Dear Friends, Twenty-two years ago today, the first detainees were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison. Ultimately 780 Muslim men and boys were detained there. The U.S. tortured some of them and held most of them in indefinite detention without trial. Today 30 men are still imprisoned there, 16 of the men have been recommended for transfer. This week NRCAT joined nearly 100 organizations in sending a letter to President Biden pressing for the Biden Administration to do more to close the Guantánamo prison. NPR covered the letter yesterday in an interview with Scott Roehm of the Center for Victims of Torture. Please help us amplify this message to President Biden by sending an email to the White House. There are a number of ways you can recognize this day by helping to close the prison at Guantánamo: - Tune in to the "Guantanamo, Where Do We Go From Here?" Webinar on Friday, January 12, 5-6:30pm ET. Speakers will include Fionnuala Ni Aolain, former UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Mansoor Adayfi, a writer and a former Guantánamo Bay Prison Camp detainee; Daphne Eviatar, Director of Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights program; Aliya Hana Hussain, an Advocacy Program Manager at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).
- Join an in-person vigil today, January 11th, or on-going on the first Wednesday of the month.
- Write to President Biden and ask him to use every Executive Power available to him to close Guantánamo now.
- Make a donation to the Guantánamo Survivors Fund, organized by several organizations including Witness Against Torture and No More Guantanamos.
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on the U.S. government to close Guantánamo.
- Use these sermon notes to speak about Guantánamo during a worship service.
- Say a prayer for the 30 men still imprisoned at Guantánamo.
Please act now. 22 years of Guantánamo is 22 years too long. Help us #CloseGuantanamo now. Sincerely, Rev. Ron Stief
Executive Director | |
