FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2021
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Faith Leaders Critical of Biden Administration Decision to Oppose Habeas Corpus for Guantanamo Detainee Asadullah Haroon Gul

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, May 12, Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released the following statement in response to the Biden Administration decision to oppose Guantanamo detainee Asadullah Haroon Gul’s habeas corpus case:

“The right to a fair trial is fundamental to justice. Yet for almost 20 years, our country has operated an overseas prison, on land leased from Cuba, where it holds 40 people, most without charge or trial. Several of the people held in Guantanamo were also tortured there. President Biden promised to close the prison at Guantanamo, and that is why it’s so disappointing to people of faith that the Administration is opposing Asadullah Haroon Gul’s habeas corpus petition. If President Biden is serious about closing Guantanamo, his Administration needs to move detainees out of the prison instead of crafting legal arguments for why the U.S. is technically allowed to continue to hold them without trial.”

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 300 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.

NRCAT.org    @NRCATtweets   facebook.com/nrcat

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