This month marks the 14th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantánamo Bay. Faithful advocates from across the nation are once again calling on President Obama to close GITMO, which continues to stand as a symbol to the world of U.S.-sponsored torture, indefinite detention, and a failure to honor basic human dignity. As people of faith, we believe these practices violate the inherent and sacred worth of detainees and view the prison as a moral wound for our nation that will only heal when it is permanently closed.
We're teaming up with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture in calling on people of faith to sign the Whitehouse.gov Petition asking President Obama to fulfill his campaign promise and close the prison at Guantánamo now. Add your voice!
President Obama,
I support closing the Guantánamo detention site and ending indefinite detention and urge you to get the job done before you leave office.
Instead of justice for the September 11 attacks, Guantánamo has given the world torture, indefinite detention and unfair trials.
Closing it must be a top priority. Otherwise, the next president could try to fill Guantánamo with new detainees. Especially in the current climate of fear and bigotry, future presidents could try to expand indefinite detention on vague, “national security” grounds.
As Guantánamo enters its 15th year of operation, each Guantánamo detainee must either be charged and fairly tried in federal court, or be released to countries that will respect their human rights.