Human rights defenders marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba under the administration of former President George W. Bush by noting that three American presidents have come and gone without anyone being held accountable for the horrific crimes that have occurred there, while calling on the fourth – Joe Biden – to finally close what one advocate called an “indelible stain” on the nation.<\/p>\n
“Four American presidents have overseen the facility and three have promised to close it,” the ACLU tweeted Tuesday. “Every day Guantánamo remains open is an affront to human rights, justice, and the rule of law.”<\/p>\n
“Since 2002, 779 Muslim men and boys<\/a> have been held at Guantánamo, nearly all without charge or trial,” the ACLU continued.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to retired US Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Bush-era Secretary of State Colin Powell, Bush, along with his vice president and defense secretary, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, knew<\/a> that most<\/a> of the prisoners were innocent, but kept them locked up for political reasons.<\/p>\n Many of the remaining men are torture survivors. The CIA formerly disappeared some of them to \u201cblack sites\u201d before they were sent to Guantanamo. <\/p>\n All of them have been exposed to the physical and psychological trauma associated with prolonged indefinite detention.<\/p>\n — ACLU (@ACLU) January 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n