From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


With Guantanamo Detainees' Release, NCC Renews Call for Due


From "Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>
Date Thu, 11 Mar 2004 19:24:46 -0500

Upon News of Five Guantanamo Detainees' Release, NCC Renews Call for Due
Process

March 11, 2004, NEW YORK CITY - The news that, after more than two years of
imprisonment, five Guantanamo Bay detainees have been released without charge
begs the question as to how many more prisoners at Guantanamo are likewise
innocent, the National Council of Churches USA said today.  For this reason,
the NCC is stepping up its call on the U.S. government to uphold the right of
due process for all the detainees.

"All along we have demanded due process be granted to the detainees," said
Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC's Associate General Secretary for
International Affairs and Peace.  "We have not made judgments on their guilt
or innocence, only on the fact that our government should uphold this basic
legal norm.  We find it interesting that, as reported in the British press,
the British Government is also pressing for the same thing."

The National Council of Churches, along with other religious, human rights
and legal organizations, has filed an amicus brief in a case currently before
the United States Supreme Court that argues that U.S. and international law
both require due process be granted to the Guantanamo Bay detainees.  

This past Monday, the NCC joined the American Civil Liberties Union and the
Center for Constitutional Rights in hosting family members from Britain and
France, who came to the US to share their stories of anguish over the
treatment of their relatives. 

"Especially having spent time with these family members, we can appreciate
the relief and joy of the families of the five detainees who have just
returned home," said the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, NCC General Secretary. 
"Ours prayers are with them for peace and wholeness."

"The release of the British detainees, after so brief a review of the
evidence by British authorities, certainly supports the call for due
process," Dr. Edgar said.  "Can the U.S. Government legitimately claim that
the continuing imprisonment of the detainees at Guantanamo without charge,
without access to legal counsel, without access to family visits, and without
access to international due process, is just?"

-end-

National Council of Churches
475 Riverside Dr, New York
New York 10115-0050
Media Contact: 212-870-2252 or 202-544-2350 x11
www.ncccusa.org

---
Send E-mail address changes to: nccc_usa@ncccusa.org


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home