Omar calls for closure of Guantánamo Bay prison after 20 years of 'lawlessness and cruelty'
By Joseph Choi - 01/11/22 03:06 PM EST
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) penned an op-ed piece published in Teen Vogue Tuesday calling for the Guantánamo Bay detention facility to be shut down 20 years to the day of its opening.
The Minnesota representative wrote that she would rather not refer to Jan. 11 as an "anniversary" as it implied a celebration.
"Today is a day to reflect, and to act," wrote Omar.
"I reflect on what scores of men lost when the United States tortured them, systematically dismantling their identity and humanity. I reflect on what the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks lost — any possibility of fair and impartial justice — when the United States decided to trade away decency and the rule of law for torture and indefinite detention. And I reflect on our refusal to hold anyone meaningfully accountable for these acts," she wrote.
Of the 39 remaining prisoners at the facility in Cuba, 27 have not been charged with a crime, according to The New York Times, a fact Omar lamented as going against "the most basic standards of justice" and a knock on the U.S.'s global reputation.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/589238-omar-calls-for-closure-of-guantanamo-bay-prison-after-20-years-of-lawlessness
