13 Years on: CAGE continues to call for closure and release at Guantanamo Bay

London – CAGE calls for the closure of and release of inmates from Guantanamo Bay, the detention facility that continues to fuel extremism 13 years after it opened.

“Guantanamo is a modern day Gulag, where 127 detainees continue to be held outside of any framework of international law, and without protection against torture, even though 77 have been cleared for release,” says Asim Qureshi, spokesperson for CAGE.
More disturbingly, 44 have been designated for indefinite detention but cannot be charged with any crime due to lack of evidence.

The 525-page summary of the US Senate’s Torture Report released just a month ago described how detainees were subjected to beating, waterboarding, positional torture, nudity, humiliation and other forms of torture including simulated burials – and yet there has been no accountability.

The released “report” was a summary of the over 6000-page original. The summary left out, among other crucial facts such as names and places, information about women and child detainees.

CAGE has the following concerns on the 13th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay:
“Despite promising to close Guantanamo Bay during his 2008 campaign, US President Barack Obama has still not managed to do so despite continued promises,” said Asim Qureshi, spokesperson for CAGE.

“This is in effect keeping the world ensnared in a spiral of violence, the destiny of which hinges on American politics.”

“The drastically summarised Senate Report into CIA Torture has been buried by recent events, but this should not deter human rights groups and journalists, from airing the truth about the CIA’s worldwide network of rendition, detention and torture, which continues to fuel extremism.”

“The continued detention-without-trial of Briton Shaker Aamer, cleared for release in 2009, is a blight on Britain’s human rights record and he should be released immediately.”
The closure and release of the remaining inmates in Guantanamo would do more to counter extremism than global counter terrorism policies, which continue to fuel it.”

For more information on Guantanamo Bay see here.

(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)