January, 11 2022, 09:23am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper
Phone: 202-744-7726
E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com
CAIR Marks 20th Anniversary of Guantanamo by Calling on President, Congress to Shut Down 'Forever Prison'
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today marked the 20th anniversary of the George W. Bush administration opening the unconstitutional U.S. military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by once again calling on President Joe Biden and Congress to end indefinite detention and to close this illegal facility.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
WASHINGTON
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today marked the 20th anniversary of the George W. Bush administration opening the unconstitutional U.S. military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by once again calling on President Joe Biden and Congress to end indefinite detention and to close this illegal facility.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
"For twenty years, our government has illegally operated a military detention camp that has indefinitely detained prisoners without charge or trial at Guantanamo, Cuba.
"The Guantanamo prison camp was designed to detain and try foreign terrorism suspects outside of the reach of the Constitution to deny detainees their due process rights or the expectation of a fair trial.
"While 780 individuals have been detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison over the past 20 years, only 0.3% have been convicted, and the vast majority have been released.
"With 39 men remaining at Guantanamo, our government has a responsibility to either fairly charge and try these men within the U.S. judicial system or to release them.
"Guantanamo remains a stain on the United States human rights record that must be addressed by the Biden administration and no longer ignored by Congress.
"CAIR calls on President Biden and Congress to end indefinite detention at Guantanamo and close this forever prison once and for all."
For more information on the unconstitutional military camp at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, CAIR recommends visiting Georgetown University's Bridge Initiative website: GUANTANAMO BAY MILITARY PRISON: NARRATIVES AND NUMBERS.
Last July, CAIR welcomed the release of a Guantanamo detainee Abdul Latif Nasser, who was imprisoned at the facility for 19 years without a charge.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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