ACLU Comment on Appointment of Envoy to Close Guantánamo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

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.”

More information on the ACLU’s efforts to close Guantánamo is at aclu.org/close-guantanamo.