Congresswoman Barbara Lee Hails Presidential Decree Ordering Closure of Guantánamo Bay Prison Camp
For Immediate Release
January 22, 2009
Contact: Nicole Y. Williams
(202) 225-2661
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Barbara Lee issued the following statement applauding President Obama’s decision to order the closure of the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, the halting all pending military commission trials, and the appropriate disposition of all detainees currently held by the Department of Defense at Guantánamo and banning torture as a legitimate form of interrogation:
“I applaud President Obama’s decision to close the prison camp at Guantánamo and halt all pending military commission trials. For more than seven years, the infamous Gitmo prison facility has made a mockery of America’s commitment to the rule of law, due process, and the rejection of torture as an acceptable interrogation technique. The decision to close Gitmo sends the clear message around the world that the days of detaining persons indefinitely without charge or due process are over. Nothing better symbolizes the rejection of the false choice that national security requires the suspension of the rule of law and due than the immediate halting of all pending military commission trials and the closure of Gitmo. That is a welcome change for America and the world.”
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