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For Immediate Release
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Laurie Gindin Beacham, (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

ACLU Calls Gates Plans to Close Down Guantanamo an Important First Step

A Pentagon spokesman said today that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered aides to draw up plans for closing down the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.

The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

NEW YORK

A Pentagon spokesman said today that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered aides to draw up plans for closing down the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.

The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

"The fact that Defense Secretary Gates is finally taking steps to close down Guantanamo and its unconstitutional military commissions is a welcome and encouraging sign that President-elect Obama intends to fulfill his campaign pledge. This is an important first step toward turning the page on eight years of shameful policies that allowed torture and violations of domestic and international law. We are confident that, once in office, President Obama will give us an America we can be proud of again and return to our tried and true established system of justice, which is the best in the world."

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

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