution proposed
by his predecessor.
“Nonetheless, in view of Donald Trump’s recent comments on the use of
torture and the Guantánamo Bay prisoners, the outlook does not appear positive and we can only hope he keeps his pledges on Guantánamo as well as his predecessor.
The closure of Guantánamo is long overdue and is a continuing financial and
moral liability for the US.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The London Guantánamo Campaign was set up in 2006
and campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, for the closure
of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary
rendition. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com
4. 780 prisoners have been held at Guantánamo. There
are currently around 40 prisoners remaining. https://ccrjustice.org/home/get-involved/tools-resources/fact-sheets-and-faqs/guant-namo-numbers
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