June, 17 2013, 09:16am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Reprieve's London office can be contacted on: communications [at] reprieve.org.uk / +44 (0) 207 553 8140.,Reprieve US,, based in New York City, can be contacted on Katherine [dot] oshea [at] reprieve.org
Obama Needs to 'Show Some Spine' on Guantanamo Closure
Commenting on today's expected announcement that President Obama will appoint Washington lawyer Clifford Sloan as diplomatic envoy for the closure of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Reprieve's strategic director and Guantanamo attorney, Cori Crider, said:
WASHINGTON
Commenting on today's expected announcement that President Obama will appoint Washington lawyer Clifford Sloan as diplomatic envoy for the closure of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Reprieve's strategic director and Guantanamo attorney, Cori Crider, said:
'We're glad that President Obama has re-opened the State Department office. It never should have been closed. But until the White House itself takes charge of its policy to close Guantanamo, and uses the power it has to get men who have been cleared for release home to US allies, people just are not going to move. Barack Obama could direct National Security waivers to be signed tomorrow to send Shaker Aamer home to his family in the UK - this sort of thing doesn't need a new appointment, it needs the President to show some spine.'
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. For further information, please contact Clemency Wells in Reprieve's press office: +44 (0) 207 553 8161 / clemency.wells@reprieve.org.uk
2. It has been widely reported today that President Obama will appoint Washington lawyer Clifford Sloan as diplomatic envoy for the closure of Guantanamo Bay: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22931684
3. Reprieve, a legal action charity, uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay. Reprieve investigates, litigates and educates, working on the frontline, to provide legal support to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves. Reprieve promotes the rule of law around the world, securing each person's right to a fair trial and saving lives. Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years working on behalf of people facing the death penalty in the USA.
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Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
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