Guantánamo Bay: How many years will be required to close it? 1...5...10...20?
Published on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 by Common Dreams
Rights Groups to Obama: No More Foot Dragging On Closing Guantánamo
'It is time for President Obama, and Defense Secretary Carter, to take action to transfer the 57 men still held who have already been approved to leave Guantánamo, and to release or charge in federal court those who remain'
by Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Omar Khadrcaptured by the U.S. as a child, forced to endure torture, and detained 13 years, most of them at Guantánamo Baywas recently released on bail to widespread media attention.
But on Tuesday, leading human rights groups released an open letter reminding U.S. President Barack Obamaand the worldthat 122 men still languish behind bars at the infamous facility, largely without charge or trial, and the slow trickle of releases is not enough.
Addressing Obama and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, groups including Amnesty International USA, Veterans for Peace, Reprieve, and Center for Constitutional Rights declared that the U.S. government "must act to close the prison as quickly as possible."
The missive took direct aim at one of the president's many pledges, this one made nearly two years ago, to revamp his efforts to shutter the facility.
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http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/19/rights-groups-obama-no-more-foot-dragging-closing-guantanamo