ACLU Comment on Appointment of Envoy to Close Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility
ACLU Comment on Appointment of Envoy to Close Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility
WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today appointed Paul Lewis as the special envoy for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. In his new position, Lewis will work with the State Department on transferring detainees out of the prison to other countries.
Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel at the ACLUs Washington Legislative Office, had this comment:
"The American Civil Liberties Union is pleased that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has filled the important position of Defense Department envoy for closing the Guantanamo detention facility. We had been concerned about the lengthy delay in filling this critical job that the president ordered created as part of his National Defense University speech in May, said Anders. Paul Lewis has three decades of experience working on national security and rule of law issues at the highest levels of government. In his new position, he will play a critical role in carrying out the presidents commitment to close Guantanamo for good."
https://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-comment-appointment-envoy-close-guantanamo-bay-detention-facility
The State Department made its appointment in June.
ACLU Comment on Appointment of Envoy to Close Guantánamo
WASHINGTON President Obama today appointed lawyer Clifford Sloan as the State Department's special envoy in charge of closing the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
"The appointment of a new envoy at the State Department for closing Guantánamo puts in place one of the last pieces of the puzzle for getting the prison closed," said Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "The president now has ordered the restart of transfers out of Guantánamo, lifted the moratorium on transfers to Yemen, and appointed top officials at the White House and State Department to get it done. Once President Obama makes the necessary appointment at the Pentagon to begin transferring detainees out of Guantánamo, he should immediately begin doing so. With more than half of the detainees already cleared for transfer or release, and dozens more being held without ever being charged or tried, it's time to start sending these men home."
http://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-comment-appointment-envoy-close-guantanamo
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023036083