Charge or Release Guantanamo Detainees Now
The Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA joins the National Council of Churches, the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, and other faith and human rights organizations in demanding from the U.S. administration due process for the 660 men and boys who are entering their third year of internment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Indefinite incarceration without trial is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, the International Declaration of Human Rights and accepted international norms. It is also an affront to morality, conscience and the tenets of justice that are fundamental to all religions. For these reasons, and because of its long history of opposition to war, violence and injustice, FOR-USA stands behind the call to President Bush to heed international law and public opinion. Either charge the Guantanamo detainees and bring them to trial, or release them to their home countries.
FOR has co-sponsored a campaign from March 8-10 to draw attention to the plight of the Guantanamo detainees and to advocate for due process. All the detainees are foreign nationals. They come from more than 40 countries. Despite widespread international protest, they have been held incommunicado since early 2002. Many of them are children. Some have become so despondent at not knowing how long they will be held that they have attempted suicide. This state of affairs is reminiscent of places ruled by tyrants and despots, not the United States where we vow daily, "Liberty and Justice for All."
Far from the speedy and public trial required by the U.S. Constitution, the Guantanamo prisoners have not been charged. They have not even been told what offenses they are suspected of, or what hostilities they are accused of participating in. The prisoners have not been afforded a hearing in U.S. courts to establish the legality of their continued detention. And they have no other court to turn to, since the U.S. exercises complete jurisdiction and control over Guantanamo Bay.
We are not asserting that the Guantanamo detainees are innocent. We are not asserting that they are guilty. We, like they, simply do not know, because there has been no due process, no habeas corpus, no charges and no speedy trial guaranteed under U.S. law.
As a faith-based organization, we especially urge Americans of faith to attend the Interfaith Due Process Prayer and Reflection Service on March 8 at 6 p.m. at the New York Ave. Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. The service will include music and poetry as well as prayer, and reflect the breadth of concern over Guantanamo. Participants include The Rev. Richard Deats of FOR, religious and civil rights leaders, actress Vanessa Redgrave, her brother Corin, and singer Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary) with his daughter Bethany.
Contact: Jennifer Hyman communications@forusa.org (845) 358-49=601
Latest News:
U.S. Ecumenical Delegation Denied Visit to Guantanamo Detainees
http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04guantanamoaccess.html
Read the Friend of the Court brief filed by religious and human rights organizations supporting detainees' right to challenge the legality of their detention in court. http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04guantanamobrief.html
Mr Begg goes to Washington: A passionate appeal from Corin Redgrave on behalf of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission http://www.guantanamohrc.org/appeal.html
