Washington
11 January 2008
The human rights group Amnesty International staged protests around the world Friday to mark the sixth anniversary of the first arrival of detainees at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group is demanding the prison be shut down. Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court in Washington has ruled against four British men who allege they were tortured during their detention at Guantanamo. VOA's Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month there has not been much progress in efforts to close the prison down because of legal concerns in Congress.
Amnesty's Larry Cox says his organization has worked out an action plan to close it, which has been endorsed by lawmakers from 30 countries.
"There is an easy answer to this, which is to shut down Guantanamo, to put people into U.S. detention centers, to charge them if they're guilty of crimes, they should be charged, and to bring them to trial," said Cox. "And to let other people, either go back, if they can, to their countries or to get asylum in other countries."
Democratic Senator Tom Harkin has introduced legislation that would close the detention center and restore due process to the detainees, but it is not clear if and when it will come to the floor for debate.
Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C. has thrown out a lawsuit filed by four British ex-prisoners who say they were systematically tortured during their two-year detention at Guantanamo Bay. The four plaintiffs are all British nationals and residents, who were released from Guantanamo in 2004.
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering another case that involves other prisoners still at Guantanamo Bay and if they have a right to challenge their confinement in U.S. courts.