it's time to urge your elected officials to shut down guantanamo...

for over five years, the united states has detained nearly 400 men in guantanamo bay without charge or trial...senator harkin has introduced legislation that would close the detention facility at guantanamo bay, and ensure that those held in guantanamo will either be charged or released...

it's time to put an end to the flagrant abuses of due process and human rights – urge your senators to co-sponsor and pass the “guantanamo bay detention facility closure act" (s. 1469)...

here's a sample letter you can use to fax or just click here to send an e-mail or print a pre-formatted letter to fax or mail...

I urge you to cosponsor and pass Senator Harkin’s Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Closure Act of 2007 (S. 1469), which would force the administration to either charge or release prisoners at Guantanamo by closing the detention facility within 120 days. This bill would put an end to indefinite detention and safeguard against transfers to countries where individuals are at risk of torture and persecution.

It has been more than five years since the first detentions at Guantanamo, and to this day only one person has been convicted of any crime and only two others have been charged. The United States has is holding nearly 400 prisoners, without any charges raised against them or any semblance of due process. Recently, an inmate was found in his cell dead of an apparent suicide. He was the fourth man to die of an apparent suicide at Guantanamo, and many others have survived suicide attempts. Senator Harkin’s bill would put an end to the indefinite and arbitrary nature of these detentions, which have driven some to suicide.

I also ask you to ensure that anyone who is tried be afforded due process of law. As such, anyone charged should not be tried by military commissions which fall far short of international fair trial standards, and no person picked up outside of an armed conflict should be tried before any type of military tribunal.

Since Amnesty International called for the closure of Guantanamo more than two years ago, many distinguished voices, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have added their voices to the chorus calling for closure. Passing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Closure Act would be a significant step towards restoring the America I believe in, which leads the world on human rights.

peace out <3