from the National Religious Coalition Against Torture
Washington, D.C. – Forty-three senior leaders of religious denominations and ecumenical organizations, including Pax Christi USA Executive Director Sr. Patty Chappell, SNDdeN, sent a letter to President Obama today, encouraging him to resume transfers of detainees out of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and asking him to veto any congressional attempts to keep Guantanamo open. The full text of the letter with the list of signers can be seen here.
In the letter, the religious leaders tell President Obama, “The hunger strike at Guantanamo is an ongoing humanitarian crisis – caused in large part by the despair prisoners at the detention center feel over their continued detention without hope of trial. It is past time for our country to deal with that crisis.”
Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, who coordinated the letter, noted, “The letter shows that the religious community is ready to stand with the President if he follows through on his promise to close Guantanamo. The detention center there is a symbol of torture and indefinite detention, and closing it is in line with our moral values.”
Click here for more information on the letter and this effort.