21 years after President George W. Bush (2001-2009) opened the prison and 13 years after then-ruler Barack Obama (2009-2017) signed an executive order to dismantle it, activists are suing the current administration for “acting immediately.” . finish it.
“Among a multitude of human rights abuses committed against predominantly Muslim communities over the past two decades, the Guantánamo detention center stands as the iconic example of the rule of law being abandoned,” the groups claimed in a letter to Biden, quoted by the Common Dreams website .
Since 2002, 779 men and boys have been detained there, many tortured and nearly all denied formal charges or a trial.
According to retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Bush-era Secretary of State Colin Powell, both the former president, his vice president Dick Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld knew that most of the prisoners were innocent. but they were kept locked up for political reasons, communications restricted.
For his part, former President Obama, prevented by Congress from implementing the prison closure, broke a campaign promise and the law by actively shielding Bush-era officials from responsibility while torture continued in this country.
Activists also pointed out that today 35 people remain there at an astronomical cost of $540 million a year, making this prison the most expensive detention center in the world.
“Guantanamo embodies the fact that the United States government has long viewed communities of color, both citizens and noncitizens, as a security threat with devastating consequences,” the letter reads.
The approach this prison embodies, the text stresses, continues to feed and justify bigotry, stereotypes and stigma while perpetuating racial divisions and racism, and risks fostering further rights abuses.
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