Europe must help President Obama close Guantánamo now by offering homes to its refugees. This is the message Reprieve, CCR and Cage Prisoners will be sending to governments and the public as they embark on a European tour starting today.
The ‘Obama needs EU’ tour will urge European states to open their doors to the vulnerable prisoners who have been cleared for release but remain in Guantanamo. The organisations will also be calling on government officials in countries which have accepted prisoners to share expertise, encouragement and examples of good practice with their counterparts in countries which may be considering following suit.
January 2010 is a key month for Guantánamo. 11 January is its eighth birthday; 22 January marks President Obama promised deadline for closing the prison. This deadline will not be met.
Supporters of Obama’s rhetoric for change and an end to the inhumane treatment of prisoners have been left seriously disillusioned. However, the fact of the matter is that President Obama needs assistance in putting an end to what he has correctly described as a ‘misguided experiment’. We are asking European states to lend a helping hand in ending one of the darkest chapters in the history of humanity.
To close Guantánamo we need to find homes for the 50 men who cannot return to their country of origin for fear of torture. They are from known rights-abusing states like Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. There was initially great hope that European states, given their ringing criticism of the illegal prison, would offer homes to these men but progress has been slow. Just nine have been resettled as free men in European countries of which they were not citizens. But more action is needed if we are to close Guantanamo. On this important anniversary we are urging other countries – including Germany, Finland, Sweden and Spain - to follow suit, in the name of decency and the rule of law.
Tragic figures like Ahmed Belbacha need a home urgently. Cleared under the Bush administration in 2007 and free to leave Guantánamo, Ahmed has chosen to stay imprisoned rather than face his fate in Algeria, a country he originally fled after threats on his life by the terrorist group Group Islamique Arme (GIA).
His attorney Cori Crider says:
“After all Ahmed has suffered in Guantánamo, it is unthinkable that he be returned to a country which openly seeks to abuse him further. Ahmed wants nothing more than to live a quiet life and that is the least he is owed. Sending Ahmed to Algeria would be his worst nightmare and a shocking betrayal. We implore with European States to help President Obama by giving Ahmed a chance at a new life.”
Reprieve will be travelling to a number of European countries including:
Luxembourg: 13th -15th February
Sweden: 25th -26th January
Belgium: 28th January
Ireland: 8th - 9th February
Germany: 10th-12th February
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