FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2015

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Members of U.S. Faith Community Praise Oman and Estonia for resettling Yemenis from Guantanamo

WASHINGTON – In response to the resettlement of five Guantanamo detainees in Oman and Estonia this week, representatives from the American interfaith community released the following statements praising these nations for taking in the prisoners. Through the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, many from the U.S. faith community are celebrating the resettlement as a sign of progress toward Guantanamo’s closure.

Jim Winkler, President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, said:  “I am grateful that Oman and Estonia agreed to accept a transfer of detainees from Guantanamo. It is time for the United States to accept Guantanamo detainees, some of whom are innocent.  I look forward to the day when all detainees have been transferred out of Guantanamo and that notorious facility is finally closed.”

Matt Hawthorne, Policy Director for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, added: “Our country should lead in combating detention without trial. Oman and Estonia have done the right thing by accepting people who were imprisoned for years without charge or trial in Guantanamo. It is disappointing that the United States, which has yet to accept any detainees, is so far behind many other countries in ensuring that prisoners are either tried or released.” 

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 300 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.
NRCAT.org     @NRCATtweets     facebook.com/nrcat

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