American Civil Liberties Union : ACLU: Congress Must Close Guantanamo Bay Detention Center

There has never been a more urgent need to preserve fundamental privacy protections and our system of checks and balances than the need we face today, as illegal government spying, provisions of the Patriot Act and government-sponsored torture programs transcend the bounds of law and our most treasured values in the name of national security.

ACLU: Congress Must Close Guantanamo Bay Detention Center (4/9/2007)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@dcaclu.org

Restore Habeas Tool Kit / Resources >>

LEARN MORE
> The Military Commissions Act and Habeas Corpus
> Habeas Corpus FAQs

NEWS
> ACLU Continues Monitoring Illegitimate Guantánamo Hearings This Week (3/12/2008)
> ACLU to Monitor Guantánamo Military Hearing Wednesday (12/4/2007)
> ACLU Names Inside-the-Beltway 'Best and Worst' for Civil Liberties in 2007 (1/3/2008)
> Military Commission Judge Rebuffs Bush Administration and Applies Geneva Conventions to Guantánamo Detainee (12/18/2007)
> Special U.N. Rapporteur on Human Rights Calls for Granting of Habeas Corpus Rights to Prisoners and an End to Indefinite Detentions (12/12/2007)
> Citing Destruction of Torture Tapes, ACLU Asks Court to Hold CIA in Contempt (12/12/2007)
> ACLU Cheers House and Senate Intel Bill Conferees for Including Provision Prohibiting Torture and Abuse (12/6/2007)
> ACLU Responds to CIA's Destruction of Harsh Interrogation Tapes (12/6/2007)

GET INVOLVED
Day of Action: Watch a Webcast of the Rally >>
FINDHABEAS.COM >>

THE FACTS
> About the Military Commissions Act
> About Detention

WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union continues the fight to close Guantanamo Bay, especially in light of today's New York Times revelation of the long-term hunger strike that has broken out there.

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

"This is a prime example of why Guantanamo Bay must close. These people are being held without charge in horrific conditions that violate the traditional American value of due process. The Defense Department admits that only several dozen of the nearly 400 prisoners being detained there will ever face charges. Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked the president to close Guantanamo Bay. And Senator John McCain said, if elected president, he 'would immediately close Guantanamo Bay, move all prisoners to Fort Leavenworth and truly expedite the judicial proceedings in their cases.'

"The Constitution makes the president subject to the rule of law. Its drafters rejected dungeons and monarchies and chose a system of due process with limited powers. The time has come to shut down Guantanamo. Until that day, detainees must have access to independent judiciary review to insure they are treated humanly and with dignity."

IN THIS SECTION

RELATED INFORMATION