In response to a media report claiming that the Obama administration believes that at least 12 detainees released from Guantanamo have launched attacks that have resulted in the deaths of “about a half-dozen Americans,” Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights Program Director Naureen Shah issued the following statement:
“It would be pure guilt by association to use this alleged information to continue holding people at Guantánamo without charge until they die. In his remaining months in office, President Obama must reject the ongoing politicization of Guantánamo and charge or release the remaining detainees without delay.”
Many of the detainees have suffered serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearance and torture, but access to remedy has systematically been blocked and accountability minimal. Amnesty International calls on the U.S. authorities to ensure independent and impartial investigations into all credible allegations of human rights violations carried out at Guantánamo and against detainees held elsewhere. The findings should be made public, and anyone responsible for crimes under international law brought to justice, regardless of their current or former level of office.