11-01-2011
Today, nine years on from the opening of the United States detention facility at Guantanamo, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) condemned US authorities for their failure to close the camp and to bring to account those who designed and carried out torture there.
Since the first prisoners arrived on 11 January 2002, the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay quickly become a symbol of the abuse of human rights and civil liberties occurring within the so-called “war on terrorism”.
“The fact that there are still inmates at the notorious camp in Cuba shames the United States. Guantanamo is a symbol of how the self-styled ‘leader of the free world’ disregarded its commitments to upholding the most basic of human rights,” said Brita Sydhoff, IRCT Secretary-General.
“The message that has been sent out by the United States is that torture is OK, that it is acceptable in some circumstances. This is as dangerous as it is wrong. And of course, we must remember that the majority of the world’s millions of torture victims are not alleged terrorists or political prisoners, but rather the women, men and children living in poverty and afflicted by corruption,” added Sydhoff.
“The United States must rediscover its commitment to human rights, and live up to its legal obligations. A line must be drawn under this shameful episode. It must be drawn now. We are therefore calling on President Obama and Congress to close Guantanamo immediately and to provide for the rehabilitation of victims of torture that took place there, as well as at other US facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and to bring the perpetrators of torture to justice” concluded Sydhoff.
Media contact
Scott McAusland, IRCT
Tel: +45 36 93 87 32
Email: sma@irct.org
